Three Things We Know About Marketing for the Healthcare Industry

Marketing within the healthcare industry takes a nuanced, strategic approach in part due to the regulations that govern healthcare marketing in general but also due to the complexity of the audiences, subject matter and pain points. Based on our experience, we know the “sales cycle” in the healthcare industry takes time, content marketing is a must and technology is the industry’s golden child at the moment. 

Industry statistics back up those anecdotal points, including:

• 47% of healthcare organizations expect to expand their use of technology in the coming years.
• About 20% of B2B healthcare sales take a year to close, while just 43% close within six months.
• Only 58% of healthcare marketers are using blogs as part of a content marketing strategy.

Successful healthcare marketing, be it for a service, a product or an organization, relies on a true understanding of pain points and an ability to leverage that understanding in ways that move prospects through the conversion process to ultimately become clients. Here are a few ways to make that happen..

1. Segment healthcare marketing campaigns. As with most industries, the healthcare industry has multiple audiences dealing with a variety of pain points. And even if two different audiences have the same pain point, they could experience it differently. That’s why it’s important to segment marketing campaigns based on audience, be it B2B or B2C. The messaging, the tone and the CTA could all change based on the target audience. And since healthcare is personal, the messaging should reflect that. When it does, we’ve seen improved outcomes in the form of increased conversions for healthcare clients across the staffing, technology, care delivery and education sectors.

2. Initiate healthcare marketing campaigns based on data. Content marketing campaigns reveal a wealth of insights, and those insights should be used to drive future strategy. Healthcare marketers should take note, for example, on whether a 10-step or a three-step campaign receives better engagement or which asset — a blog, brochure or whitepaper — performs better over the course of a campaign or several campaigns. Testing, and performance analysis, should guide a future tactical approach. And when they do, it shows.

3. Consider needs-based marketing. In the healthcare industry, the landscape can change quickly. The COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example of how quickly needs can change, from equipment to staffing to treatment to the entire delivery of care. When needs change, messaging should, too. By leveraging a solution to a known need for a specific audience, we’ve seen clients expand their reach, improve their sales pipeline and close deals that may not have been available previously. Look no further than the telehealth industry for its ability to capitalize on a known need to grow by more than 4,000% from one month to the next during the height of the pandemic.

Interested in learning more? Request a case study on one of our healthcare clients. We’d love to go over with you what we did for them and show you how the results of our strategic marketing campaigns improved their success.