A Fresh Look at the 7 Ps of Healthcare Marketing
How to revisit the fundamentals of medical marketing and
discover opportunities for success
A regular and pragmatic medical marketing self-examination
can be revealing, positive, negative and ultimately, extremely
valuable in keeping your healthcare marketing plan operating
at peak performance. Here's how to approach each of the seven
classic fundamentals.
Read any Marketing 101 textbook and you'll find a list of
the basic analysis elements of marketing mix: The
7 Ps of Marketing—PEOPLE, PRODUCT, PRICE,
PROMOTION, PLACE, PACKAGING, and POSITIONING.
These are foundation elements for successful marketing. And
because they change quickly—especially in healthcare marketing—examine
each of these regularly, with fresh eyes, to sustain maximum
marketing results.
Older texts listed only four elements; then there were five;
and now seven. We felt it was time to revisit the list, and
offer a fresh look at each for healthcare marketing.
You'll find that some of these categories overlap. Better
that you look twice at something than to not notice a problem
at all. This is an exercise in self-examination, so keep an
open mind to both the good and the bad.
And keep in mind that our comments here are idea starters.
Your situation will be unique for hospital marketing and advertising,
for a specialized group practice marketing, for a healthcare
organization, and/or for different medical professions and
healthcare practices.
People
The patients, clients, customers, prospective
patients, providers, staff, management - everyone - involved
in the healthcare organization, facility, or practice.
Surprisingly, this heading wasn't one of the four original
Marketing Ps. (What were they thinking?) Above all else, healthcare
is a people business—so it's first on our list.
The people who deliver a service are a significant ingredient
in the product itself. Consumers evaluate service and satisfaction
based on perceptions and personal interactions. A patient
doesn't have much insight to a physician's clinical skills,
but they will know if they are pleased based on dealt with
them as a person. Your reputation and your brand are not yours
alone—it's a matter of teamwork.
ASK YOURSELF: Have the people (demographics,
psychographics, geographic) we served changed? Do we have
the right staff people in the right positions to serve the
people we see? Do they have the right training, experience
or other skills needed? Do they know what's expected?
Product
Presenting the correct product (goods and/or
services) with values that meet or exceed the needs and expectations
of the target market.
When was the last time you took an unbiased and critical
look at yourself—products, service, value proposition, facility—the
works? For a toothpaste company, the "product" is
a box on the store shelf. But the product for service organizations
is usually defined in terms of personal happiness: less tangible
than a pretty box and not easily quantified.
The primary determinant is in knowing that customers perceive
and receive value and satisfaction by way of your healthcare
practice or organization.
ASK YOURSELF: Does the current product,
service, or product mix answer the needs of the customers?
Do they deliver significant value? Are they properly presented?
How do they compare and distinguish their value above the
competition? What should be changed or added? Is there a product
or service that you could offer that answers a need of the
target audience?
Price
The amount paid in exchange for the value received.
Price must be competitive and lead to profit, but may vary
within promotional and/or bundle purchase options.
Price is a toughie in the healthcare industry. Sometimes
there are few or no options: Price is what it is, or maybe
it's paid through an individual's insurance. Elective care
or cosmetic procedures, of course, are a different animal.
Anywhere in this spectrum, price is also a function of value,
competition in the marketplace, and affordability. Take a
serious look at those areas where there is flexibility, and
be open to adjusting prices.
ASK YOURSELF: Is perceived and delivered
value in line with price? Are prices connected to the realities
of the marketplace, including competition, economic environment,
etc.? Do I need to raise or lower prices selectively, add
value to current prices, or eliminate specific services? What
affordability options do we offer, such as patient financing,
special offers, or product mix?
Promotion
The many and various forms of communicating with
the target audience to effectively present benefits, answer
needs and inspire action.
For this list, it's convenient that Promotion begins with
a P, but some healthcare professionals react negatively to
the "retail" or "blue-light-special" connotation.
A better label for this category is communications, meaning
all the direct and indirect ways of expressing yourself (your
practice, your brand, your services) to those who need and
want your services.
This includes both personal or direct interaction (one-to-one,
inspiring referrals), and interacting with many (advertising,
public relations, publicity). In all instances, this is done
in a professional way. The objective is to critically examine
how, where and when you let others know about what you can
do for them. (And those in need want this information.)
This is also where you consider changes in the media that's
in play. A few years ago, nobody had a website. And a few
moments ago, Social Media Marketing had yet to be invented.
Some newspapers have disappeared or gone online only. Magazines
and other publications, online and in print, adjust to capture
audiences.
ASK YOURSELF: What's playing on all
my communications channels? Is it the right message? Is it
being seen and heard by the right audience? Does the message
need to be revised...the volume increased...the presentation
refreshed? Am I sticking to my Marketing Plan, measuring results,
and making adjustments? What new marketing approaches, strategies
and/or media are available and need to be considered?
Place
Presenting products or services to the customer
(patient, client, end-user) in the right place and at the
right time.
The most obvious "place" is the office, facility,
SurgiCenter—where the product meets the user. In healthcare,
the place for purchase decision is often separate from where
and when product/service is delivered. Keep this spectrum
in mind...a change in location can impact the decision to
buy. And it's likely that more than one "place"
is involved when there are multiple providers in the practice
and/or multiple offices.
(Importantly, place can also refer to your marketplace demographics,
or even the world if you deliver services over the Internet.)
ASK YOURSELF: What's the ideal place
or location to offer or provide your products/services? Do
different locations require different approaches or presentations?
How does the end-user get the necessary information to reach
a buying decision? Are there other or additional places (locations)
where your products/services should be offered?
Packaging
What the customer perceives and experiences about
you, your product/service—tangible and intangible—in every
form of visual contact. (Sometimes "Physical" or
"Physical Evidence.")
This is not only the hands-on, physical container of a physical
product...the definition is also experiential, and often more
so for healthcare marketing. Look at this through the end-user's
window, and everything counts. Take a fresh look—as if for
the first time—at the appearance of the physical office or
location, the impression of your reception area, the look
and feel of brochures and website, and even the appearance
of staff.
Some doctors never walk through the front door of their own
office. Try it. You might be surprised to see what patients
are seeing as they form their first impressions. (First impressions
take about 10 seconds to form...and you've only got one shot
at it.)
Packaging can also refer to how you bundle services (think
of a plastic surgeon offering a "mommy makeover"
—lipo and tummy tuck—for moms who have finished having
children).
ASK YOURSELF: What does a new patient
see and feel? Will the first impression exceed expectations?
What would "secret shopper" discover and report
to me? How do new patients describe their experience to others-good,
bad, or ordinary? Does the packaging create an impression
of confidence? What changes—large or small—would engender
trust? How can I bundle our services?
Positioning
How your brand, product or service is perceived
in the hearts and minds of customers and prospective customers.
Positioning means, "Why you?" Another toughie.
Think of positioning as what you would want people—both patients
and prospective patients or customers—to say about you? Would
they use the same words that are part of your marketing message?
Acknowledged experts in positioning, authors Reis and Trout,
say that what your customers think and say about you is an
absolute critical success factor. And that saw cuts in both
directions—positively and negatively.
ASK YOURSELF: What is the specific message
that you want others to use in describing you, what you do,
and your hospital, facility, business or practice? Is there
a gap between perception and reality-your perception or intent
and what people think and feel? Where does your positioning
and marketing message need adjustment? Has your positioning
changed; has your message changed; has your audience changed?
We'd be happy to keep this conversation going with you and
to dig deeper on the specifics of your situation. Please give
us a call today at today at (800) 656-0907, or
visit with us in person at one of our Healthcare Marketing
Seminars.
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