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Healthcare

3 Tips to Driving Healthcare Marketing to Success

elderly woman at the hospital counter - full

Today’s healthcare consumers are much different than the healthcare consumers of the past, thanks to the wealth of resources available, including the advancement of technology. Patients now have more options than ever, and can access them instantly from their devices. As a result, healthcare companies today face new challenges when it comes to marketing effectively.

According to Lindsay Resnick in CMO.com, “Success in a transformative landscape requires marketing leaders to re-examine strategic imperatives, anticipate what’s coming next, and deftly navigate a fast-moving set of obstacles and opportunities to capture customer mindshare.”

In order to ensure success in these changing market conditions, healthcare brands must capitalize on emerging opportunities to improve their marketing campaigns, and here’s how.

doctor touching screen -healthcare

You and Yours Only

Delivering an exceptional customer experience being the priority, healthcare marketers should collect, analyze, and leverage consumer data to develop a “Patient Persona” to attribute marketing strategy.

By leveraging the sum of cross-channel consumer data, nothing will attract more consumers than an intimately crafted and satisfying message tailored to consumers’ needs.

When consumers are content with their needs through your product, your brand will experience higher profits, increased demand generation, and enhanced brand awareness.

As Resnick stated, “Customer experience will go beyond journey mapping as healthcare companies commit to budgeted, cross-functional efforts across customer life cycle touchpoints.”

people looking up - crowd

Know Your Shoppers’ Personas

To effectively reach and engage with customers, brand marketers need to be aware of the different types of segments they’re targeting. The four most common categories of shoppers include: digital by lifestyle, digital by choice, digital by need, and offline society. Each consumer group has unique shopping needs, and brands need to prepare marketing approaches for each of them.

As Amar, Raabe, and Roggenhofer explain, “Best practice is to design primary service for each segment, using contact volume distribution and persona profiles that differentiate by digital behavior to determine engagement strategies and the necessary investments in each channel.” Different types of consumers will respond to different marketing tactics, so brand marketers need to get creative to effectively reach a large audience of shoppers.

More and more customers demand personalized journey fit their needs. The first step for brands to achieve this is to understand the shopping preference of their target consumer groups.

Some consumer segments respond more to online advertisements, whereas others are more touched by physical marketing materials such as direct mail that drives them to brick-and-mortar stores where they can experience a personal connection with the brand. Therefore, brands should focus on developing marketing strategies that serve each persona group based on their shopping preferences in conjunction with omnichannel digital efforts.

digital data-hand touching tablet

Combine Data, Creativity, and Technology

To healthcare brands, it is critical to provide an attractive, yet attentive customer experience by realizing the three-way convergence of brand, direct, and content marketing. And they should combine data, creativity, and technology to develop and implement robust marketing approaches.

For obvious reasons, developing customer touchpoints based on consumer data is essential to deliver personalized experience via relevant conversations to exchange value to retain profitable consumers.

And health brands, perhaps more than most industries, must take advantage of the technological resources; apps that can be used on mobile devices to easily and quickly interact with brand representatives, search for product information and ask essential questions help close the gap between customer and care.

No one enjoys feeling like they’ve wasted time. When customers receive an easy, convenient, yet quality experience, they will be happier, and more likely to become your brand ambassador.

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As the healthcare industry changes and presents more challenges to marketers, health brands must employ new methods to remain profitable and satisfy their customers’ needs.

By using customer data to deliver a more personalized experience, ensuring that there is an effective channel for communication and productive engagement with consumers, and employing marketing techniques that combine data, creativity, and technology, you can provide a satisfying, helpful customer experience that will drive sales, and increase brand awareness.

And by working with a trusted partner who can help you capitalize on new marketing opportunities in the healthcare market, your brand can compete on the quality and effectiveness of your healthcare marketing efforts.

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For more than three decades we’ve partnered with Fortune 500 companies to deliver marketing operations solutions. Led by a strategic account management team, we’ll help you develop, procure, fulfill and distribute printed collateral, signage, point-of-purchase displays, direct mail, branded merchandise and much more.

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2020 Shopper Marketing: Are You Ready For This New Wave of Consumers?

woman holding mobile phone shopping

Due to advances in technology and society, the way that consumers shop is radically changing. And consequently, according to Robert I. Tomei at IRI, the future is looking up for marketers.

Analysts predict to characterize the 2020 shopper by multicultural diversity, age, and technology.

Hispanic consumers, as well as Millennials, are beginning to dominate the shopping world. And the majority of them are using their smartphones or laptops to do it.

