Selecting a Marketing Strategy

Part 1: The 4Ps of Marketing

The 4Ps of Marketing and How They Apply to Healthcare

4Ps	Description	Describe the marketing strategy that applies to this element.
Product	The product refers to the services and treatments offered by healthcare providers.	A medical device company might develop a marketing strategy around promoting its new line of wearable health devices, such as fitness trackers or blood pressure monitors[A1] .
Price	The price may refer to the cost of a specific service or treatment, as well as the cost of healthcare insurance.	To make healthcare more affordable, a hospital might develop a marketing strategy around offering bundled pricing for certain procedures, such as childbirth or knee replacement surgery.
Place	The place refers to the location of the healthcare provider and how accessible they are to patients.	A healthcare provider might develop a marketing strategy around offering mobile or pop-up clinics, which can travel to different locations to provide healthcare services[A2] .
Promotion	Promotion refers to the methods used to raise awareness about a healthcare provider’s services and treatments.	A hospital might develop a marketing strategy around promoting its reputation for high-quality care and patient satisfaction to attract new patients.

Proposed Advertising Campaign

I would propose an advertising campaign for a hospital that promotes telehealth services. This campaign would use conventional and digital advertising to reach a wide audience and build awareness about the hospital’s telehealth services[A3] . The conventional advertising methods would include TV Ads and Print Ads.  30-second commercials would be aired during prime-time hours to reach a broad audience. Print ads would be placed in local newspapers and magazines, targeting seniors and people with mobility issues. Digital advertising methods include Social Media, Online Ads, and Email Marketing (Elrod & Fortenberry, 2020). The hospital’s social media accounts would post regular updates and information about the telehealth services and engage with patients and potential patients[A4] . Online ads would be placed on popular websites and search engines targeting people searching for telehealth or virtual consultations. The hospital would send out informational emails to their existing patients, promoting the convenience and accessibility of telehealth services. The campaign would emphasize the hospital’s commitment to providing accessible healthcare to everyone, regardless of location and mobility, and the benefits of telehealth services such as convenience, flexibility, and time-saving. The campaign would also stress the hospital’s adherence to security protocols and data privacy while providing telehealth services.

Types of Communication Used in Advertising

When advertising to a market segmentation of elderly patients and young children, various types of communication can be used, including traditional and digital advertising (Hayes & Sharma, 2021). Traditional advertising includes television commercials, print ads, and radio ads. Television commercials could reach the elderly, who may still watch TV regularly. Print ads in local newspapers and senior-focused magazines could be critical to reaching the elderly demographic who may still read newspapers and magazines and attract grandparents seeking healthcare services for their grandchildren. Radio ads could reach the elderly, who may still listen to the radio regularly. Digital Advertising includes online ads, social media, and search engine optimization (Parekh et al., 2016). Online ads could be vital to reach both demographics, as the elderly may also have access to the internet and be searching for healthcare information, and also to attract parents searching for pediatric healthcare services. Social media could reach the young children demographic through their parents, who are more likely to be active on social media platforms (Dwivedi et al., 2015). Search engine optimization could increase visibility and reach when people search for healthcare information relevant to the target audience[A5] . Both demographics might have different preferred communication channels. They use traditional and digital advertising methods to reach both demographics.

Integrating Communication Tools in Advertising Campaigns

Both traditional and digital advertising methods will support the campaign in different ways. They will work together to reach the target audience effectively. Traditional advertising methods such as television commercials, print ads in local newspapers and senior-focused magazines, and radio ads will reach the elderly demographic who may not be active on social media or the internet. These methods will allow the hospital to deliver a message that is short, simple, and easy to understand. Digital advertising methods such as online ads, social media, email marketing, and search engine optimization will reach the elderly and young children who are active on the internet and social media (Parekh et al., 2016). These methods will allow the hospital to deliver a more interactive and engaging message and reach a wider audience. Online ads and social media campaigns can target specific demographics, such as location, interests, and age group, increasing the chances of reaching the target audience (Dwivedi et al., 2015). Both traditional and digital advertising methods will support the campaign by reaching the target audience in different ways and will work together to increase visibility and reach, build trust and credibility, and deliver an interactive and engaging message[A6] .

Part 2: Selecting a Hospital Marketing Strategy

Review

Based on the scenario provided, the best strategy to propose for use in the hospital is an integrated marketing communication approach. This approach utilizes various modes of communication, such as billboards, posters, flyers, and TV advertisements, to reach different segments of the target audience. The message is tailored to the specific audience and changes throughout the flu season’s life cycle, providing relevant information at the right time. This approach allows the hospital to reach a wider audience and effectively communicate the importance of getting a flu shot (Hayes & Sharma, 2021). Additionally, this approach enables the hospital to adapt to the specific needs of its target audience, such as young children, and tailor their message accordingly. Overall, this integrated marketing communication approach is the most effective strategy to propose for use in the hospital.

Possible Marketing Strategy

The possible marketing strategy that the hospital will use to market the new program is an integrated marketing communication approach. This strategy utilizes various modes of communication, such as billboards, posters, flyers, and TV advertisements, to reach different segments of the target audience. The message is tailored to the specific audience and changes throughout the flu season’s life cycle, providing relevant information at the right time. This approach allows the hospital to reach a wider audience and effectively communicate the importance of the new program offered. Additionally, this approach enables the hospital to adapt to the specific needs of its target audience and tailor their message accordingly. This integrated marketing communication approach is the hospital’s most effective marketing strategy for marketing its new program.

References

Elrod, J. K., & Fortenberry, J. L. (2020). Direct marketing in health and medicine: using direct mail, email marketing, and related communicative methods to engage patients. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05603-w

Dwivedi, Y. K., Kapoor, K. K., & Chen, H. (2015). Social media marketing and advertising. The Marketing Review, 15(3), 289-309. https://publications.aston.ac.uk/id/eprint/40400/1/Social_media_marketing.pdf

Hayes, T., & Sharma, M. (2021). Applying the integrated marketing communication approach to recruit and retain African American women. Health Promotion Perspectives, 11(4), 460. https://doi.org/10.34172%2Fhpp.2021.58

Parekh, D., Kapupara, P., & Shah, K. (2016). Digital pharmaceutical marketing: A review. Research Journal of pharmacy and technology, 9(1), 108-112. https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-360X.2016.00017.2

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 [A1]Good s

 [A2]Effective use of example

 [A3]Good statement

 [A4]Sound approach

 [A5]Nice observation

 [A6]Well-developed response