Healthcare Marketing: Why Inbound is a Perfect Fit for Healthcare

I’ve talked lately about how healthcare providers can use personalized content to achieve goals of increasing patient engagement and satisfaction; now let’s look at another aspect of the healthcare economy.

(See my earlier healthcare marketing posts: Healthcare Marketing: Think Beyond Brand Awareness and Specialty Healthcare Providers CAN Use Social Media Marketing.)

Healthcare IT, consulting, technology and other B2B enterprises in the healthcare field are a perfect fit for content as well, but even more so when that content is part of a strategic inbound marketing program.

Why Inbound Fits Healthcare B2B Marketing

Healthcare IT, consulting and advanced technology are fields dominated by information and data. This is where inbound marketing can shine, as healthcare organizations seek out reliable information about how to solve their problems.

As decision makers turn online for answers, inbound marketing’s focus on providing usable information at all stages of the buyers’ journey, from awareness to consideration and comparison, naturally sets up the opportunity to develop a sense of authority on the industry.

While marketing for healthcare providers is focused toward individual consumers, marketing to healthcare providers means speaking the language of the CFO, CIO and CEO. Create content such as blog posts and downloadable assets that address the business concerns of healthcare organizations: improving the bottom line, through benefits such as increased payment collection or enhanced efficiency.

With lead nurturing workflows, your automated marketing can gradually feed leads in the healthcare industry useful advice and additional information about your solutions through the use of ebooks, tip sheets, templates, calculators, case studies and testimonials. (See how healthcare management consulting firm Primaris used inbound marketing and HubSpot to launch an online lead generation engine in this blog post.)

What Makes Healthcare B2B Marketing Unique

Much of marketing to healthcare providers mirrors any other B2B marketing approach, but there are unique characteristics of the healthcare industry you should always keep in mind as you develop content.

First, it is still healthcare. No matter how business-focused the executive team may be, many of them were attracted to the industry because of an interest in the health of others. Remember that you are reaching out to professionals who are not just in the business of making a profit, but also in the business of healing.

Second, keep in mind that patient behavior impacts healthcare provider success. When patients fail to follow treatment plans, don’t keep up on payments, or leave because they aren’t completely satisfied with their care, it has a direct impact on providers. Be ready to show how your solution takes patient behavior into account. (Consider this: How Patient Engagement Communications Improves Healthcare Revenues.)

Finally, healthcare is highly-regulated with rapid changes to those regulations. Today’s healthcare environment includes a growing set of benchmarks providers must meet to avoid penalties. Focus your content on ways of helping healthcare providers improve their quality measures, for both the health of patients and the health of their bottom line.

Much of what will help you create a B2B inbound marketing plan that resonates with healthcare providers and generates the leads you need relies on how well you or your inbound marketing agency partner understand the nuances of the healthcare industry.

JONES knows healthcare, from healthcare IT to technology advances, management consulting and even consumer health products. Download this package of our Healthcare Marketing Case Studies for a sampling of our success stories and insights.