Basics of healthcare marketing

1. Healthcare Marketing 101
APMA Young Physicians’ Institute
April 12, 2013
Chris Houchens
@shotgunconcepts

2. Marketing
is not a
dirty word.

3. If there’s only one thing you
remember tonight…
They’re your
customers more
than your patients.

4. Marketing?
• To communicate a consistent intended
message to a specific intended audience.
• Marketing is NOT just advertising.
• Marketing is NOT just PR.
• Marketing is NOT just sales.
• Marketing helps CREATE the sales
opportunity.
• Successful marketing develops long
term relationships

5. Healthcare marketing
(has) is changing
• Choices
– Consumers in charge of healthcare decisions
– Self-Diagnosis on the web
– Disposable income
– Insurance / HMO / Flex Account / etc
• The idea of Customers vs. Patients

6. Ask your doctor if
getting medical
advice from TV
commercials is
right for you

10. Step Zero

12. Do you have a
marketing plan?
Do you ever look at it?

13. A Marketing Plan...
• Defines Marketing Costs
• Shows Marketing Value
• Defines Mission / Provides Focus
• Written Game Plan
• Evolving Document
A Marketing Plan is
On Paper…On Purpose

14. After the Marketing Plan,
Great Marketing…
• Begins with the Healthcare Product
• Driven by Message
• Sustained through the Relationship

15. Step 1
The Product

16. “Tastes like
Chicken”
is NOT a
compliment

17. What is
consistently the
#1
marketing method?

18. Word-of-Mouth

19. 80 / 20

20. Step 2
The Message

21. Most prevalent marketing mistakes
• “Me Too” Competitive and following fads
• Campaigns designed around cutesy or non-
relevant centers
• Marketers trying to reach themselves
• Money Issues
– Focus on costs rather than effectiveness
– Thinking that $$$ = Success
– Accepting proposed prices
• Forgetting multiple media maximizes the
message
• No marketing plan

22. Your medical marketing is
insignificant
(to most people)

25. Databases are your friend
• Deal with multiple audiences & items
– Segmentation
• Patients with different conditions
• Orthodics
• Age and other demographics
• Other
• Methodology
– personal
– mailings
– calls
– electronic
• Research leads to positive market development

28. Strokes Happen
• Baptist Health
System in San
Antonio
• 80 Mannequins
– # of San Antonio
stroke deaths annually
• Actors at restaurants
had “strokes”
• Web e-cards

29. You’re spending
too much money
in the wrong
place with your
online strategy

30. Online budget here?
Or there?

31. Facebook
Twitter
Email
Website
Video
Search
Results

32. Fundamental E-Marketing
• Online Spending
– Budget for Website
– Banner Ads
– Contextual Search Advertising
– SEO – Search Engine Optimization
• E-mail Marketing
– Phishing / Spam
– Permission-Based
• Blogs / Social Media

35. Traditional Marketing
Brand
Consumers
Strategy
Media &
& Public
PR
Press
Efforts
Advertising
Word
Gatekeepers Of
Corporate
Mouth
Messages

36. Social Media Marketing
Brand
Consumers
Strategy
&
Public
PR
Efforts
Advertising
Word
Of
Corporate
Mouth
Messages

37. Social Media are
NOT
mass media.

38. Warhol Revisited
“In the future,
everyone will be famous for
15 minutes.”
With social media,
everyone is famous to
15 people.

41. • Kaimana
• Shanti
• Aurora
• Humphrey
• Mikaela
• Kaimana

42. Mr. Splashy
Pants

44. Step 3
(actually Step -1)
The Relationship

46. What is a Brand?
• Your single most valuable asset
• A promise that past performance will
indicate future results
• Your target’s experience with you
• Faces vs. personalities
• Perception IS reality
You have a brand even if you
don’t have a brand strategy.

47. Case Study: Brand Kentucky
• State was spending $2.5 million annually for separate &
overlapping ad agencies and marketing campaigns
• Governor proposed an unified state brand
• Goal: Provide an unified message for tourism & economic
development
• Citizens voted for logo at welcome centers & online

48. Case Study: Brand Kentucky
As viewed from the other 49 states,
=
Brands are created by the consumer, not the marketer!
Logo ≠ Brand

49. Conditional Response

50. Branding is a
conditional
response

51. Brand strategy
should influence
every marketing
initiative

52. Successful
branding makes
other aspects of
marketing easier
and cheaper.

53. Brand Consistency
• Touchpoints
– All interactions with the target
• Messaging
– Slogans / Taglines
– Advertising
• Design
– Logo / Identity
– Packaging
– Colors / Fonts
• Pricing

54. Branding Success
Microwave vs. Slow Cooker

55. One more step
(then rinse and repeat)
Measurement

56. Measurement
• Measure actual ROI as well as responses
• Measure satisfaction and “stickiness” as
well as the actual numbers
• Use the info to make adjustments
You can’t manage what
you can’t measure

57. Tracking / Effectiveness
"I know that half my advertising works.
I just don't know which half."
John Wanamaker (1838- 1922)
If you say the same thing...
STOP ADVERTISING.

58. Healthcare Marketing Success
• Brand Strategy
• Marketing Plan
• Operations that inspire great word-of-
mouth
• Consistent Messaging
– Relevant & Memorable
– Delivered through channels that are targeted
and measurable

59. Thank You
Healthcare Marketing 101
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