‘’Noble profession needs noble ways to market’’
Where there is innovation, there are challenges; and marketing is challenging!
Talking about healthcare marketing, challenges here are more tricky considering the sensitivity of the segment. It can be tough even for the most experienced marketer to catch that lightning in a bottle. So then, what makes a hospital or doctor’s clinic or any healthcare profesisonal’s practice unique? Although most of the marketing tools and techniques might appear the same, they navigate differently as compared to other industries. Thus, it becomes crucial to understand what makes healthcare marketing different, before jumping into it.
What exactly is healthcare marketing?
By definition, it is developing, communicating, and implementing patient-centred and scientifically sound marketing strategies to attract a diverse & desired patient audience.
It serves as the foundation to patient education, helps build trust with them, encourages them to make informed decisions, and of course creates awareness about your practice.
Having said that, practitioners are competing with a wide range of services, making healthcare marketing challenging, yet interesting. It is safe to say that digital healthcare marketing strategies are gaining more importance than ever to cope up with these changing dynamics. However, at times it might become tricky to chase the right marketing strategy as well as deliver optimum care to the seekers. Comprehending this scenario, Nth Sense comes in as a partner for every healthcare professional to market his/her service without actually investing much of the time.
Before we tell you how Nth Sense does it, let us look at the most common marketing challenges in the healthcare industry along with some advice for working around them.
1. Personalised Messaging
The Challenge :
Consumers appreciate a personalised approach, patients more! They want to engage with services that address their needs. But it gets tricky in healthcare owing to the privacy laws that stand as a challenge to capture, store, and use patient data. At the same time, the fact that marketing to people who actually benefit from your offerings is crucial and cannot be ignored.
A study by Prophet found that 81% of consumers are unsatisfied with their healthcare experiences.
Direction:
The Healthcare industry is becoming patient-focused which is helping patients beyond just treating disease-symptoms & illness. Thus, there are opportunities for providers to market with broadly applicable advertising. For eg. tapping upon topics like healthier eating ways, disease management, etc. with personalised communication can be the trick.
2. Trust building
The Challenge:
Greater the importance, critical the action! It is more relevant when it comes to earning trust- highly important, equally critical
Patients are becoming more savvy with increased expectations, making it challenging for marketers. However, trust is the core to healthy marketing, especially considering the high treatment costs, lengthy policies and strict regulatory requirements.
Direction:
Transparency is the key! Be clear throughout your marketing- about the pricing, ways to contact how your service brings ease, etc. Share reviews (patient feedback) that talks about patient satisfaction and your successful relationships.
3. Making the connection
The challenge:
You might be ready with the data to market knowing the demographics. But the challenge can be ways to target this audience. Healthcare being a vague space, understanding patient behaviour and their expectations can be tricky while healthcare marketing.
Direction:
Look for the data around the patient's behaviour. Look for where they are responding, to what kind of content they are happily consuming, what are they more receptive to. The more you understand your audience’s preference, the better you will be able to find them and build the connection.
4. Marketing Budgets
The challenge:
Several healthcare professionals do not make marketing a priority considering the budget constraints. While some mix it with digital marketing, some have their own perceptions about it.
Direction:
Keep in mind, marketing is not just a cost but a revenue generator. You just need an expert in healthcare marketing that can carry out your task with ease. Using their expertise, you need to approach your budget for both the short and the long term.
To close :
Healthcare marketing today is not only necessary for the provider but plays a crucial role in patient’s decision making. Craft your campaigns with these issues in mind, and you’ll help your brand stand out in the crowd.
Wait, wondering how to start?
With Nth Sense’s team that holds tried and tested strategies for profitable healthcare marketing ideas.
Schedule a 30-mins free consultation and get to know how Nth Sense can help you.
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