So, how can marketers and businesses prepare for the 2020 shopper?

Millemmial Marketing

Use Digital Platforms to Better Meet the 2020 Shopper’s Needs

More and more 2020 shoppers turn to their smartphones first before making a purchase in order to compare prices and search for different products. However, many of them do still prefer shopping at brick and mortar stores where they can actually see and feel a product before purchasing it.

The best method for marketers is to combine these two experiences. The first step is to build a strong online platform that drives customers into the store. Then, establish a positive connection in store to keep them engaged and satisfied with their purchases, so they’ll keep coming back.

Use digital platforms as well as legacy marketing assets to appeal to the habits of the 2020 shopper. The better in sync your physical and digital marketing efforts are, the stronger your brand will be in their minds.

Employ Marketing Techniques that Relate Specifically to the 2020 Shopper

As Tomei explains, “There is no such thing as a simple, one-size-fits-all marketing and sales strategy in today’s rapidly changing marketplace.”

To succeed, Tomei suggests marketers need to do three things:

  1. Understand the emerging 2020 shopper.
  2. Use their preferred digital platforms and channels to engage with them.
  3. Drive them into retail stores for experiences that convert.

The 2020 shopper is looking for a customized experience, one that’s tailored to their needs. The easier the process is for them to find and purchase what they need, the more satisfied they will be. And the more likely they will return, as a result.

hand holding mobile phone with AR

Remain Up to Speed with Market Changes

The 2020 shopper is shaping up to be different from the kinds of consumer groups that previously dominated the market, and therefore will respond differently to legacy marketing strategies and assets. For this reason, new tactics will need to be employed to reach them.

Marketers must remain agile to the constant changes that occur within the consumer industry and react swiftly by taking advantage of new ways to reach customers as they are made available.

The success of your brand depends on how well you can adapt and utilize these changes. A flexible supply chain and responsive marketing operations will be critical.

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The 2020 shopper is going to be more diverse, younger, and more connected to technology than previous consumers. By taking advantage of these factors, marketers can relate directly to the 2020 shopper and offer a customized, streamlined consumer experience that meets their unique demands and keeps them loyal to your brand.

By working with a partner who can help you prepare for the 2020 shopper and take advantage of new methods to reach them, your brand can compete in the ever-changing consumer market, instead of being left in the dust.

 

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Why NVISION?

For more than three decades we’ve partnered with Fortune 500 companies to deliver marketing operations solutions. Led by a strategic account management team, we’ll help you develop, procure, fulfill and distribute printed collateral, signage, point-of-purchase displays, direct mail, branded merchandise and much more.

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Digital Marketing for Healthcare: Conquering the Future

doctor touching screen -healthcare

The healthcare industry, and marketing in general, are undergoing a digital revolution. As many hospitals and healthcare providers scramble to re-establish their brands in the face of rampant restructuring, mergers, and rapidly shifting healthcare laws, the need to stand out from the competition and create an ongoing dialogue with their patients and customers is becoming more critical than ever.

That’s why digital healthcare marketing is so promising: it offers clever and unique new ways for savvy marketers to stay top-of-mind with their customers. That’s according to Stewart Gandolf at Healthcare Success, who explains that because of its benefits, “digital marketing is almost always our first choice for doctors and hospitals.” Let’s take a deeper look at why.

Reasons for the Digital Revolution in Healthcare

The Internet is no longer an add-on, or a nice-to-have capability. It has become “healthcare’s front door,” as Gandolf explains, for several key reasons.

Empowered Patients

More than any other time in history, the Internet has given consumers across all industries the power to browse, compare, and shop – all without ever leaving their homes. The same goes for healthcare, where a compelling and dynamic digital presence can make the difference between a patient choosing you or going to a competitor.

Mobile Is Everywhere

The rise of web-connected smartphones and tablets means that your patients are digitally connected anywhere and everywhere. From a marketing standpoint, this presents limitless opportunities to connect with them, and to offer customizable experiences with a high level of responsiveness.

How Healthcare Organizations Can Leverage Digital Marketing

With digital marketing capabilities becoming more sophisticated each day, here are some of the top ways healthcare organizations can and should be leveraging this digital revolution.

Mobile Is Urgent, and So Is Healthcare

The nature of healthcare notifications – that is, that they are often urgent, important, and critical – lends itself very well to digital and mobile. You can provide a superior patient experience, and even improve medical outcomes, by ensuring that your patients can receive their notifications via mobile, where they are likely to respond the fastest.

