Women Make Health Care Decisions – Does Your Marketing Reflect This?

“While hospitals cater to everyone, their most influential consumers are women, who make 80 percent of health care decisions in America,” says Kathy Selker. Selker is president and CEO of Northlich, an independent full-service marketing and advertising agency.

In our new article, Selker discusses how to connect with this key health care demographic. Here’s an excerpt:

It’s important to segment and target by gender, but remember that women prefer gender-neutral marketing messages. With recent social media movements toward greater equality for women (in all realms, not just health care), women are more sensitive than ever to gendered messaging, and they dislike feeling pandered to.

Avoid “shrink-and-pink” tactics in favor of speaking to the human first and the woman second. Appeal to their active desire to be the best versions of themselves and portray them in marketing messages as actively engaged in decision-making. When women feel a hospital or health system understands the stresses and pressures they’re under, which can be compounded by health problems, they’ll feel reassured that your system can take care of all of their needs.

Some women proactively shop for health care services, while others wait to engage until there’s a crisis. These choices often cross demographic lines and can be affected by determinants like whether they have young children, their education level, and the status of any chronic conditions that require ongoing care.

The most important need for each segment often falls into one of three categories: quality of care, cost, and convenience. All three tend to be important to most segments, but one will rise to the top. For instance, convenience is likely to be more important to working moms, while quality may be more important for those who require specialist or chronic-condition care.

Read Selker’s full article now: 10 Ways Hospital Marketers Can Connect with Women

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President