Keep your new and existing patients and customers engaged with your business or practice through marketing in healthcare.
There is an urgent need to focus on healthcare marketing now, more than ever.
- 88% of people searching for health information look for search engines
- 57% of baby boomers have searched for wellness and healthcare information so far.
- 48% of patients research the hospital for about two weeks before booking an appointment with them
We will find more on healthcare marketing strategies in this article.
Impact Of Marketing Strategies In Healthcare
Marketing in the healthcare industry is not the same as in other sectors. Healthcare service providers need to devise their marketing strategy after conducting in-depth research on the needs of the patients.
Marketing has changed faces over the last decade drastically, and the emerging trends have impacted mainly healthcare.
When previously, the healthcare industry approached its service as a mass offering, the marketing now is much more targeted towards individual service. It is highly personalized to the need of the patients. The marketing has gone beyond short term benefits and focused on creating a long term service provider for the patient with personalized healthcare. And lastly, this is one industry that has probably seen the most change in reliance on technology.
Marketing strategies have helped healthcare service providers cater to their patients on a personal basis, communicating their needs on a deeper level. Today’s healthcare marketing is no longer focused on the service but the patient. Overall, the goal of modern marketing strategies is to create a high satisfaction level in consumers.
According to the healthcare marketing point of view, the service should be compliant with the needs of the patients, and there are constant changes to campaigning strategies to bring this to focus. There is a certain level of difficulty in accomplishing this because a patient determines the quality of the healthcare service based on their interaction with all levels of healthcare staff, and this makes the patient’s behavior quite unpredictable.
As a result, healthcare services have been devising, increasingly complex marketing policies. They have to consider every factor affecting the experience of the patient, both internal and external. They have to take into consideration the links between the two elements, and what outcome can be expected based on these factors. However, some marketing strategies still stand the test of time in the ever-changing field of healthcare services.
Healthcare Marketing tips
Use Recognizable Branding
Patients rarely understand the difference between one healthcare professional and the next. 88% of the patients begin searching for healthcare advice online, and they couldn’t care less about which doctor represents the face of your service.
You might be confident in the kind of campaign you are creating, but like many brands have come to one understanding – what matters is what the brand stands for. Your brand should be recognizable for something — your medical practice, customer service, online facilities, relaxing environment — something that separates you from the herd.
Provide Online Services
Having a website is not enough; it is no longer even the bare minimum you can do to impress patients. From onboarding to the checkup, room booking, bill payment, finding the location for your practice, everything should happen through your online portal.
The new generation of healthcare receivers expects a certain level of excellence. This is no longer about just improving your patient experience; this ensures your patients decide on a split second that you are a convenient healthcare provider.
Design the Perfect Website
The majority of users will open your website through their phones or tablets. Your website should be optimized for the mobile platform as well as the desktop version. Google is increasingly placing importance on indexing websites based on their mobile site.
Google accounts for the experience of the readers, and it will reward websites that service the users. SEO is also an essential factor because when patients search for a specialty service, you want to rank higher in the search results. This also includes optimizing your website performance through frequent speed testing.
Use PPC
Pay per click (PPC) advertisements can be costly, but you can recuperate the cost from the business potential. Use PPC services to promote your website through organic marketing strategy, using the targeted keywords. This will give you excellent online visibility.
When people search for a pediatrician, you might rank in the top 10, but using PPC; you will come in the first place. You can determine a budget and allocate it accordingly for your PPC campaign.
Use Social Media
A social media presence is not optional. Days of relying on organic social media are gone. Various social media sites have changed their algorithms to promote brands that pay for advertising, and this is the only way to generate a valid marketing strategy that will connect with millions of patients.
The Wrap Up
As you can see, it is the need of the hour to invest in healthcare marketing. Let us help devise a plan to get your healthcare company, practice or agency in front of the eyes that matter.
What are your best healthcare marketing tips? Let us know in the comments below.