When you are looking for a marketing partner to help craft or carry out your healthcare marketing strategic plan, what’s the first thing you take into account? Hint: it should be marketing experience within the industry.
While every industry has unique aspects that are best navigated with experience, healthcare is particularly sensitive. Marketers in this sphere must handle all of the usual aspects of marketing challenges, including audience research and targeting; data collection and analysis; and the creation and distribution of marketing collateral. But on top of that, healthcare marketing touches on issues of policy, privacy and sensitivity that marketers need to be aware of before embarking on a new project.
Government policies greatly impact healthcare marketing, and not just in areas of privacy, which we’ll explore in a moment. The shifting landscape of health insurance, for example, changes who has access to what types of care and where they are looking for it. Decisions by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) impact the availability and cost of treatments, including whether they are available over-the-counter or require a doctor’s prescription—important things for any marketer to keep in mind when considering how to nurture a lead down the marketing funnel. In some cases, laws regarding health procedures and the availability of medication vary by state, and this is another area an experienced healthcare marketing partner can help you navigate smoothly.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) limits how certain protected health information can be used for marketing purposes. A marketer without experience in healthcare marketing may get by with learning how to comply with HIPAA in their content, but an experienced healthcare marketer can help optimize content, develop collateral and further your goals without coming near a HIPAA violation. What’s more, they know when and what authorizations may be necessary for particular marketing activities, and keep up-to-date on any changes in regulation.
You certainly don’t want your audience to feel that you are taking advantage of their health concerns or are in any way talking down to people who live with certain health conditions. A marketing firm that specializes in healthcare is experienced in striking the fine balance of illustrating why people need your services while respecting these concerns.
Experienced healthcare marketers know the preferred and resonant terminology for various health needs, and know how to do the research to determine those things in specific areas where they don’t. Marketing firms who are well-versed in healthcare know the messages that resonate with consumers, from concerns about the cost of care to a focus on its outcomes.
Are you looking for a marketing firm that can bring healthcare expertise to your organization? Give Movéo a call today. Contact us today.
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