Digitalization has shaped the healthcare industry in recent years and is here to innovate, revolutionize and make our lives better. Digitalization is shaping the healthcare industry by introducing new digital solutions to help address numerous issues and to ease healthcare providers’ job.
Digital technologies have completely transformed the way in which healthcare services providers interact with patients and today we will talk about the importance of marketing in the healthcare industry.
Healthcare marketing refers to a strategic process that combines both outreach and communication, it’s designed to attract, retain and guide patients through their healthcare journey, and keep them engaged in the process.
Healthcare marketing, when done properly can help a medical practice keep patients hooked with relevant, personalized and interesting information, retain patients long-term, improve loyalty and increase strategic advantage in this increasingly competitive market.
Healthcare providers are now able to develop effective strategies for attracting specific groups of people to certain medical products and services. Market research can approach demographics by viewing a consumer group and its behavior with respect to a certain product of type of service.
Create loyal customers with the help of data
An important part of the way that the healthcare industry carries itself is data. Huge amounts of it, that needs to be stored, transferred, viewed, and easily accessed. Data collected from patients and usually stored in an EMR (electronic medical record) includes: demographics (gender, address, phone number, e-mail address, ethnicity, insurance information, marital status, employment status, employer and occupation), medical patient history, laboratory data, radiology reports etc.
With the help of this type of information, healthcare providers can offer an advanced level of service and a personalized experience.
Targeting customers based on demographic information
Now it’s easier than ever to target a certain type of customer with the help of data. You can create different targeted campaigns by sorting the information at hand by segmenting the data based on age, income, location, gender and then sending the customers targeted messages based on their interest.
Let’s say, in our case, for an ophthalmology practice, we have to craft different messages for patients of different age groups. In the case of a younger age group, we could promote a message related to eye problems following extended periods of time in front of blue screens, whereas in the case of an older age group, we can provide relevant information related to cataract surgery. We can also segment them based on occupation and income and serve different messages based on these demographics.
Make use of email and SMS marketing
Email marketing and SMS campaigns have proved to be extremely efficient in communicating with the customers. Also, based on the information already available at hand, these types of campaigns can be personalized. Consumer segmentation is a useful tool for driving specificity and efficiency in targeting. These types of campaigns can be performed in a variety of types, we have newsletters, educational content, new product launches, services, offers, referrals and so on. Don’t forget to make use also of the SMS features and use it to send appointment reminders, anniversary messages, order confirmations etc.
Conclusion
Healthcare organizations of all types are starting to see how marketing can help them achieve their business and clinical goals. This translates into increased revenue, market share, patient loyalty and improved health outcomes.
The healthcare industry can now benefit from a variety of software solutions, that make scheduling appointments, communicating with patients and promoting its services to a wider audience an easy task. Software companies provide services that also ease employee management, financial procedures, and communication. Processes are optimized, security is strengthened, and the medical staff is more organized, due to the digitized system.