page 1

SEGMENTING CONSUMERS FOR HEALTHCARE MARKETING

ADAPT YOUR BUSINESS FOR MOBILE MOMENTS

HEALTHCARE MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR 2014

GnuCreationsSEPTEMBER 2014

page 2

WHAT’S INSIDE03 Segmenting Consumers

for Healthcare Marketing

07 Healthcare MarketingStrategies for 2014

11 Adapt Your Businessfor Mobile Moments

page 3

SEGMENTING CONSUMERS FOR HEALTHCARE MARKETINGConsumer segments reveal unique opportunities for healthcare marketing to attract and engage with existing and new clients.

With the onset of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, many new customers are entering the US healthcare system.

As a result, there is a tremendous opportunity for healthcare marketing to acquire new customers and engage with existing ones.

To do this, healthcare companies must have a solid understanding of their customers’ and prospects’ behaviors and needs.

As such, Forrester has created a consumer health-care segmentation to identify unique groups of US consumers as well as their healthcare needs and attitudes.

Below are some highlights from the report, which is based on a survey of more than 4,500 US online consumers:

page 4

Fitness Trackers

Fitness Trackers tend to be young and healthy. The majority agree that their health and wellness are priorities for them, but close to half believe they are so healthy that they don’t need health insurance.

This group represents the highest use of online resources for learning about health problems and treatment options, but below average levels of trust in this information. This means that healthcare marketing has a distinct opportunity and challenge when it comes to reaching this segment.

Healthcare providers should offer content that helps this segment maintain their healthy lifestyle. By offering healthy recipes or effective exercise techniques, healthcare providers can slowly build trust with this group. Moreover, since this group strongly prefers alternative approaches to healthcare, providers should consider offering information on natural therapies.

Health insures should focus on providing this segment with lower cost alternatives or ways to customize their current health plan.

The Invested And Informed

The Invested and Informed have high incomes and are willing to pay more for better care. They also do their homework when it comes to their healthcare. 81%

page 5

are confident of their ability to make the right choices with regard to their health benefits, and seven in 10 consider themselves a health decision-maker for their family or household.

The majority use the Internet to learn about health problems and treatment options and place the highest levels of trust in websites to provide reliable information. This means that healthcare marketing has a great opportunity to reach this segment.

Healthcare providers should offer in-depth content to help this segment make proper healthcare decisions. By providing tips on healthy living, offers for flu shots, and articles about innovative health technologies, healthcare providers and insurers can connect to this important segment.

The Corporate And Content

The Corporate and Content have relatively high average household incomes, but they’re still not willing to pay more for a health plan with better benefits. They also represent the highest share of members covered through a family member’s plan.

This segment is cost-conscious when it comes to healthcare, but is also concerned with improving or maintaining their health. However, only 4 in 10 believe that consumer behavior,

such as unhealthy lifestyles that lead to obesity, have a major influence on costs.

To reach this group, healthcare providers should offer content that demonstrates how a healthy lifestyle, preventive medicine, and wellness programs can lower this group’s healthcare costs.

The Healthy And Subsidized

The Healthy and Subsidized are mostly covered through the government, although a quarter have direct access (i.e., they pay all costs out of pocket). Almost half of them are considered low-income, but only 6% suffer from a chronic or serious condition.

This group relies more on their providers for healthcare information than on online resources. This means that healthcare providers will need to deliver content to this group directly.

That being said, this segment typically follows through with what their doctors recommend and they try to take good care of themselves.

As a result, this group would benefit from content that helps them stay healthy and urges them to visit with their healthcare provider on a annual basis.

page 6

Apathetics

Apathetics are mostly uninsured, but healthy. They have lower incomes and are generally uneducated about their options. They’re the group with the lowest use of health care. Their health doesn’t worry them and they’re not really interested in using online resources to look for information about health problems or treatment options.

However, as government regulations force this group into the healthcare market, providers and insurers must be able to reach them.

To do this, healthcare providers and insur-ers must learn to build trust with this segment through relevant and timely content.

They must focus on educating them about the importance of healthy living and illness prevention. Further, they must demonstrate the benefits, not just financial, of taking responsibil-ity for one’s health and following through with their doctor’s recommendations.

