[The first of two articles.]
Where were you and what were you doing five years ago? Four years ago?
As recently as 36 months ago, many doctors and hospitals were working from a “traditional” marketing playbook. And for the time, by intent or oversight, it seemed that it was “good enough” for marketing, advertising and public relations to reside on a secondary (sometimes tertiary) agenda of business priorities.
That was then. This is now.
Take a quiet moment to consider the near-constant dynamics of healthcare and the upheaval in the nation’s healthcare delivery system. The former, “adequate-is-OK” attitude about business and marketing was faulty in the first place, and what’s required now—today—is nothing short of a total reassessment.
Here are four big reasons why it’s time to rethink everything you think you know about healthcare marketing:
Healthcare providers have not kept pace with the public (or other service industries) in the effective use of Internet marketing and advertising, patient-provider communications, appointment scheduling, billing, health records, and the sophisticated use of websites, blogs and social media tools.
Rethinking everything you think you know about healthcare marketing means challenging all previous assumptions and former definitions. Our second article on this topic helps plan strategies and tactics that capture opportunity in healthcare marketing.
Marketing a healthcare organization can be challenging - even painful if you don't approach it with the right knowledge, tools, and guidance. By reading about mistakes and lessons others have learned the hard way, you can boost your marketing effectiveness and take a shortcut to success. Discover how to avoid these "Seven Deadly Sins". Plus, join over 30,000 of your fellow healthcare providers with a free subscription to our Insight Newsletter.