Lessons from the Field – Hospital Marketing Needs to Stop Marketing to Senior Management

Idea image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

The title, in a nutshell, explains why so much hospital marketing is features based, not a value proposition, brand promise, experience or benefits to the patients based.

Ponder that statement for a minute. Now review some of your advertising and messaging- all about your beautiful facilities and locations, your technology for diagnosing and treating disease, third-party awards, how much you care about the patient, even specialized medical services that few people need.

Hospital marketing, in that case, is focused on the Board, senior management, and medical staff with all the points they hold near and dear to their hearts. Cold and soulless, these messages are devoid of meaning for the patient yet allow senior management to pat themselves on the back for a great job of building facilities. Other hospitals and health systems in the market take the same approach with a slightly different spin.

And then you hear from the medical staff with the loudest voices, or the one or two Board members cry, “But no one knows who we are. What’s marketing going to do about that?”

Sound familiar?

Normality image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

It’s a trap occurring daily in hospitals around the U.S., which in many ways explains why there is little differentiation in a competitive hospital market. Word of mouth, good and bad about the hospital in the community has more bearing on the reputation and perception of the hospital than most messaging or current advertising.

Nature abhors a vacuum, and patients will fill the meaningful information vacuum with their expectations and experiences. Patients aren’t going to comment on various rating platforms or social media about the facilities or high-tech equipment. Patients are going to talk about their experience and whether their expectations were met or not. The patient will define the hospital brand as good or bad, not by the number of awards.

You see, excellent facilities, easily accessible locations, and high-tech equipment are existing expectations of the patient. The hospital is supposed to have them. Being in the business of caring for people, the patient already expects the employees and physicians to care.

It’s all falling on deaf ears in the market that matters, the patient.

Hearing aid image by williamsje1 from Pixabay.

Nobody ever chose a hospital because they say we care. No one ever chose a hospital because you have a shiny new building or the latest and greatest technology.

Hospital marketing should communicate to the patient, who exists in an omnichannel world, the benefits, experiences of, and expectations for care. The hospital must create and share an internal value proposition and create an external brand promise that focuses on benefits, not features. Features come after the fact, not before the benefits.

Hospitals that focus on features marketing of what they do find themselves in a highly undifferentiated position. Patients look at the hospital and say, “seen one hospital, seen them all.”

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has ushered in the age of healthcare 3.0, where the patient has choices and access to what was formally unavailable. It’s time for hospital marketing to get senior management to understand they are not the audience; it’s the patient.

Michael is a healthcare business, marketing, communications, strategist and thought leader. As an internationally followed healthcare strategy blogger, his blog, Healthcare Business & Marketing Matters is read in 52 countries and ranked No. 3 on the 100 Top Healthcare Marketing Blogs & Websites to follow by Feedspot.com. Michael is a Life Fellow American College of Healthcare Executives. For inquiries regarding strategic consulting engagements, you can email me at michael@themichaeljgroup.com.

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The opinions expressed are my own.

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