The Benefits of Medical Marketing

mar ˑ ket ˑ ing | noun | \ˈ mär-kǝ-tiŋ : the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.

Remember the days when coupon mailers and word of mouth once ruled marketing and advertising efforts? It’s evident that a lot of change has occurred over the past few decades, thanks largely in part to the boom of social media and easy, instant access to worldwide information on mobile devices. With the changing times it’s also true that we, as marketers, must also change with the times in order to stay relevant. At McCauley Marketing Services we have a type: healthcare. That’s right, medical marketing is our focus (not our sole focus as we work with wonderful clients outside of the healthcare industry but it’s our niche if you will) and a field of marketing we have come to notice often gets overlooked by the very professionals who make the industry great. Whether you are a provider of medical supplies, a plastic surgeon, dentist, health insurance company, etc., if you’re in the medical field, healthcare marketing strategies should not be underestimated. If you already have a successful plan in place, we applaud your work and hope it continues; if you don’t already have a campaign in place, what are you waiting for? Let’s discuss the benefits of medical marketing and why it’s more relevant than ever!

• Visibility – Google processes over 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide. It perhaps comes as no surprise that it’s one of the first resources potential patients will turn to when looking for healthcare providers. Say you’re a plastic surgeon and a future patient searches the keyword term “plastic surgeons” through Google. Google’s job is to pull up results that will be most relevant to what the person is looking for. This means that it will scour the internet for websites (that contain search engine optimization) that will give them the information they need and only if they deem it relevant. If you don’t have a website (or even if you do and it’s outdated) then how can Google possibly let the patient know you offer the type of service they want? On the flip side, social media is a powerful force in promoting business growth for just about every industry you can think of. Without a presence on popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. you’re missing the chance to connect with future and current patients on a more personal nature, especially the opportunity for them to get to know you.
• Growth & Retention – Growing your patient base also means increasing your business’ profits. The best way to maintain a growing patient base and also retain current patients is by implementing a strong customer relationship management strategy. What we mean by this is having a team in place to monitor the interactions your brand has with patients online by further nurturing a relationship outside of the traditional brick and mortar setting. You want your brand to maintain a positive reputation and if you’re not consistently monitoring the web for customer reviews and online forum mentions then you’re likely to miss the opportunity to address negative feedback in a timely fashion (if these reviews exist) or revise your business’ communication methods, if necessary, to ensure existing and new patients stick around for years to come.
• Freedom – It’s our belief that building trust between healthcare providers and members of their marketing team is essential. The healthcare industry is an extremely niche specialty to begin with and in order to make sure your practice abides by the constantly changing laws, rules, and regulations within the healthcare system (such as HIPAA, health insurance, and other recent changes in the medical industry) having a team that is aware of these intricacies can prove essential in helping to ensure your practice is protected. When entrusting your marketing efforts to a team who specializes in your field, it lets you spend more time focusing on what you do best – your job of taking care of patients.

With any successful marketing strategy it takes time. Since there isn’t a magic formula to marketing and advertising, it takes time to figure out your focus, your goals, and truly evaluate what is working and what isn’t. However, it’s our belief that diligence, dedication, and a healthy dose of teamwork are the first building steps to helping grow your business. If you’re interested in starting the journey to effectively marketing your healthcare business with us, contact McCauley Marketing Services today.  Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ where we offer more tips and marketing strategies and welcome your participation in our discussions!