Health marketing has always existed, even though it causes some health professionals some discomfort or companies that offer products and services related to the health sector.
- What do these symptoms mean that I have?
- Can this medicine that has been recommended for my cough help me?
- Where can I find the nearest hospital, pharmacy, or clinic?
- Which dentist is the most recommended in my area?
- How can I prevent heartburn?
Information technologies, from websites to apps, have only increased how a patient can find that information:
For some health professionals and companies, this is an opportunity they are taking advantage of.
Digital marketing and this type of technology mean that a company or health professional can advertise more easily, and make themselves known to more clients and patients than before, thanks to the enormous scope of this type of communication.
But health marketing is much more than digital marketing applied to health, and that is what you are going to see in this article, where we will address issues such as:
- Exactly what role does marketing play in the health sector?
- The most current trends and changes that will mark the course of health in the coming years, such as the evident impact of the global covid-19 pandemic
- Some online and traditional strategies can be used in almost any situation.
Take paper and pencil (or Word if you are a digital lover like me) because I am sure you will get many ideas from here.
What are you going to learn from this article?
What Is Health Marketing: Definition and Concept?
If we go to the most traditional definitions, those that we could find on sites like Wikipedia, they tell us:
It is the branch of marketing specialized in the health sector, aiming to order, display, and promote health information: news, advances, products, goods, and services available to patients and consumers.
Although it is not a bad explanation, I like this other definition better because it seems to me that it conveys the true concept behind health marketing:
Health marketing is nothing more than getting in front of all those people looking for services and goods to solve their health problems and showing them how you can do it for them.
No more, no less
By understanding that this is what is sought when applying health marketing, we remove all those prejudices and negative views about marketing, which usually accompany health professionals or those who work for the sector.
Marketing Trends in Health That Will Mark the Present and Future
Societies change over time, and with it, their values, habits, ways of working… and taking care of themselves.
It is important that medical and pharmaceutical science advance and create better treatments and medicines; how to apply these changes in society.
What use is all this knowledge about healthy prevention habits, such as a balanced diet or exercise, if the people it addresses do not know they exist?
At this point, transmitting them is where health marketing has its role.
It’s not about ”selling more”, and it’s about adapting and being able to convey to that changing society that we, as health professionals and companies, have adapted to their needs.
If society demands a more humane, digital, or focused preventative health treatment… good health professionals should do it too.
These and other future health changes will condition this more ”marketing” approach, and in this section, we will detail the nine most important changes in trends in the health sector from 2020 onwards.
More Restrictive Public Health Systems
In this article on pharmaceutical marketing, we already commented on this and other trends related to the pharmaceutical industry, inevitably linked to the health sector.
The demand for more effective drugs with cost-effective results will not only have to be demonstrated through clinical trials and approval by health authorities.
Pharmaceutical companies and laboratories will have to be able to communicate to patients, health professionals, and authorities that their medicines have a social utility beyond their proven efficacy.
Differential marketing will be key in an increasingly competitive market saturated with information.
According to several analysts, marketing is increasingly based on values and has a complete approach beyond just talking about a product, a service, or a health institution.
Health marketing is something you need to take into account.
Patient 2.0 – Informed and Active
The paternalistic model in medicine, in which the patient is limited to listening to what the family doctor, the specialist, or the pharmacist tells him, is extinction.
One of the many changes that the digitization of the sector has brought is that patients have rigorous and quality health information at their fingertips.
They can find out on their own about their disease and available treatments… even form communities of active patients and spread the Word through social networks, such as the FF Patient initiative.
It is no exaggeration to say that the world will change forever due to the covid-19 crisis.
Lockdowns, teleworking, globalization… all these concepts have taken on a new meaning during this pandemic, of which there are still sequels.
Unwanted consequences include, in addition to those infected and deceased, a saturation of medical services, or a negative impact on the labor market.
Others have accelerated necessary changes that will have a positive global impact, such as greater public health awareness and prevention of infections or advances in digitizing health processes.
Any health company and institution must adapt to this new reality and provide service to patients and clients despite mobility, capacity, or other restrictions.
Patients need it and are looking forward to it, and anyone who knows how to highlight these virtues and go digital, even if forced by circumstances, can come out of this crisis stronger.
Environmental Awareness and Its Impact On Health
Ecological awareness is no longer a matter of age or of passing fashion.
According to an extensive market study by IBM, 6 out of 10 consumers are willing to change their consumption habits to reduce their environmental impact.
Sanitary companies should start promoting actions to reduce their environmental impact, not only by aligning with European regulations or activities already underway (such as SIGRE recycling) that are increasingly frequent in this line but also by having a better perception among their consumers.
Prevention and Early Diagnosis
In all health careers, there is much insistence on this rule: prevention is the best remedy for health.
Although the theory says that, in practice, it is not so common to find it, this is changing due to a set of factors, ranging from:
- More informed and empowered patients in health issues such as nutrition, exercise, and other healthy habits
- Governments and health authorities worldwide focus on reducing health spending and making systems more efficient.
- An increase in life expectancy worldwide and an increase in the aging population, in which it is more important to extend the health period.
- Greater scientific evidence on long-term and slow-progressing diseases (overweight, COPD, cancer) and their causative agents (processed foods, air pollutants…)
Any company, professional, and health institution should include promoting prevention campaigns and healthy habits as one of its priority projects.
And not only promote them but also know how to share them among your patients and potential clients.
Improvements in Efficiency in The Doctor-Patient Chain
Although this has been on the agenda of many health systems for a long time, both public and private, the coronavirus crisis has accelerated this process.
Thanks to digital technologies, it is increasingly easy to introduce improvements that make processes more efficient:
- Schedule appointments through apps or the Internet
- Secure exchange of sensitive health information
- Patient monitoring through remote devices
- Improvements in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention
Those companies and professionals capable of including these improvements will be much more attractive to patients, clients, other companies, and investors.
