It goes without saying that marketing is an absolute must in growing and maintaining one’s brand. Through the use of digital and traditional channels, businesses of all kinds seek to rise above their competitors and grow their customer base while keeping their existing customer base. On the surface, marketing healthcare should be no different, but under the surface, it’s a different beast. If you are marketing your healthcare facility, you need to take great care in creating your marketing strategies.
As you are reading this, you may be asking the following question:
How is healthcare marketing different from marketing in other industries?
This article will help you understand how healthcare marketing is unique and what makes it stand apart from traditional marketing. You will also know the importance of working with a reputable marketing agency such as MGMT Digital that has intimate knowledge of the healthcare space. Contact MGMT Digital today to learn how comprehensive addiction treatment digital marketing can help grow your business.
What is Healthcare Marketing?
Let’s start our discussion by asking a simple question:
What is healthcare marketing?
Dignity Health Global Education offers up the following simple definition:
“Healthcare marketing is the process of creating, communicating, and offering healthcare information.”
That’s definitely concise and to the point, but what does marketing healthcare services entail? Healthcare marketing involves creating and implementing strategies specifically designed to attract healthcare consumers. Once you are able to attract consumers, you help guide them through their healthcare journey and have an end goal of keeping them engaged with the health system.
Marketing healthcare is most effective when digital and traditional channels are utilized. This unique form of marketing is highly targeted and features similar objectives to other businesses, which include the following:
- Building brand awareness by demonstrating thought leadership
- Generating leads through coordinated marketing strategies
- Making the patient acquisition process more robust
- Serving the right information at the right time to local searches
- Engaging with former and current patients to build social proof
As stated earlier, healthcare marketing is similar on the surface when compared to other businesses. However, healthcare marketing also features unique wrinkles that creates unique challenges in effectively marketing these essential services. In the next section, we will answer the question of how healthcare marketing is different from traditional marketing that is used for other businesses.
How is Healthcare Marketing Different from Marketing in Other Industries?
Now we get to the real nitty gritty and answer the question posed in the introduction to this article:
How is healthcare marketing different from marketing in other industries?
The following are unique considerations you must consider when creating and implementing healthcare marketing strategies:
Privacy
All healthcare institutions are governed under HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Simply stated, HIPAA prevents healthcare facilities from using a patient’s protected health information (PHI). When creating a healthcare marketing plan, you must be very careful not to run ads using patient information of any kind unless the patient gives you explicit permission.
Complexity
A unique challenge facing healthcare facilities is the complexity of medical terms and conditions. While many businesses use technical jargon, the healthcare industry finds itself in the inevitable position of using big words and terms to communicate with consumers with little or no medical education or background. When you create your marketing strategies, you must be sure to present medical information in a way that your audience can understand and not be intimidated.
Be Careful in Making Promises
In any business, it is important to deliver on your promises. This is especially true in healthcare. In addition to the following truth in advertising laws, healthcare facilities must also be conscious of government regulations. You must be careful of using terms such as “best” when marketing healthcare procedures and services. You also need to avoid making claims that aren’t backed by scientific proof.
The Product is Health
Healthcare marketing is unique in the fact that the product it is “selling” is one’s health and the ability of a healthcare provider to deliver the care that is promised. There are times when you are marketing services to clients who are in a scary place in their life. Your marketing strategy must be able to communicate to them in a compelling fashion without taking advantage of them. While transparency and honesty are key in any business, this is critical in healthcare marketing.
How to Find Digital Marketing Services for the Healthcare Industry
Finding digital marketing services from a reputable marketing agency is crucial to your growth if you are in the healthcare treatment industry. The best digital marketing agencies fully understand the industry and have years of proven experience in helping facilities increase census and their brand. MGMT Digital is a boutique digital marketing agency specializing in the treatment industry. Our team of professionals creates marketing strategies that are proven to work and will grow as your brand grows. Want proof that our marketing strategies work? Review our case studies and see how MGMT Digital has helped facilities reach broader audiences and get results. Are you ready to grow your facility and brand for the long run? Contact MGMT Digital today.