How Roper St. Francis Built a Data-Driven Case for a Bigger Marketing Budget — and Won

Kathy Smith, chief marketing and digital officer, Roper St. Francis Healthcare

Marketing budgets have rebounded since the pandemic, and today, health systems are laser-focused on efficiency and ROI-driven spending. Chief marketing officers must justify their budget requests, and the best way to make the case is by using benchmarking data.

Roper St. Francis Healthcare is in one of the country’s fastest-growing areas, South Carolina’s coastal Lowcountry. Recent policy changes in the state and new entrants into the market have necessitated a new approach — and a bigger marketing budget.

Kathy Smith is chief marketing and digital officer at Roper St. Francis Healthcare. “My leadership recognized that we had been in a holding pattern for far too long, especially given the competitive pressures growing in our market,” she says. “A large regional health system recently expanded into the Charleston area, and in 2027, our state will no longer require certificates of need for hospitals, leading to significant market disruption.”

While the executive team recognized the need, it was a challenge to prioritize marketing over so many other demands.

Read the full article to learn how to create a budget proposal grounded in benchmarking data and how you can master the art of strategic presentations: Show Me the Numbers: Data-Driven Playbook for Supporting Your Budget

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