9 Biggest Trends in Healthcare Marketing In 2024
- Admin
- 05 December, 2023
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It is a common misconception that healthcare institutions do not need to market themselves. People assume that these organizations need not put their word out in the market to attract attention. However, this is far from reality. Like any other industry operating across the globe, the healthcare sector needs marketing to generate sufficient revenue. Doctors and hospitals need to spread their word to inform the public about their services and how they can tackle specific illnesses.
However, healthcare marketing is a little different from conventional marketing. Conventional marketing often involves brands asking their audiences (directly or indirectly) to purchase their products or services. Naturally, no healthcare institution can ask its target audience to fall ill and seek its services! Considering this, healthcare marketing revolves around highlighting the services, faculty, and expertise of a concerned institution to let people in need seek its help. It is a tricky art of reaching your audience and staying ahead of the curve without a direct invitation.
Over time, the need for healthcare marketing has significantly increased. As the competition among hospitals and doctors increases, it becomes necessary for them to attract more cases to keep their ventures afloat. It is also important for healthcare providers to stay in tune with the healthcare trends 2024 has in store for them. With digitization taking over traditional marketing practices and AI entering the mainstream, healthcare marketers need to stay on their toes to create their niche in the industry.
If you are planning to grow your healthcare institution and stand out from the clutter this year, here are a few trends in healthcare marketing in 2024 that you should be aware of:
In 2024, telehealth is no longer limited to making phone calls to doctors. It has moved on and accommodated new media to connect patients with doctors. Modern services like Doctor on Call allow doctors to offer personalized consultations to their patients irrespective of their locations. Today, all you need is a good internet connection and a device with a camera to obtain extensive consultations.
Such telehealth and virtual care services are becoming highlights of healthcare marketing campaigns worldwide. In the years to follow, healthcare institutions are likely to bank on these services to attract their target audiences and offer personalized medical care. It is one of many ways of getting on the digital bandwagon and reaching every patient’s home through new media channels.
Patients in 2024 do not want generalized consultations and medical care. They want their doctors to offer personalized help, even if it involves basic medical care. The new marketing trend of personalized patient engagement involves marketers focusing on the tailor-made healthcare services offered by doctors and their staff.
Thanks to digitization, hospitals have significantly improved their patient care through electronic health records (EHRs). These records grant hospital staff comprehensive access to vital patient information, facilitating personalized care journeys from admission to discharge. Additionally, this digital advancement has paved the way for extending quality healthcare beyond hospital walls. With the integration of home nursing services, patients now have the opportunity to receive dedicated and continuous care in the comfort of their homes. This seamless transition from hospital to home ensures a holistic approach to recovery, enhancing patient well-being and promoting a smoother healing process.
AI chatbots are prevalent in multiple industries, helping users obtain necessary information within seconds. In 2024, their use in the healthcare sector is bound to increase. Healthcare chatbots allow patients and their loved ones to obtain all necessary information about the ongoing treatment or the concerned health condition in general. Instead of looking for a doctor or their staff to answer all questions, these chatbots give the answers a patient seeks.
AI-powered healthcare chatbots can be incorporated into the custom software applications created by doctors and healthcare institutions to help their patients. Mimicking human conversations, these tools can resolve basic patient queries and help them obtain relevant information without making them wait. Most healthcare institutions will highlight these chatbots in their marketing campaigns throughout 2024.
Custom software applications have already become a norm in several industries. They are now entering the healthcare sector, allowing doctors and wellness experts to reach their audience. Irrespective of their location, doctors can now reach their patients through customized applications. Many hospitals have their own apps designed specifically for their patients (and their loved ones). These apps become a singular point of reference for every patient’s journey to recovery.
Along with doctors and hospitals, wellness experts like dieticians and physical therapists are also building software applications to enhance their reach. Through these applications, they connect with their clients and offer personalized services. Often obtained along with (or after) medical treatments, these services ensure a patient’s holistic recovery. Adding such applications to a healthcare marketing campaign will definitely give you leads in 2024.
As it is not feasible for most healthcare providers to directly invite their target audience, they often resort to content marketing for health education. Especially in a country like India, not many people are well-informed about certain health conditions and their remedies. The two catastrophic COVID waves made us understand the importance of healthcare education in the country.
As a marketing tool, healthcare institutions have started imparting health education to the public. New media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn carry rich information about several illnesses, the stigma around them, and the ways of tackling them. Doctors often follow such information up with a call-to-action, generating quality leads.
Such content marketing is already working its charm and is likely to continue in 2024 as an attempt to increase reach while educating the public.
We live in a world where many social media influencers have attained statuses higher than most mainstream celebrities. Riding the influencer wave has helped several brands make it big in the market. Moreover, platforms like Instagram and YouTube have turned many doctors and wellness experts into reputed influencers.
In 2024, healthcare institutions can benefit from influencer marketing in two major waves. The first way is taking the conventional route of bringing a popular social media influencer on board. Partnering with an influencer with a massive fan base is bound to help a doctor or a healthcare institution attract target audiences.
The second route a healthcare institution can take is turning its professionals into influencers. Healthcare influencers are already amassing a plethora of followers and this wave is likely to continue in 2024. Either way, social media following can never let a healthcare marketing campaign down!
In the age of digitization, the need for secure data management is high. Healthcare institutions often deal with highly sensitive records that need to be kept private. The last thing a patient and their loved ones need is unwanted data leaks and compromised data security. Considering this, one of the best ways to market your healthcare services is to ensure ethical data use and complete privacy.
Over the last few years, ethical use of healthcare records has emerged as a healthcare marketing trend. Doctors and hospitals are going out of their way to convince their audience about the security of the information they share. Details like medical reports and health assessments need high security to build a relationship of trust with patients.
2024 will make even more doctors and healthcare institutions disclose the data regulations and laws they follow while handling their patients’ healthcare records. This will play an important role in spreading their word and giving much-needed assurance to the public.
Just like business organizations indulge in CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities, healthcare institutions take up community health initiatives (CHIs) to give back to society. These activities are intended to promote the holistic well-being of a community without the ulterior motive of earning profits. From organizing free health checks to inviting esteemed healthcare professionals to educate the public, such initiatives often revolve around a specific cause of community.
Community health initiatives often act as potent marketing tools that put a healthcare institution or doctor on the map. They are effective means of building a positive brand image and generating quality leads.
The healthcare sector is slowly moving ahead of artificial intelligence, venturing into technologies like alternate reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). Software tools equipped with these technologies create virtual scenarios that bridge the geographical gap between a patient and a doctor. Implementing these tools in one’s healthcare services enhances medical care (especially for remote patients) and becomes a strong USP for healthcare marketing campaigns.
In addition to our remote services, Docville understands the importance of accessible physical medical facilities. We're working diligently to integrate a Doctor clinic near me feature into our platform, allowing users to locate and access nearby clinics or healthcare centers for in-person consultations or immediate care needs. This enhancement will further broaden our commitment to providing comprehensive healthcare solutions, catering to both remote and physical medical requirements.
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