Healthcare marketing promotes products and services in the healthcare industry, including practitioners, facilities, procedures, and devices. It can be used as an educational tool but must be developed sensitively to avoid invading privacy. Marketing can take various forms, but false claims are regulated to protect consumers.
Healthcare marketing is a form of marketing tailored to the needs of the healthcare industry. Like other forms of marketing, it is used to build an image of a product or service and to develop a loyal customer base. Companies specializing in healthcare marketing offer a range of services and some companies active in the healthcare sector have their own advertising departments to handle their promotional needs.
The healthcare industry presents a number of choices to consumers. Marketing that influences these choices can lead consumers to particular products, services or suppliers. Healthcare marketing can be used to market individual practitioners, facilities, procedures, or devices. It can also be used as an educational tool to provide patients with information about their rights and to educate people about medical issues that may be of interest.
Healthcare marketing campaigns need to be developed sensitively. Health is viewed by many people as a personal matter and marketing that strikes the wrong tone can be rejected by consumers. This is especially true in the case of targeted marketing. Consumers may feel that their privacy is being invaded if, for example, they receive marketing that is delivered due to recent health care purchases. Companies developing healthcare advertising campaigns take special care to familiarize themselves with the demographics they intend to appeal to and develop a campaign that will be engaging and interesting without feeling invasive.
Healthcare marketing includes print ads in magazines and newspapers, billboards, bus shelter signs, radio advertising, and television commercials. It may also include managing a brand’s image through the use of press releases, press conferences, and other media events. Depending on the company and product, marketing can be designed to set a variety of tones, ranging from those that might appeal to young consumers to those aimed at people with embarrassing medical problems.
There is some controversy surrounding health care marketing. Some governments limit the type of marketing companies allowed out of concern that certain types of products should not be marketed directly to consumers. Other nations adopt a more relaxed regulatory stance, but will crack down on false claims in healthcare marketing. Such claims can be harmful to healthcare consumers as they may find it difficult to evaluate them as they lack access to scientific studies and other information that can be used to evaluate a claim based on the facts.
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