Advertising is fundamentally the same for every industry, in creating positive awareness and generating response, but the approach is different because the target audience for every industry is different and more so in a multi-ethnic country like Malaysia.
I have deliberately looked at the healthcare industry and came out with the following essentials in generating positive response.
Branding: This is all about standing out from the crowd in a positive way, and it includes virtually everything you do. A powerful, differentiating brand for your healthcare business is part of your reputation. Meaningful and effective branding does not occur without a deliberate effort to shape and express the right message at the right time. This is a long term process and doesn’t just happen by chance.
Build your Creative: Turn your ideas into the creative product that will support your plan. Keep referring to your vision and strategy to ensure that the creative concepts support your ultimate objectives. When outsourcing, give your agency as much information as you can gather. Always share your vision. Healthcare targets audience in an area that is need driven. And for potential patients, relief from pain and the alleviation of anxiety are the two key motivating factors.
Start Right: Introduce your campaign internally first. Tell physicians, employees, volunteers, board members and other stakeholders. They are often your best marketing support. Conversely, if they don’t “live the message,” your marketing efforts will be for naught. Work in partnership with your ad agency in delivering consistent exposures that are timed carefully to handle the increase in traffic. All creative tools must be consistent in identity for a holistic campaign that cross-sells each other.
Campaign Launch: Timing is everything. Plan your rollout to maximize exposure. Avoid marketplace “clutter” and down times, such as holidays, when readership and viewers are less than normal. Once you have your media plan in place, stick to it. Great creative is only as good as the exposure it gets, so buy ample media space.
Professional Referral Marketing: A reliable and continuing stream of inbound patient referrals from other medical, dental or other professional sources is the lifeblood of many specialty providers. And whether it’s a primary or secondary channel, professional referral sources can’t be taken for granted. Doctor referrals do not happen by magic or simply because you are a good provider. Success requires a written plan and an unfailing system to preserve and grow the flow of professional referrals. (Internal exercise by Marketing Team)
Internet Marketing: From websites and social media tools, to patient portals and possibly mobile apps, online marketing is a mainstream channel for marketing, advertising and public relations. Build patient database and send email blasts to keep them connected to happenings, promotions and facility upgrades etc. Exactly how you use the muscle of the digital freeway can turn out to be highly effective and profitable, or a huge waste of time and money. This plays a supportive role to mainstream media in Malaysia.
Internal Marketing: This heading includes all the ways and means that you communicate with people who already know you, primarily present and previous patients. Depending on the nature of your practice or situation, this influential audience can be a rich resource for referrals, additional services, testimonials and/or word-of-mouth advertising. (Internal exercise by Marketing Team)
External Marketing: These are the media that reach prospective patients who don’t know you. Advertising in newspapers, radio, television, billboards and the like target an audience that needs to know that you provide an answer for their healthcare need. There’s little margin for error in an external media budget that is expected to produce a measurable return-on-investment. (Planned and executed by your Ad Agency)
Public Relations: This heading includes, among other things, planning and generating healthcare publicity and free press exposure, such as newspaper articles or broadcast interviews. The end results look easy, and it can be a positive and powerful influence. However, “free press” is typically the result of careful planning, good timing, a clear message and a deliberate effort. (Handled by the Communications Department and aided by the appointed Ad Agency)
Malaysia is a potpourri of different races, language and customs. This is particularly challenging to any marketeer and if they are not familiar with these hurdles can create a negative impact in their marketing effort. To reduce customising your advertising message to these varied groups which can be costly and confusing, a creative strategy should be employed to avoid typecasting e.g., race, age, gender or race.
The above proposal by Ken Ray Communications Sdn Bhd needs input from the healthcare professionals that can better partner with their Ad Agency to create an effective campaign to generate traffic for the healthcare services provided. Part of the branding exercise will be to consolidate the various healthcare services in a cohesive manner so that the cross-sell is a complete exercise e.g., chiropractic, dental, Chinese Medicine etc are separate yet part of a total healthcare solution.
