It’s no longer just about market dominance. To position themselves right where their customers are, healthcare companies must keep pace with their audience’s needs, listen to market changes and trends, and adapt.
Insight: Consumers have become more empowered in their buying decisions, and healthcare marketers are experiencing their fair share of unique challenges.
Data: It only takes one to six online reviews for 68% of potential patients to form an opinion about your practice. (RevLocal)
Key Action Point: To keep up with the changing times and stand out, start with these five steps to help you craft an effective marketing strategy that helps you stand out in the healthcare industry.
Digital transformation has levelled the playing field for all sectors, even in healthcare. Today’s consumers are empowered with the information they need to make the choices that fit their needs.
In this article, we’ve outlined the essential building blocks to crafting a marketing strategy for healthcare companies.
It can be difficult to craft an effective marketing strategy in healthcare without first understanding why you do what you do.
In an industry where many players offer much of the same offerings, your brand purpose should be at the heart of your marketing. Knowing your “why” not only guides you in shaping the path towards your goal, it helps you create focus in crafting your unique story.
To find out your “why”, here are some questions that can help you get started.
Recommended article: The Business Case for Creating a Purpose-Driven Organisation
You can’t tailor a marketing campaign that resonates well with your audience until you know who they are, what their pain points are, and what it is they need from you.
Many marketing campaigns fail because it tries to be everything to everyone all at once. And in marketing, where consumers are faced with so many brand messages and choices, having no point of differentiation is a mistake.
By understanding who your target audience is and refining your message specifically for them, you gain relevance and have a far better chance of getting their attention.
It’s no longer just about maximising your reach to as many people as possible. It’s focusing your message to a specific group of people consistently until they start paying attention.
Recommended article: The Ultimate Guide to Creating Buyer Personas
What is it that makes you stand out from every healthcare practice out there? Knowing this helps you create a strong message as to why patients and clients should choose you amongst everyone else in your industry.
What value can you offer them? Be specific. Don’t just sell the product or service, sell the benefits and what they can gain from your unique offer.
It is important to remember that in healthcare, where every other player in the industry may be just as skilled and as experienced, it is who can communicate their value best to their audience that wins.
Be your own storyteller and hook your audience with an offer that demonstrates why you’d make the best partner in delivering their healthcare needs.
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In healthcare, it can be difficult to set yourself from everyone else. For patients, it can be even more difficult to choose the right healthcare partner.
By having a clear understanding of who your audience is and the purpose that drives you, it becomes easier to focus on your niche or your area of expertise.
What is it that you do best and what sets you apart from other practices and hospitals?
Having a targeted niche or market allows you to speak to your target patients clearly in a way that they can relate to. With a clear message to relay and one core audience to cater to, marketing according to your niche in healthcare becomes more effective. Focusing on your point of differentiation as a marketing factor not only makes it easier for patients to remember your name, it promotes loyalty.