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All Articles [20] NHS/PCT [3] Government [1] Online Business [4] Corporate [1] Small Business [4] Web Site [10] Urls [2] SEO [6] Marketing [10] Photography [1] Print [2]5 Things the NHS can Learn from Commercial Marketing
See all articles by: John Gilbert
Last updated: [ 12.11.2008 ]
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A Response: The View of a Commercial and Social Marketer
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1) Conventional advertising is dying. Promotion is not about where to put the posters
Customers have more choice than ever and more messages competing for their attention - all marketers must find and utilize interactive and engaging ways to influence desired behaviour.
2) To change things you need to change approaches. Marketers must take risks and innovate
The conventional rules of marketing are shifting.
Marketers are focusing on new links within the decision-making chain. This will often raise eyebrows though using cost-effective, high impact, proven strategies can mean that no-one has to put their necks on the line; though when it works careers are boosted and results are achieved.
3) The number one way to avoid wasting marketing spend is to test approaches
Even after focus groups and quantitative research show that you fully understand a market, you will not know how any campaign will be received until you get it out there. To increase the chances of success and avoid potential embarrassment Social Marketers and Health Promotions Teams should test campaign effectiveness before ploughing in large resources.
4) Put customers first, though stakeholder management is essential
The world is a complex place, crammed with many people with different agendas and objectives. Whilst classic marketing approaches will tell you to always put the customer first, in reality this often needs supporting by engaging key influencers, often politically to make sure that the key stakeholders are all pulling in the same direction - simply listing stakeholders, their influences and objectives can be a powerful tool to develop an action plan to ensure a marketing campaign gets the help it needs.
5) Networking at the right level can be the most powerful thing you can do
Business leaders know that the majority of the best deals originate from who you know. Both formal and informal networking is about finding synergies; i.e. how can working together create greater benefit. This is true throughout NHS marketing also, where other organisations across all sectors can work synergistically to achieve shared objectives - meeting people can open up a whole world of new opportunity.
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