Frugal Patients

Frugal Patients often suffer from a serious or chronic condition. They are the segment most likely to be obese, and they are the oldest. They also consume a lot of medical care. 92% have

visited a doctor’s office in the past year, and 37% have been to the ER.

However, when it comes to health informa-tion they have above average levels of trust in websites, doctors, and health plans and have a high use of online resources. Therefore, health-care marketing has plenty of opportunities to reach and influence this segment.

Healthcare providers should offer in-depth content to help this segment improve their health. They should focus on the basics of healthy living, like eating a healthy diet and being a little more active. They should also educate this group on how to manage chronic conditions and how to avoid further illnesses.

In conclusion, these segments reveal unique opportunities for healthcare marketing to attract and engage with existing and new patients and clients.

While each segment has different views and needs when it comes to healthcare, each can benefit from relevant and timely content.

These segments reveal unique opportunities for healthcare marketing to attract and engage with existing and new patients and clients.

While each segment has different views and needs when it comes to healthcare, each can benefit from relevant and timely content.

page 7

HEALTHCARE MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR 2014Healthcare marketing strategies for 2014 must include content creation, search enginemarketing, responsive design, email and social media.

As the industry becomes more competitive, health-care organizations must adopt new healthcare marketing strategies for 2014.

To accomplish this task, healthcare market-ers will need to reach consumers with relevant content, delve deeper into social media, and implement targeted and carefully integrated marketing campaigns.

How Consumers Are Changing Healthcare Marketing Strategies

The search for information: Consumers are increasingly using online reources to research medical conditions, treatments and healthcare providers. According to Pew Research, 72% of internet users say they looked online for health information within the past year.

page 8

Reliance on new media channels: As patients become less responsive to traditional healthcare advertising, new media channels, such as mobile apps and video, are a growing source of information.

A preference for brands: Because younger consumers relate to healthcare brands, healthcare marketing strategies that focus on customer profiles, key messages, and brand position are gaining traction with consumers.

They value customer experience: Younger patients value prior experiences and often consult social media channels when making healthcare decisions. Monitoring what patients are saying online is integral in attracting and engaging healthcare consumers.

How to Engage Today’s Healthcare Consumers

The internet continues to be the top resource for health information. In 2014, we continue to see steady increases in the volume of web searches for health topics, treatments and healthcare providers.

With consumers so reliant on the internet, it is imperative for healthcare marketers to create relevant content, use search engine optimiza-tion so that consumers can find this content

easily, design their content with mobile devices in mind, and share their content through email and social media.

Content Creation

Content marketing places an emphasis on the audience – who they are and what they are looking for. Healthcare marketers should aim to help the audience by creating content that is valuable and relevant. This means that you will need to research the problems your patients have and offer solutions to their needs.

Your content should reach consumers at every stage of the buyer process. During the awareness stage, consumers are going online to research a specific symptom or problem. Blog posts are particularly effective in the aware-ness stage. During the consideration stage, consumers are researching all of the options to solve their problem. Expert guides and live interactions are most effective in this stage.

During the decision stage, consumers seek out data and endorsements to make a final decision. That’s why referrals and real-life examples are particularly effective here.

Search Engine Marketing

One in three Americans has gone online specifically to learn more about a medical

page 9

condition they or someone they know might have. Most begin with search engines such as Google, Bing or Yahoo. Their search topics include information about specific conditions or diseases, treatment options and healthcare providers.

This means that healthcare marketers must have an effective SEO strategy to bolster web traffic and drive patients to their content.

Responsive Design & Mobile Apps

The use of mobile devices and apps continues to grow, with a large percentage of users searching for health information and tracking their health online.

Healthcare marketers who engage patients with responsive websites and health-tracking applications will have a competitive advantage.

According to Pew Internet, seven in ten US adults have tracked a health indicator using a mobile app. This is another opportunity for hospitals and physician practices to connect with patients using branded content and services.

Email Marketing

Email is an effective channel for delivering nearly all message types, from patient care (49%) and health tips (68%) to seasonal reminders and payment reminders (56%). With email marketing, you can keep your health-care organization stay top-of-mind.

page 10

In addition, email offers the opportunity to nurture patient relationships with advice to help them improve and maintain their overall health.

