Marketing and Innovation: 15 Success Tips for Healthcare

How important are marketing and innovation to your healthcare business success?

Well, consider this quote from world-renowned management guru Peter Drucker:

“Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two — and only two — basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.”

Marketing and Innovation in Healthcare

Marketing and innovation are no less important in the healthcare industry than in other industries. In fact, a strong argument could be made that these are more important in healthcare than in many other industries.

Healthcare providers (physicians and health systems) need look no further than their colleagues in the most lucrative healthcare entities in the world: pharmaceutical companies. For these companies, marketing and innovation are truly everything that matters.

So why should healthcare provider organizations view these priorities any differently? It’s not just a monetary question; healthcare marketing and healthcare innovation are essential to your long-term growth and, in some cases, even your survival.

Marketing and Innovation Must Work Together

Innovation is really the first requirement. Even the best marketing is only as effective as the differentiated, discernible quality and added-value of your “product.”

Marketing consists of the business tools that are available for you to use to effectively communicate your unique, superior and innovative value.

Neither really works without the other. If you are truly unique and innovative but you can’t or don’t tell you story powerfully and effectively, your innovation will languish. If you have a “me too” product that isn’t really innovative or unique, the best marketing will still not save the day.

Innovation in Healthcare

There are many ways that a healthcare organization can innovate. Here are just a few:

Offer a new technology that your competitors don’t have
Create a new, more effective process for delivery of a healthcare service
Develop a new and superior protocol for optimal patient experience
Conduct innovative research and publish results
Introduce a healthcare product, service or service line that is not offered by your competitors

Marketing Your Innovations

There are many communication channels to market your innovations, assuming your messaging is compelling and innovative as well.

Your website – communicate each innovation on its own unique landing page on your site but also feature your innovations wherever it makes sense on other pages on your site. Include internal links from your landing page to other appropriate pages on your site.
Videos – create educational videos on each innovation but also create patient testimonial videos from beneficiaries of your innovation. Post on your website, on your YouTube channel, on Instagram and on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Pitch human interest stories to your local media to get articles and interviews. Local media outlets always want to promote new innovations available in their communities.
Author search-optimized articles and blog posts on each innovation – use on-page and off-page SEO techniques
Record podcast interviews on each innovation – promote via social media and on your website; also create YouTube video from the audio of your podcast (unless it’s already a video podcast to begin with)
Create and run innovative ads on your healthcare innovation in local media (traditional and online media)
Promote your innovation to affiliated, employed and referring physicians – use email, collateral, case studies and lunch-and-learn presentations delivered by your physician liaison
Promote your innovation to your patients through your email marketing
Promote your innovation to your patients when they are in your facility through signage and word-of-mouth conversations
Get patients who have benefitted from your innovation to post a positive review online about their experience and your innovative value to them