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3 Tactics Every Healthcare Marketing Plan Must Include

By: Andrea Panno

This article was originally published on Score Association.

Every industry maintains its own set of reliable marketing tactics proven to generate leads, and healthcare is no exception. Specifically, contract research organizations, or CROs, that provide support to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, have amassed general pathways to marketing success through integrated and digital marketing tactics. Known to strike a balance between traditional and progressive approaches to coordinating clinical trials and elevating clinical outcomes, CROs often consult with marketing experts to develop marketing plans that are equally as effective.

In today’s digital-driven marketplace where information is instant, limitless and consumer-centric, there are three marketing tactics that no healthy healthcare marketing plan should be without, including:

1. A Responsive and Interactive Website Presence

Today, a healthcare organization’s first impression lies in the technology, design, user experience and functionality that its website boasts. Indicative of the level of service it will provide its consumers and/or patients, a healthcare organization’s website is an opportunity to be seized. For those dealing in clinical trial performance software, a state-of-the-art website is not just an informational hub, but rather an interactive experience that considers the visitor’s buyer journey, viewing platform and thought process.

Consider deploying a variety of interactive features throughout your website, such as a client portal, software demo and webinar registration forms. Offering educational and digestible information, like explainer videos and infographics, will also help move visitors along the sales cycle. Additionally, a responsive design will ensure an optimal user experience across phones, tablets and desktop devices.

2. A Referral Program for Clients, Partners and Employees

It is no secret that a referral is the best type of lead. This is largely due to the fact that when a lead is referred, they are entering the sales cycle with a positive connotation and trusted testimonial in mind. While it is always a nice surprise to receive a spontaneous referral from a client, it is also important to proactively drive referrals to your organization through partners and employees.

This tactic is particularly effective in healthcare where constituents are united by a common goal: clinical best outcomes. Consider implementing an automated referral program that provides rewards to each audience. An effective program often consists of referral software that accommodates single sign-on (SSO) and integrates with common CRM systems, such as Salesforce. To drive referrals to this hub, utilize your integrated marketing source to tout the program in email blasts, website updates, banner ads, social media platforms and periodic client satisfaction surveys.

3. An Integrated Marketing Source for Web and Lead Drivers

Just as many healthcare organizations are seeking new ways to integrate care coordination, it is also important to integrate your marketing efforts to drive traffic to your website and referral program. Ensure your marketing plan includes the synchronized efforts of web drivers, such as search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM), also known as pay-per-click advertising.

These marketing tactics help ensure your healthcare organization gets found online and thus that your website and referral program are being visited and utilized by partners, employees and of course, prospective clients. If your marketing budget allows, it is also important to pencil-in the integration of public relations, social media and content marketing for reputation management as well as event and email marketing to maintain brand awareness.

The healthcare marketing landscape is unique by nature due to its vast B2B and B2C audiences. For this reason, healthcare marketing planning and implementation is a high priority for healthcare organizations that aim to stand out in the infinitely saturated marketplace. For startups and mid-size companies of course, it is unrealistic to churn out a marketing plan that prioritizes every channel and amasses a marketing budget in the millions. By prioritizing your website, referral program and web drivers, such as SEO and SEM, your healthcare organization will be on the pulse of successful marketing.

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