Customer Engagement in Human and Veterinary Healthcare Marketing: A Systematic Literature Review
Keywords:
customer engagement, healthcare marketing, veterinary healthcare, loyalty, digital communication, systematic literature reviewAbstract
Customer engagement has become a central concept in modern service marketing strategies, particularly within the healthcare sector, where continuous interactions between service providers and clients are essential for delivering meaningful value and achieving long-term satisfaction. Despite its increasing significance, there remains a lack of comprehensive comparative research examining engagement mechanisms across human and veterinary healthcare services. This study systematically reviews and synthesizes recent literature on customer engagement in both human and veterinary healthcare marketing contexts. Guided by the PRISMA 2020 framework, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted on 65 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2018 and 2025, indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and ScienceDirect. The thematic synthesis identifies three dominant themes: determinants of engagement, engagement dimensions, and relational outcomes. In human healthcare, engagement is primarily driven by service quality, trust, digital health experiences, and personalized care. In contrast, veterinary healthcare engagement is shaped by veterinarian empathy, interpersonal communication, and the emotional bond between pet owners and veterinarians. Both sectors emphasize value co-creation and customer-centric interaction, yet they differ in emotional dynamics, interaction intensity, and perceived relational value. Theoretically, this review advances the Service-Dominant Logic (SDL) and Relationship Marketing perspectives by integrating digital and emotional dimensions of engagement across healthcare contexts. Practically, it offers strategic guidance for hospitals and veterinary clinics to enhance loyalty through empathetic, trust-based, and technology-supported communication. Future research directions are proposed, highlighting the integration of AI-driven m-health and telehealth applications to foster sustainable customer engagement in healthcare marketing.
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