When it comes to marketing firms that serve healthcare clients, all things are not created equal. From understanding the nuanced needs and preferences of healthcare consumers to navigating the potential of tech-enablement and the impact of smart strategies, choosing the right marketing partner is imperative for success.
Here are four important qualities to look for in your search for exceptional marketing support:
1. Your ideal marketing partner will specialize exclusively in healthcare. Many agencies claim to offer the level of specialization you need, but in reality, very few are dedicated solely to the health industry. When you have a partner who can authentically say healthcare marketing is ALL they do, you have a partner with an in-depth understanding of all your challenges – and all your opportunities.
This type of partner will bring you unparalleled advantages. They excel at staying on top of new and emerging trends in the constantly evolving healthcare landscape – and advertising landscape – to ensure your marketing efforts are on target for greater consumer engagement and better ROI. They will be keenly familiar with the best media outlets for your communications, and well-versed in pertinent industry regulations to avoid non-compliance in areas like HIPAA (such as pixel tracking vis-à-vis patient privacy), ADA, CMS-related marketing and others.
2. Look for a full-service agency – a partner with demonstrable expertise in all aspects of healthcare marketing, branding and advertising. Having multiple, siloed marketing vendors creates hassles that range from complex billing and budget allocation to disjointed messaging that leads to inconsistent branding. Instead of hiring one vendor for marketing strategy, another for your website, another for media planning, another for creative advertising (and so on), look for an all-in-one partner with the know-how to support you at every step.
A full-service agency will deliver immense value, helping you maximize impact through economies of scale, panoramic strategic insight, simplified project management and more. Plus, you will work with one, unified team of marketing, branding and advertising experts who consider it their shared mission to help you succeed.
3. For ultimate effectiveness, choose a marketing partner who is committed to strategy first. How much market share can you capture with the funds you have? How can you maximize the reach of every marketing dollar? What KPIs should you track? Do you need to make operational changes to support the added volume your marketing campaigns will bring? Are you promoting the services people need and want, and will you deliver experiential excellence when they get there?
Decisions about marketing need to dive deep, so you need a partner who is both data-driven and steadfast about engaging in strategy first. As the framework for making smart decisions, strategy is the foundational, data-driven process by which business goals are defined and road maps to success are created. If your marketing partner equates strategy to a marketing plan or advertisement, they do not operate with a strategy-first ethos.
4. If growth is your goal, make sure your marketing partner shares that goal and infuses it into the work they do for you. Accelerating intelligent, purpose-driven, sustainable growth to serve more people in more personalized ways – that’s the objective behind any successful healthcare organization, so it should also be the goal of any agency partner you choose. Look for a marketing partner with the depth and breadth of expertise to serve as your strategic growth advisor. A partner who will go well beyond conventional marketing to be a catalyst for change – who will harness data and integrated, tech-enabled growth solutions to deliver reliable, transformative results.
Comparing What Agencies Offer
When evaluating potential agencies, it’s crucial to ensure your top choice offers the following:
- Proven capabilities and successes in healthcare marketing strategy as well as tactical execution.
- Transparency and regular communication to keep all stakeholders informed and aligned.
- Commitment to leveraging technology and data to ensure high-quality marketing with measurable results.
- Comprehensive services across all aspects of marketing, branding and advertising, including public relations, crisis communications and more.
At Onspire Health Marketing, we’re building healthier brands across the industry, offering a complete array of marketing services from data-driven strategy through patient experience and beyond. Contact us to learn more about how we are the full-service, healthcare-specialized marketing partner for you.