Social Media

Ninety percent of adults 18-24 years of age said they would trust medical information shared by others in their social media networks (Source: PwC Health Research Institute).

By sharing your content on social media, you can increase the likelihood these young adults will build trust with your healthcare organization.

With healthcare consumers so reliant on the internet, it is imperative that healthcare marketing strategies integrate relevant content with search engine optimization, responsive design, email marketing and social media.

page 11

ADAPT YOUR BUSINESSFOR MOBILE MOMENTSMobile moments are providing companies new ways to connect with customers. Learn how to shift your business to succeed in the new marketplace.

Smartphones and tablets are an integral part of our lives. On average, we look at our smartphone or tablet more than 100 times a day.

With the help of a million apps and 200 million websites, our mobile devices provide countless services to us on a daily basis.

We use Twitter for document sharing, Goog-le maps for finding the best route, YouTube for entertainment, Uber for car services, Yelp for restaurant reviews, OpenTable for booking a table, and so on. With so many services available on our mobile devices, we increasingly expect there to be an app for whatever need we might have.

This creates an enormous opportunity for companies to connect with customers and build brand loyalty.

page 12

How Does the Mobile Mind Shift Affect Your Business?

Every business has an opportunity to connect with people in their mobile moment.

As Ted Schadler, author of Mobile Mind Shift, says, “Mobile moments happen because a specific person has a specific need or want based on who they are, where they are, their past history with a company, maybe even whether it’s raining, and so on. Opportunity arises because you can use the immediate context to connect with someone in that moment of need.”

Schadler goes to say that, “Mobile moments are becoming the battleground for customers’ attention.” If you serve the needs of a customer in that moment of need, you can win their busi-ness and their loyalty.

Thousands of companies are already doing this. Evernote, Square, Uber, and Lose It are just a few examples of companies building substantial businesses by engaging customers in their mobile moments. Their apps are allowing people to take notes, process payments, request a ride to the airport, and succeed at weight loss.

Unless you engage your customers in their mobile moments, someone else will.

How Do You Engage Customers in Their Mobile Moments?

Schadler points out that, “You can’t serve mobile customers effectively until you undergo your own mobile mind shift.”

In order to effectively reach people in their mobile moments, you must make shifts in every facet of your organization.

Marketing shift: Mobile customers judge brands based on how useful they are. As a result, you must focus on building a relationship with your customers and increasing the quality and frequency of your customer experiences. Clorox does this with its myStain app. Whether you’re at home or on the go, the myStain app offers you tips and tricks to remove tough stains.

Sales shift: The mobile mind shift has created empowered customers like never before. Therefore, your sales process should be focused on helping people make better buying decisions.

You can do this through more transparent pric-ing, educational content, product comparisons, live interactions, and case studies.

Product shift: Consider how your product can add value in mobile moments. For instance,

page 13

Nest Labs has redefined the value of home thermostats by putting control over energy and comfort into a homeowner’s mobile moments.

Process shift: Mobile moments are transforming the ways things are being done. From field ser-vice and direct sales to store shelf restocking and inspections, mobile devices are helping people complete tasks more quickly and effectively.

People shift: Employees have also experienced a mobile mind shift. Salespeople can improve their customer engagement by tapping into transaction history or a product catalog during sales meetings. China Eastern Airlines has used mobile devices to assign maintenance staff based on real-time demand for services at the gate.

Platform shift: The mobile mind shift means that your company might need to invest in a new tech-nology platform. United Airlines spent nearly two years building a platform for all of its stakehold-ers. Today their gate agents, flight attendants, and passengers can use this platform on any mobile device or computer.

The world is increasingly mobile and every business has an opportunity to connect with people in their mobile moments. By making shifts in every facet of your organization, you can serve your customers and employees in new ways–making them happier, more loyal, more productive, and more connected.

page 14

IF IT’S NOT GNU MARKETING, IT’S OUTDATED MARKETING.Let us walk you through how inbound marketing can transform your business, and why it’s the proven method for doing business online.

Request your free assessment and learn more about what we can do. Call us today at(888) 755-1482 or email sales@gnucreations.com.

GnuCreations