Healthcare marketing is a customer-centric approach that uses multi-channel, highly targeted strategies to protect and promote overall health. A study from McKinsey determined that patients actually have the same or similar expectations from healthcare companies than they do from retail, technology, or any other industry.
Medical communications marketing is a customer-centric approach that uses multi-channel, highly targeted strategies to protect and promote overall health. Medical practices tend to use these tactics for inbound marketing i.e. to find the right patients, engage with them, and nurture them to form long-lasting relationships throughout the patient journey.
Of course, healthcare marketing is very different to marketing in other sectors as there are many more rules and regulations involved.
Why do I need a healthcare marketing strategy?
While providing the best treatment possible is any healthcare professional’s main priority, it is crucial to provide a positive patient experience. As we continually move towards a more digital world, people are overloaded with information about their health needs, requirements and wants. So being able to market your brand and increase awareness both on and offline is crucial in such a competitive environment.
A study from McKinsey determined that patients actually have the same or similar expectations from healthcare companies than they do from retail, technology, or any other industry. Patients have moved from traditional thinking i.e. ‘when I need a doctor, any doctor will do’ to ‘does this doctor/practice have the qualities I’m looking for?’
Patients now look for the same qualities they would in a non-healthcare company, such as:
Great customer service
Deliver and exceed expectations
Make life easier
Offer great value
Positive reviews
The first place people search for this information is on the internet. Around 75% of the UK population search online for information regarding health according to Nuffield Trust. What does this mean for you as a healthcare professional or medical practice? Well, it means that when people are searching, you need to show up in the search results or they’ll go to your competitors instead. This makes it a high-priority for your healthcare service to have a marketing strategy in place.
Furthermore, with people spending more time searching for information online, it’s becoming more and more important to pay attention to your healthcare website design, landing pages, search engine optimisation, digital ads and so on.
What are the benefits of medical marketing?
The overall aim of using a healthcare marketing strategy is to promote and facilitate the relationship between GPs, hospitals, physicians, clinics with their patients or potential patients. Some of the benefits include but are not limited to:
Connecting with patients across multiple touchpoints
Finding and acquiring new patients
Thriving in a competitive environment
Keep patients engaged depending on where they are in the patient journey
Producing relevant and helpful information to combat misconceptions/misunderstandings about health-related issues.
Patient retention and loyalty
Healthcare marketing companies, like us, will be able to help you connect with patients throughout the various touch points leaving you to crack on with other things.
What are the current healthcare marketing trends?
It’s important to keep on top of trends in the healthcare industry as it is a rapidly evolving one. Overall in 2019, we have seen that healthcare marketers are trying to connect with patients or potential patients online. It has become more about engaging with them through multiple channels than just when they arrive at the GP.
Here are 7 healthcare marketing trends that healthcare professionals, practices and health systems should keep in mind when planning out marketing campaigns.
75% of the UK population search online for health information - Nuffield Trust
Search drives nearly 3 times as many visitors to hospital sites compared to non-search visitors - Think With Google
Information on social media affects how more than 40% of people deal with their health - Advertising Health
19% of smartphone owners have at least one health app - Demi & Cooper Advertising and DC Interactive Group
44% of patients who researched hospitals online on a mobile device ended up booking an appointment - Think With Google
Reviews and reputation management are key to converting new patients - Formstack
According to WordStream, 45% of people watch more than one hour of Facebook and YouTube videos a day. Videos can be used for health education, patient stories and testimonials, doctor introductions etc.
Based on some of this year’s trends, you can quickly see the prominence of having a healthcare digital advertising strategy in place. This can involve digital marketing channels ranging from pay per click (PPC) advertising, SEO, email marketing or social media marketing depending on your needs. You may find it easiest to get a digital healthcare agency working on it for you or collaborate with you on it to get the best results.
Why should I use a healthcare marketing agency?
Medical communications companies, like us, will have years of experience and can use this to help you stay ahead of the curve. Equally, as this is a multi-channel approach, it won’t be possible for one person to handle everything.
In the same way that there are different fields of medicine, a healthcare advertising agency will have different departments with specialities in different areas to help you:
Analytics/data specialists
Branding specialists
Content specialists
Web design and development specialists
Digital advertising specialists
Print specialists
Expedition stand designers
Brochure graphics
Working collaboratively with an agency allows you to have full involvement but at the same time ensures that you aren’t doing the leg work giving you the availability to focus on other things.
If you’re looking for an agency that can help you with your healthcare marketing, feel free to get in touch with us for a no obligation chat. Alternatively, if you’d like to learn a bit more about the latest medical trends, check out our healthcare marketing blog.