This article originally appeared on Medium.com for the American Marketing Association.
There are many misconceptions around how to best market hospitals and healthcare services to women: Use pink or don’t? Do gendered messages have stronger appeal? Is it okay to skip focus-group testing? Here are 10 tips for crafting more effective healthcare messaging for women.
How a cultural shift is affecting the healthcare industry
This article previously appeared on Forbes.
Sexism comes in many forms and has profound and lasting consequences, but it’s particularly galling when it happens in a place meant for healing. Because of recent headline stories in publications such as Vogue, The Atlantic and The New York Times, as well as documentaries on Netflix and highlights in podcasts, women who have been dismissed or gaslighted by their doctors now know they have strength in numbers. And they’re demanding change.
Three strategies for continuing the consumer journey after discharge
Every hospital’s duty is to help patients get better so they can go home and, hopefully, never come back. But that doesn’t mean the relationship between hospital and patient has to end at discharge. Hospitals must communicate frequently with their former patients and those patients’ loved ones in order to grow and maintain strong relationships.
Satisfying multiple dimensions of customer need is key to long-term loyalty.
This article originally appeared on MediaPost.
A few strategies in healthcare marketing can cross industries and help every marketer. Here’s one example of how a specific healthcare marketing challenge — connecting with women who suffer from chronic disease — can offer strategies that apply across industries.
This article was previously published on Forbes.
Marketing to women still has a long way to go, including for hospitals, with two-thirds of women stating that they feel misunderstood by healthcare marketers. With a global value of over $6.5 trillion, the healthcare market offers a bevy of opportunity to hospitals and other healthcare organizations that show they consider women’s perspectives and experiences important.
Five key areas to emphasize
It’s estimated that 66 percent of caregivers are female, middle-aged and working outside of the home. The duty of being a caregiver, whether after a single outpatient procedure or for someone with a chronic condition, is stressful and arduous when combined with an already full work and home life. Fortunately, hospitals can market themselves not only as providers of great medical care, but as a source of guidance and support to empower women to make the right decisions for their family.
Use social proof and word-of-mouth to boost your brand’s credibility with women.
We believe what our friends say. According to a report by Nielsen, recommendations from friends are the most trustworthy form of advertising. And women are more likely than men to trust word-of-mouth, with 72 percent reporting that they’ve made a purchase based on a friend’s recommendation.
What does this mean for hospital marketers? Cultivating a strong foundation of brand ambassadors, or women who are loyal to and willing to speak out positively about your brand, will strengthen your hospital’s brand and make it attractive to new customers. Here’s how.
Set your hospital apart by marketing more than just your medical services.
For most people, visiting a hospital is not a regular occurrence, so the process can be daunting. But hospitals can help. From explaining exactly where to go to setting up easy payment options post-treatment, hospitals can use many tactics to show patients and caregivers that they are approachable, knowledgeable and ready to relieve the stressful burden of the unknown.
Now more than ever before, hospitals must market well to set themselves apart from their competitors. Simply claiming to have the best doctors or technology will not be enough when women expect all hospitals to strive to only provide the best. There are many ways beyond medicine that hospitals can market their amenities to drive preference.
Showing you know how to handle tech will drive preference for your brand.
While it’s true that women are open to — and even excited about — tech advances in healthcare that make their lives easier, they also have concerns. From the privacy of electronic health records to the reliability of automated medication-delivery systems in hospitals, your female consumers want the best for themselves and their families. You can drive preference for your brand by using your marketing materials to allay their concerns.
Here are four common worries women have about technology in healthcare, and ways you can show your target that you’re getting tech right.
Six paths to authentic content and increased engagement
Women are not only the primary decision-makers for healthcare; they’re also more active on social media. Engaging women where they spend their time is crucial to your marketing success. Here are six recommendations for creating a unique and relevant voice on social channels.