Things were different in the days before the Internet.

Of course, you knew that.

But then why are so many healthcare industry marketers still trying to reach consumers like it’s 1994? Thanks to technological advances, policy changes, and new generations that expect more influence at every level of—well, everything—the power has shifted.

Healthcare is increasingly becoming a retail experience, and marketers who aren’t treating it as such will struggle to be successful.

That’s Why Healthcare Marketers Need To Think Like Retail Marketers

Whether they’re shopping for sneakers or healthcare, people now have options. This means if you haven’t shifted the way in which you’re approaching people to a more ‘retailized’ fashion, you should be.

Today’s consumer doesn’t want to be marketed to; they want to connect, engage and be heard.

This means you need to know your target audiences. The best way to do that is by conducting robust audience research and then developing detailed customer personas. Then and only then can you create a position, messaging and creative assets that will resonate with your target audiences.

The Customer Persona

A customer (or buyer) persona is a semi-fictional representation of your audience based on real facts and research such as data from your current and prospective customers, including demographics, behavior patterns and goals.

Personas produce results:

• Marketers who use personas and map content to the buyer’s journey realize 73 percent higher conversions than companies that don’t.
• 71 percent of companies that outperformed on their revenue and lead goals have documented personas.
• In a recent survey of 562 marketers and CMOs, 80 percent said they will be using customer personas in their 2017 marketing strategy.

In order for healthcare marketers to adopt a retail-ized approach, it’s now more important than ever that you know your customer.

Using Personas In Your Healthcare Marketing Strategy

When you market to everyone, you market to no one. When you build detailed personas, you hone in on your target. You learn:

• Their pain points
• What’s motivating them
• Where they spend their time online
• How they prefer to be reached
• How you can help them

You can then create a comprehensive marketing strategy that targets your ideal customer with a more personalized and engaging message. It’s a more informed and intelligent approach. Developing customer personas enables you to market with intent — and today’s healthcare consumer won’t accept anything less.

Want to learn more about how Borshoff can help your organization build targeted customer personas and reach your marketing goals? Email or call 317-631-6400.