MARKET RESEARCH AND SEGMENTATION (SLP)

Running Head: MARKETING 1

MARKETING 7

Marketing

Shaneya Acker

Dr. Eric Oestmann

MHM 525

Trident University International

March 17, 2019

Healthcare Marketing

Challenges in healthcare marketing

There are several challenges associated with healthcare marketing; however, there are two that can be stated to be universal. One of those challenges is it is hard to collect data and use data for marketing purposes in the health sector without coming close to breaching privacy right if not breaching them (Orchard, 2015). For effective marketing more so in this era, the more data a marketer has on a potential customer, the more likely they are to convert the potential customer or client to an actual customer; data mining is part and parcel of effective marketing. However, with restricted access to patient data healthcare marketers are put in a tight fix that is really hard to wiggle out of. Healthcare markets are unable to come up with products or effective channels through which they can carry out personalized marketing to attract as many customers as possible.

To make matters worse, data in the healthcare sector is highly fragmented; there is no single data housing point for healthcare data more so data on patients. The healthcare sector is lagging behind when compared to other sectors as far as offering joined up data and this is also linked to the data privacy concerns mentioned in the first paragraph (Jaworski, Malcolm & Morgan, 2016). Very few health institutions are willing to join other health institutions to share data on their patients and as a result, there happens to be a lot of data on patients that can be vital for health marketing, however, the data is spread all over the place. Just as mentioned earlier, the lack of such data makes personalized healthcare marketing close to impossible.

The second challenge that healthcare markets face is pegged on the fact that healthcare are “grudge purchases” or unwanted purchase. It is normally easy to market products are services that are desired by people but hard if not impossible to market unwanted products or services (Thomas, 2014). Most of the time until recently people went to hospitals and healthcare institutions when and only there was a need; only when their health status was jeopardized. Dealing with such a hand played, health marketers find it extremely difficult to market healthcare products and services unless to unhealthy people of society.

The relationship of the identified challenges in health care marketing and the 4 Ps and the 4 Cs of marketing

The first challenge mentioned in healthcare marketing is greatly affected by one of the 4Ps of marketing. It is greatly affected when it comes to promotion. Within the framework of 4Ps of marketing, promotion refers mainly to marketing communications and in this case, marketing communication refers to the use of communication channels such as email marketing, social media marketing, direct marketing and advertising amongst other channels. Bearing in mind healthcare marketers have limited access to potential customers data collected from healthcare centers it is very hard for them to use effective promotional strategies that will yield the best results for a healthcare organization; attract as many customers as possible.

For the second challenge, the P that greatly affects it is the place P of 4 Ps of marketing. in relation to the limited access to patient data without breach of privacy rights it is close to impossible for healthcare markets to answer the three main questions that guide the Place P of the 4ps of marketing; where are the target customers shopping? How are they identifying places that they can get the services that they need? Are they shopping for similar services in different places?

The health sector offers many products and services however with limited access to customer data it is impossible to come up with an effective marketing strategy that meets the consumer needs and wants, one of the 4 Cs of marketing. Just as mentioned in promotion P of the 4 Ps of marketing the communication C of 4cs of marketing is greatly affected by the lack of access of data to make effective communication about the products offered by a health institution (Whats and Hows, 2016).

Trends that will help in dealing with challenges in healthcare marketing

There are three trends in healthcare marketing that may help the identified challenges in healthcare marketing. One of those trends is the use of social media and the internet by potential customers to gather as much information as possible on health conditions and health facilities. For the issue of not having a proper promotion or communication model to customers due to data constraints, the use of social media platforms offers a way out of the challenge.

Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, and LinkedIn offer various ways through which healthcare marketers can collect as much data as possible on potential or target customers without breaching privacy rules. One way through which health care markets can leverage on social media to data mine as much as possible is the launching of interesting health surveys (Lim, 2016). The surveys will help to lock down potential customers, identifying services that are in great demand and identifying ways through which services can be administered in a manner that best appeals to the target market.

Social media platforms offer an avenue through which users can offer a lot of their private information with little to nil pushing. If healthcare marketers can know how to best push for information from potential users without seeming intrusive then they can collect as much data as possible to help in their marketing strategies. For example, healthcare marketers and even healthcare institutions can start hashtags using their social media platforms. The hashtags will give an opportunity to potential clients to share their views on certain health issues and through that data which can be used for targeting potential customers can be collected.

The last fifteen years have seen a lot of changes in the typical patient or health care consumer. People are moving from just visiting healthcare institutions just for health issues but are visiting health care institutions for wellness desires or issues (Resnick, 2017). Unlike in the past, people are going to healthcare centers and hospitals to seek information on practices that can ensure that they live longer and healthier. The above-mentioned trend is a trend that can really come in handy in assisting to market healthcare services and this is because healthcare services are moving from “unwanted services” or “grudge purchases” to desired purchases and even luxurious purchases or services.

Healthcare marketers can leverage on the trend by identifying the services that are in great demand and this is also pegged to another trend in the healthcare sector; customers are willing to spend a lot on value (Smith & Jones, 2017). Customers of all industries of our era are ever willing to spend extra on services and products that they find valuable and the healthcare sector is not an exception. It is common knowledge that healthcare centers and hospitals that offer good customer experience more often than not have more customers lining up to get services from the centers as compared to healthcare centers and hospitals that do not offer exceptional customer service. Healthcare marketers can leverage the above trends by using marketing strategies that sell healthcare services as desirable and luxurious services instead of grudge purchases.

References

Jaworski, B., Malcolm, R., & Morgan, N. (2016). 7 big problems in the marketing industry. American Marketing Association. Retrieved from https://www.ama.org/publications/MarketingNews/Pages/7-big-problems-marketing.aspx

Lim, W. M. (2016). Social media in medical and health care: opportunities and challenges. Marketing intelligence & planning, 34(7), 964-976.

Orchard, C. (2015). 8 challenges to customer-driven healthcare. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ecpe/8-challenges-to-customer-driven-health-care/

Resnick. L.R. (2017). Six healthcare marketing trends for 2018. Managed Healthcare Executive. Retrieved from http://managedhealthcareexecutive.modernmedicine.com/managed-healthcare-executive/news/six-healthcare-marketing-trends-2018

Smith & Jones. (2017). 2018 healthcare marketing trends and playbook: Eight emerging trends and how you can leverage them now. Retrieved from https://smithandjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SJ-1390-2018-Trends-Playbook_lres-1.pdf

Thomas, R. K. (2014). Marketing Healthcare Services. Chicago: Health Administration Press.

Whats and Hows. (2016). What is the Marketing Mix – The 4Ps & 4Cs. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MQS-75K2ZM