Most Present Digital Treatments
What seemed like science fiction before is a reality that is beginning to be seen in the form of decisive steps in health systems worldwide.
The US food and drug regulatory agency, the FDA, has opened a new category of therapies, Digital Health or digital health, where it will start approving some apps and other digital tools as valid therapies.
As long as they present sufficient scientific evidence, it will not be surprising to see how, in a few years, apps or electronic devices begin to be prescribed.
The United Kingdom Health System has begun to include “health apps” among its standards.
Less Corporative Communication
A very important trend in all brands, and one that is increasingly making its way among those in the health sector, is the need to convey more closeness and humanity in communication, including digital.
The latest marketing trends indicate that consumers at all levels prefer a less corporate and unapproachable tone, and social media has managed to bring consumers closer to their favorite brands.
Thus, they feel more like protagonists and think their opinions are considered.
It is also preferable to use a more authentic and transparent communication, where the errors, limitations, and values of that brand, or rather, the people behind that brand, are recognized.
Regardless of the size of the water company, anyone should move in that direction.
Health Marketing Strategies
Given the future trends we can currently find in the health sector, what options are available to us?
Whether you are a personal health professional looking to improve your reputation, or a small or medium-sized health business, if you have come this far, it is because you are considering new ways to reach more clients or patients.
Before reviewing the available options, I think it is important to consider three important and very specific characteristics of health marketing.
- No one likes to feel like they are trying to sell you something in matters related to health, even less. It is an issue that matters to us, and we only want the best for ourselves and our families. Beware of aggressive and promotional messages.
- Invasive and disruptive advertising is not the most appropriate approach in this sector. This type of advertising is considered to “interrupt” what you are doing to show you something. Other methodologies, such as recommendation or content marketing, are better.
- Confidence is everything in health. An effective product or service with proven evidence that meets the expectations of patients and customers is the best possible marketing.
- It is impossible to separate any marketing strategy from digital marketing. So throughout the article, digital health marketing will be mentioned several times.
We already live in a digital world. We are all part of that world, and whoever has not internalized this belongs to the sector they belong to.
So, in the three health marketing strategies that you are going to see below and that are part of practically every company in the medical and pharmaceutical sector, you will see that the digital factor has its role:
Influence Marketing and Recommendation
Some more than others, but all, absolutely all human beings on the planet.
We are healthcare social media marketing beings, and we are naturally determined to be impressionable.
As we grow up, based on our education, training, and personality, we can be more or less influenced by one type of person: our close authority figures, our idols, friends, and internet opinions.
- 97% of consumers look for comments from other users before buying online
- 90% of users consult local business reviews before deciding where to buy
- The main source of influence when making any purchase decision is recommendations from friends and family
Five recommendations to get more and better views from patients
Communicate properly
- Be respectful – Whether the patient is well informed or not.
- Simple language or adapted to the patient’s prior knowledge
- Actively listen to the patient – not waiting our turn to speak.
- Dedicate the time needed to each patient – Offering the necessary explanations.
Transmits knowledge and demonstrates experience
- Provide practical explanations and treatments for the patient, not to ”show off.”
- Recommend reference websites, apps, and other sources of digital information
Show commitment to your patients
- Show yourself accessible and willing to serve them when they need it (although you don’t need to give them your personal WhatsApp either… it’s important to set limits!)
- Respect the agreed attention hours.
Give them excellent service
- Offer communication alternatives. Future generations are increasingly digital, so offering options such as chat communication (WhatsApp, chatbots), appointment services, and online booking or consultation by video call is important.
- The query must be impeccable. In cleaning, patient care, waiting times, interior design… all these details can make the difference between a good review or someone not willing to return.
Make it simple for your customers to leave testimonials
- This can be especially useful for applying marketing to dental clinics.
- Small and subtle reminders to leave reviews. In the form of cards noting the next visit or email for future appointments
Mass or Medium Marketing
Although carrying out campaigns on television, radio, or specialized press is not within reach of all companies, they are perfectly valid options and to which we must add others that are equally massive and within reach of any health business:
- Specialized press, both written and online
- Healthcare website design
But since this article aims to help mainly small and medium-sized companies, I will leave the TV and radio ads for the multinationals that can afford them, and I will focus on the other two:
Specialized press
I don’t need to tell you that there are TENS of health press web portals, specialized in different health branches: doctors and specialists, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry… each has its own and even several.
Sometimes, in exchange for financial compensation, but in most cases, it is an affordable cost. It is not like paying for a television spot.
Try until you find a few who accept a collaboration you feel comfortable with.
Here are some ideas…
Guest article (guest post)
Surely you have visited one of them more than once to get inspiration for your page or look for information.
These blogs, like specialized health magazines, are always eager for new content, and if you offer to write a guest article on their page or do an interview with them, including a link or mention to your website, they will be delighted.
They have new content and collaborate with other professionals in the sector to gain visibility. You all win.
Another option along the same lines is to appear on other brands’ and professionals’ social media profiles.
Inbound Sanitary Marketing
If there is a single strategy that any health business should apply, regardless of its size or whether it seeks to attract the attention of patients, health professionals, or clients…it is this one, without a doubt.
Inbound marketing, content marketing, or attraction marketing has very suitable characteristics for our sector:
It is a complete methodology that includes several areas within digital marketing, such as:
- Content creation (blog posts, videos…)
- social media strategy
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Email marketing
Content, in case you’re wondering what I’m talking about, refers to digital content in any digital format shared online. Can be:
In addition to these:
- Social Media Posts
- Web pages or sections within your page
- Videos for Youtube
- Any other digital format you can think of
It’s like having the cold-selling process automated.
Click here for more information
