MARKETING

APPROACHES IN
HEALTHCARE
SETUPS
 Introduction
 Marketing Healthcare services is the promotion of all the services related to
health with the intent to provide diagnostic, curative and preventive measures.
 Marketing healthcare services provides an open line of communication to the
patent by building trust. It plays a key role in increasing patent connections,
and nurture these relationships to form long-term and loyal patents.
 Healthcare setups markets products (medicines in case of pharma
companies) or services (incase of consultancy by doctors). Medical camps or
CME can be used as a source of marketing tool.
 Some of the challenges faced by healthcare marketers are HIPAA limitations,
under investment in healthcare marketing, reviews from online doctor rating
sites, changing customer behaviors and expectations
 Marketing approaches may include mass marketing, target marketing or
micromarketing.
 Relevant Marketing Methodologies
 Mass Marketing: Development of generic messages that are widely
broadcast to entire service area.
o Target specific audiences or tailor the message to specific sub-group.
o Involves the use of mass media (e.g; newspapers, radio, TV) to cover the
market area. When hospitals use the mass marketing methods.
o Effective when there is a need to disseminate small amount of information
to larger audience or marketing a basic product to homogeneous audience.
 Target marketing: Focus a market segment to which organization desires
to offers goods/services.
o May be defined on the basis of geography, demographics, lifestyle,
insurance coverage, usage rate, and other customer attributes.
Relevant Marketing Methodologies
 Micromarketing: form of target marketing.
o Tailor marketing programs to the needs and wants of consumers
narrowly defined in terms of geography, demographics,
psychographics, or the benefits they desire.
o Most effective when marketers want to reach consumers with a
narrow range of attributes.
 Other marketing approaches: Sales promotion, advertising,
personal sales, direct marketing and social marketing.
Importance of Marketing for
Healthcare Organizations
 Healthcare organizations needed to build an awareness of their
services and expose target audiences to their capabilities and
marketing helps in building awareness.
 It helps to enhance their image and visibility and distinguish them
from their competitors.
 Marketing is critical to retain existing customers and attract new
ones.
Importance of Marketing for Healthcare
Organizations
 Marketing helps in increasing prestige. If prestige could be gained
through having the best doctors, the latest equipment, and the
nicest facilities, these factors needed to be conveyed to the general
public.
 Marketing serves as an information source.
 Marketing plays key role in influencing customer's decision
Conclusions
 The organization is using a mix of traditional and digital marketing
methods, i.e. flyers and brochures for visitors and website as well as
social media for the external audience.
 The digital methods used by the organization are rudimentary, as they are
using posts on social media as the primary method of digital marketing.
They are not using SEO/SEM or targeted digital advertising.
 External influences are being used by the organization. They are relying
on their own staff and consultants.
Conclusions
 Marketing plans and calendars are managed by the marketing department
and not aligned or shared with other internal stakeholders.
 Metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS Are not measured).
 While the organization's marketing methodologies are quite basic when
compared to current techniques, within their industry they are still making an
effort that other competitors aren't.
 Hence they are relatively ahead of their competition
 Recommendations
 The organization is relatively ahead of its competition, and hence has the
opportunity to quickly adapt new digital marketing methodologies to lead
the industry.
 SEO/SEM techniques can equip their website to be on top of search
results for people seeking healthcare through online searches.
 They can utilize social media marketing to target potential customers
andsegments to increase relevant advertising.
 Techniques like online scheduling of appointments should be introduced
to increase engagement with potential clients.
 To further increase online engagement, virtual consultancy can also be
provided.