The Do's and Don'ts of Healthcare Marketing: Part Two

As we mentioned in Part One, marketing in the healthcare field has its unique challenges.

Below is the final list of best practices to keep your healthcare marketing on the right track.

Too Many Cooks

You've heard of the phrase "too many cooks in the kitchen." The same principle applies to marketing by committee. Suppose too many people start giving their two cents about everything. In that case, you're going to end up with something that either is no longer effective or gets overhauled completely.

Before you present anything to a higher-up that has to approve it before launch, make sure you have everything ready. This should include your reasonings for choosing A over B, how you plan to use X and Y, and your projected outcome from this campaign. The more information and justification you can bring to the table, the better. Being prepared when presenting your project will reduce the chances of derailment via committee and getting put off schedule. 

Tell Me More

Any outbound marketing strategy will include advertising and marketing communications via social, email, or your website. Regardless, everyone should understand who you're marketing towards and why.

Is your goal to attract new patients? New staff? Are you sharing information to benefit people or asking them to reach out to learn more? 

Marketing to patients is a touch, and tricky thing—the way people look for and consume healthcare information has changed. Patients seek customer service experiences that they would traditionally find at a retail store. There are many healthcare options; it's easy to shop around and leave you behind.

Whether in person, over the phone, or online, customer service should be one of your top priorities.

If You Build It, They Will Come

It's easy to think of marketing as an expense, but you can't see it that way.

Marketing is a necessary investment into your continued success. Of all the line items in your yearly budget that you need to trim, marketing CAN NOT be one of them.

You need to look at the bigger picture and think of the ROI. This concept can be challenging for higher-ups in the organization to understand. 

Share the Load

Marketing can't exist in a vacuum—everyone in the organization is affected by and utilizes marketing in some capacity. 

Make sure that others can take on some responsibilities, whether that's scheduling emails, working with outside vendors, or overseeing customer service processes.

Everyone should be aware of your marketing vision for the year and understand how they can help facilitate it. Encourage quarterly meetings to find out what works and what doesn't, and encourage both your coworkers AND patients to let you know if there are areas for improvement.