For the past fifty years, healthcare marketing (HM) has changed drastically in terms of the 4P elements and available techniques, with changes being caused by theoretical/technological advancement. In 1969, Levy and Kotler proposed that marketing theories/strategies could be expanded to non-profit-focused markets, such as healthcare organizations (Syed et al., 2021). This has encouraged medical/social service entities to incorporate marketing into operations, resulting in the scientific recognition of medical marketing in the early 1980s (Syed et al., 2021). Due to the growth of print/broadcast media, direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising emerged in the 1980s; it saw a 33% increase in spending in the past 30 years (Schwartz & Woloshin, 2019). Regarding the 4Ps, HM has started to emphasize affordability and multiple insurance plans to offer attractive prices and utilize convenient medical office locations for optimal placement (Sukanta & Muis, 2022; Syed et al., 2021). The promotion element has expanded since the 1970s to incorporate brand-building, website creation, social media advertising, and email/content/video marketing (Syed et al., 2021). To revolutionize the product, providers may be offering personalized health/wellness consultations, novel pain relief options, subscription-based healthcare, and so on.
Advantages for Organizations/Consumers and HM’s Appropriateness
HM’s beneficial impacts on businesses and consumers should be considered to clarify the phenomenon’s perceptions. For healthcare companies, such advantages may include brand awareness, better audience outreach achieved by means of implementing media advertising, and preventing miscommunication and negative word-of-mouth regarding the offer (Syed et al., 2021). As for consumers, since HM enables extensive customer research and feedback incorporation, care recipients can get better service in terms of quality and customized offers (Schwartz & Woloshin, 2019). Based on the listed benefits, from my perspective, marketing is an appropriate practice in healthcare if incorrect/misleading claims in advertising are carefully addressed and investigated. Since HM facilitates the dissemination of drug/service information, it can add to the nation’s overall health awareness, but this information’s quality must be strictly controlled to protect the consumer.
HM and Non-Healthcare Marketing: Similarities and Differences
Comparisons between healthcare and non-healthcare industries offer thought-provoking takeaways. The similarities between marketing in healthcare and other industries include explicit dependence on mass media channels, reliance on customers’ expectations, and the use of positive professional representations (Sukanta & Muis, 2022; Syed et al., 2021). In terms of differences, HM faces many more regulatory barriers and limitations. Most countries, except for the U.S., have specific restrictions to suppress marketing in healthcare, which is not observed in other industries (Syed et al., 2021). Regarding specific advertisements, Michigan Dental Association’s and Kia’s 2009-2010 video ads were comparatively analyzed (Autoblog_gr, 2009; MDA, 2010). Two similarities between the companies’ marketing include emotional appeals and negative comparisons of non-consumers and consumers (Autoblog_gr, 2009; MDA, 2010). However, regarding differences, the anticipated reactions are drastically diverse, with MDA and Kia seeking to evoke fear and enthusiasm, respectively, to stimulate the required purchasing decisions. Finally, the second dissimilarity is that the use of humor is only acceptable in Kia’s case but not applicable to MDA’s discussion of life-affecting and lethal diseases detected early during dental assessments.
Adjusting to COVID-19 and How Healthcare Marketing May Change
Adjustments to reflect the COVID-19 pandemic in HM and changes in the next decade also deserve attention. Adjusting HM efforts to consider the mentioned pandemic should include emphasizing digital marketing over street/billboard advertising to account for the intensification of social isolation (Gaur & Tonk, 2021). Moreover, due to the contagiousness of the virus’s novel variants, establishing self-care and virus awareness reminders as a mandatory component of any HM efforts that promote in-person healthcare visits seems feasible (Gaur & Tonk, 2021). Regarding changes in the next ten years, due to consumers’ altering media preferences, it can be expected that DTC drug advertising will continue shifting to social media channels (Schwartz & Woloshin, 2019). Additionally, digital marketing to promote telehealth services may increase, reflecting the target audience’s preference for time-consuming service delivery modes in non-urgent cases.
References
Autoblog_gr. (2009). Kia Soul 2010 hamster commercial [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Gaur, A., & Tonk, R. (2021). COVID-19 pandemic and digitalization of healthcare among youth: A marketing perspective. EPRA International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Studies, 8(8), 52-60. Web.
Michigan Dental Association. (2010). 2010 MDA TV ads – That doctor [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Schwartz, L. M., & Woloshin, S. (2019). Medical marketing in the United States, 1997-2016. JAMA, 321(1), 80-96. Web.
Sukanta, S., & Muis, M. A. (2022). Marketing mix of 4Ps for customer purchasing decisions. Dinasti International Journal of Digital Business Management, 3(3), 432-439. Web.
Syed, M., Ahmed, F., Zahid, N., Khalid, N., & Israr, N. (2021). Essentials of healthcare marketing. Asian Journal of Medicine and Health, 19, 73-79. Web.