Makayla Discussion:
Hi Everyone,
* Do you believe the marketing effort used was appropriate for your particular demographics as the target audience? Why or why not?
Marketing is always around us, so much to the point where we mainly never notice it. Healthcare marketing is everywhere, whether it is in a clinic, hospital, on social media, or even on billboards. My most memorable moment of being a target of a healthcare organization’s marketing efforts would be two years ago in my dermatologist’s office. While I was waiting to be called back for my appointment, I noticed 10 different displays for the same medication. There were posters, magnets, flyers, pencils, stickers, you name it they had it. Everything was so conveniently placed it was not even overbearing. After waiting for 20 mins to be called to the back, I decided to look up the medication on Google. The medication seemed to be a huge benefit to me, so when the nurses called me back I immediately brought up the medicine, so the doctor could be informed to talk to me about it. I believe this marketing effort was appropriate for this demographic because, this small yet effective technique did not even require any advertisement on the staff’s behalf, but yet it still had so many inquiries based on the patient’s interest that simply happened from the placement of advertisement in the waiting area.
My name is Makayla Plymouth, and I am 25 years old. Some of my favorite hobbies would be exercising, shopping, and volunteering at my local animal shelter. I have a 3-year-old Rottweiler names Texas, who I love dearly. I grew up in TN, and I currently still reside here, and I am a Sr. Administrative Specialist in the depart of Developmental Neurobiology at St. Jude Children’s Hospital. I am taking this course so I can get a wide understanding of healthcare marketing, why it works, and the best practices for success. Unfortunately, I was born with severe asthma, allergies, and dyshidrotic eczema so I am constantly at different clinics and around all types of marketing. The medication I am speaking about in my example is called Duxipent, after that visit, I have now been on the medication since 2020 and it has been life-changing. Due to the drug being so new at the time, I truly believe if I wouldn’t inquire about it to the staff I wouldn’t be on it until sometime this year. When it comes to online courses I truly enjoy getting to know my classmates and exploring everyone’s different outtakes on course subjects, if that is the same for you please feel free to reach out for study sessions.
* What recommendations would you make to improve the messaging/communication strategies of the marketing effort/advertisement?
For this specific situation with marketing, I do not have many recommendations for improvement. All of the advertisements were placed strategically. The posters could have had larger wording, specifically for certain age groups or people with sight disparities. Another helpful strategic move that could have been done would be to hand out small bags with a pamphlet, and small accessories to any patient who inquired about the medication. That way they could have more direct information regarding the medication, instead of solely getting their information from the internet. This would help with any wrong information that comes from unsourced articles and medical pages. Social media could be another large outlet. The medication brand itself could have provided the clinic with QR codes or links to webpages or sites that include everything that should be known about the medication, and offices that offer it as well. In conclusion, I believe the marketing team for Duxipent did an outstanding job, but their marketing research process could have been a little more detailed for fully accessing the market needs.
References:
Berkowitz, E. N. (2017). Essentials of Health Care Marketing. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Preston Discussion:
Greetings classmates, I am a hard-working husband and father of 2 kids. I currently work as an ophthalmic assistant at an eye clinic in Georgia and aspire to be a practice manager one day. My major is healthcare administration. In my tenure as undergraduate student I was very interested in becoming a nurse. I began researching, googling, watching videos, and reading articles on the lifestyle and job as a nurse. Since modern technology tracks your habits over the internet, I began to receive advertisements from healthcare companies spotlighting the greatness of their achievements in attempt to recruit me to work for them. This kind of targeted advertising is very effective at reaching out to only those who might be interested. Due to its very nature, the marketing effort was very appropriate for the demographic.
Social media advertising is still a relatively new concept in the realm of marketing. As personal information becomes increasingly less private, advertisements will begin to call you by name and speak to you personally. This will be accomplished through the aid of AI and speech software. While it may seem weird to us now, it could be a way to grab one’s attention more fully through an advertisement and increase interactivity. “Traditional Media is a one-way street. You’re talking at someone or at a group instead of engaging a dialog with potential customers. There’s no opportunity for immediate contact through the advertising medium itself. In order for a potential customer to begin a dialog, they need to jump through many hoops they may not be willing to do in order to reach out and ask a question” (Delagarza, 2021).
Delagarza, A. (2021, May 20). 5 Reasons Why Social Media Advertising is Better than Traditional Advertising. ADLG Marketing. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://adlgmarketing.com/blog/5-reasons-why-social-media-advertising-is-better-than-traditional-advertising/