Digital Is Highly Personalized

If you’re looking to set yourself apart based on the superiority of your patient experience, digital is for you. Thanks to technology like cookies and digital tracking, your messaging and content can be highly segmented and personalized for your patients, so they receive the messages that speak directly to their needs, while feeling like a greater priority to your organization.

Analytics and Brand Awareness

Digital marketing provides highly accurate real-time analytics that shows you exactly who engaged with what messages, and which tactics are the most effective compared to others. In this way, you know exactly where to spend your marketing budget to maximize your ROI, and you get proof-positive of the brand-building effect of your efforts. For marketers struggling to prove attribution, this can be a critical component to success.

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There’s no way around it: the digital revolution is here for healthcare marketing. By embracing it, and working with a trusted partner who can reliably execute your marketing strategy on-time, on-budget, and with minimal waste, healthcare organizations can stand out from the crowd and win more patients.

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Top 2018 Healthcare Marketing Trends

stethoscope on keyboard-healthcare-orginal

The healthcare marketing landscape is shifting rapidly. New laws have changed how hospitals and healthcare networks are organized, and many have undergone significant mergers or acquisitions in the past several years.

As a result, healthcare organizations are now making efforts to re-establish their brands with patients, and to differentiate themselves from the competition with their marketing activities. Key metrics they seek to compete on include quality of care, and specific quantifiable outcomes like speed of discharge, rate of infection, and in-patient versus out-patient capabilities. That’s according to Peter Do at Health Care Success, who explains that by embracing some of 2018’s major trends in healthcare marketing, hospitals and healthcare organizations can stand out from the crowd and establish a clear, effective brand with their patients.

Location-Based Marketing

Mobile technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) have put a computer in nearly everyone’s pocket. Location-based marketing, like geofencing and geoconquesting, can help solve some of the challenges facing healthcare marketers.

Geofencing

Geofencing using GPS technology to establish a very specific area where your ads are appropriate to show. When people enter this customizable area, whether they live there or because they frequently travel through it for work or to visit family, your ads will display. This is promising technology for marketers struggling to build brand recognition in a specific neighborhood or region, and well as those looking to cut waste costs and improve targeting efficiency.

Geoconquesting

Geoconquesting is similar, but works specifically to win market share back from competitors. Like geofencing, it allows you to designate a specific area for your ads to appear. However, that area is meant to be around the hospitals, facilities, or deeply entrenched markets of your competition. This is a powerful tool for marketers looking to establish themselves in competitive areas, or win back market share from specific regions and patients.

elderly woman at the hospital counter - full

Technology and Telemedicine

As it has for many other fields, technology has created many possibilities for replacing costly in-person healthcare services with cost-effective virtual and digital versions. Customers demand omnichannel access to brands in industries like mobile banking, shopping, and insurance. They want a customer experience that is deeply embedded with video, chat, and easy-to-use apps – all the ways they are comfortable communicating in an increasingly digital world. Whether for video doctor’s appointments, booking and billing, or prescription questions, healthcare organizations that invest in technology and telemedicine can offer a truly superior, modern patient experience.

Patient Experience

“The connection between patient satisfaction, hospital reimbursement, and continued growth and development is a marketing picture that will expand significantly,” Do says. But, as he explains, “the concept of improved patient experience has been slow to gain traction with some facilities.”

Industry leaders like Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, for example, have begun to offer truly personalized customer experiences to their patients. This is due, in large part, to the connection of reimbursement and HCAHPS scores. Today’s patients are increasingly sophisticated consumers, and they have come to expect the same level of customer experience in healthcare that they do receive in their daily retail and service interactions.

Healthcare Marketing Supply Chain

To capitalize on these trends and make their brand stand out, healthcare marketers need clarity and efficiency in their marketing supply chains and operations. They need to know exactly what’s being produced and inventoried, what the budget impact is, what employees are involved, what the project timelines are, what the returns on investment are, and more. That’s why it’s so crucial to partner with a trusted expert who can provide simplicity, cost efficiency, and reliability to healthcare marketing organizations. That way, your team can remain flexible and responsive to changing patient demands while maximizing every dollar of your marketing budget and delivering powerful customer experiences.

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Why NVISION?

For more than three decades we’ve partnered with Fortune 500 companies to deliver marketing operations solutions. Led by a strategic account management team, we’ll help you develop, procure, fulfill and distribute printed collateral, signage, point-of-purchase displays, direct mail, branded merchandise and much more.

LEARN MORE