Sivakumar Murugesan
Consultant-Medpoint Healthcare
Women make over 75
percent of consumer purchases in the India.
When it comes to the
household, they make up to 80 percent of the healthcare decisions. Ninety four percent of women make their own
healthcare decisions, and 59 percent of women make healthcare decisions for
others.
And yet women’s
health marketing isn’t doing a good job of meeting their needs.
In fact, 66 percent
of women feel “misunderstood by healthcare marketers,” and according to at
least one website healthcare marketing is one of the top three industries doing
the “worst job of meeting women’s needs.
How do we better
market to women healthcare consumers?
In this post, we
share:
• A look at women’s healthcare then and
now
• And 8 tips on how to market to today’s
women healthcare consumers.
Women’s Health Then
and Now
There’s a lot to
cover on the history of women’s health, and we can’t cover it in a single blog
post. But much of modern medicine was initially developed with male physiology
in mind, which in turn influenced how physicians understood human physiology,
made diagnoses, and prescribed treatment.
Therefore, it’s not a
surprise that this approach not only underserved women, but also caused a
myriad of negative consequences.
One of the best
examples of this is heart disease. Early research in cardiovascular disease
mostly included male subjects, leading to “hallmark symptoms of heart attacks
being taught as pain in the left arm and chest.” As a result, women are “50
percent more likely than men to be misdiagnosed following a heart attack and
more likely than men to die from heart attacks.”
Women also can
experience biased healthcare delivery. Despite reporting more severe levels,
frequency, and duration of pain, women are less likely to be treated for pain.
Sadly, the list of
suboptimal outcomes and negative consequences goes on and on. But, there is
hope.
Looking
Ahead for Women’s Health
As women’s health
slowly gets the attention it deserves, investors, pharmaceuticals, and market
disruptors are flexing to create a marketplace for the unique healthcare needs
of a woman.
But, does women’s
health marketing resonate with them as women, mothers, caregivers, and chief
family health officers?
To attract and retain
the loyalty of this large demographic, companies must recognize that most women
determine when and where they, their children, spouses, and aging parents
receive care.
Hospitals, health
systems, and healthcare practices cannot ignore women's significant influence
over their nuclear and extended families.
Appealing to women as
healthcare decision makers can help healthcare marketers, doctors, physicians,
and other healthcare professionals increase their (loyal) female patient
volume—and attract several of their relatives.
Here
are 8 ways to market more effectively to women healthcare consumers in women’s
health and beyond as household decision makers.
1.
Revisit and redefine your product or service.
If there was ever a
time to review and evaluate your women’s health product or service, now is that
time. The traditional healthcare system is having an awakening, and you have an
opportunity to be a part of that awakening.
Here’s what this
means as it relates to your women’s health product or service:
• Women’s health is evolving into all our
healthcare.
• Women’s health must deliver an
integrated experience to women.
• Women’s health must feature a
personalized care delivery model.
• Women’s health must shift from care
models focused on specific body parts or reproductive life stages to care for
the whole person.
• Think beyond hybrid care to all options
of care: video, chat, clinic, hospital, and home.
Do you offer a brand
experience that engages women and attracts them through the front door?
2.
Develop detailed personas for women’s health marketing
There's no
one-size-fits-all woman, so make sure you understand she is more than just her
gender or identity.
Take time to identify
the types of women you're targeting and develop buyer personas to align with
each market segment.
How do you get to
know the women you want to market to?
“Talk to them and ask
the right questions,” says Melanie Saxe, Director of Content at Healthcare
Success.
One of the best ways
to learn about the women you want to market to is to ask them to share their
thoughts, concerns, frustrations, values, and where they plan to invest their
time and money.
You can talk to women
and ask them questions via in-person chats, calls, and emails. You should also
take time to read through customer reviews, customer surveys and online
feedback.
“It is always a good
idea to involve sales and customer service at this point of your research
stage,” says Melanie. “These professionals have the most direct contact with
your customers and can provide real-world feedback.”
Here are a few good
questions to ask when developing your personas for women's health marketing:
• Age range
• Job title
• Family size
• Who is a part of their family?
• Married, single, or in a relationship?
• Do you plan on having children if you
don’t have any?
• Education level
• The channels (where) they spend the most
time online
• The most prevalent pain points (or, the
barriers to what they want and need)
• How does your product or service help
solve their problems?
• Their top core values
• Their hobbies and interests
Specific, accurate,
and well-defined personas will help increase the effectiveness of your
communications. The more your brand or business considers the nuances within
your target audience, the easier it is to engage with them and build trust and
credibility.
Making this effort
will ultimately translate into new conversions, more sales, and higher revenue
for your business.
3.
Consider age and generational marketing
The language,
imagery, and platforms you use to attract your target audience are highly
influenced by age and generational preferences.
For example, if
you’re marketing a new fertility treatment, you’re probably targeting older Gen
Zs and younger Millennials. Meeting them where and how they are online is
crucial for success.
Women’s health
marketing becomes even more nuanced when targeting the smaller but often
underrated Gen X population because they are most likely caring for their
children, themselves, and aging parents—and may have needs across the entire
care continuum.
4.
Create the type of content they’re looking for
When creating content
for a female-based audience, understanding and leaning into their values is a
must. Depending on your target age range, you’ll want to keep a few things in
mind regarding their stance on wellness, beauty, aesthetics, and
female-specific wellness.
Gen
Zs
Gen Z females are
unabashedly wellness-conscious and the driving forces behind popularizing
vegetarian and gluten-free diets.
They have a holistic
view of health and recognize how social and emotional wellness, sleep, and
stress affects wellness. They support "clean" beauty brands that
don't add harsh chemicals to their products and support the things they care
most about diversity, inclusivity, sustainability, transparency, and
trustworthiness.
The bottom line is
that Gen Zs will not buy products from a brand they wouldn't be friends with.
They are very likely to follow the brands they love and communicate openly with
them about their likes and dislikes. Zoom over to your social media channels to
attract this audience and start interacting with them. Create content that's
light and fun but also factual, transparent, and socially conscious.
Millennials
As millennial females
continue to grow into their 30s, they’re becoming more health- and
cost-conscious, so including easy access to more in-depth information is
important.
Millennials are the
most health-conscious of all generations, with 76% prioritizing healthy food
choices. They’re also interested in alternative treatments or natural health
options (e.g., acupuncture and chiropractic care) and will often exhaust these
options before scheduling a pricey doctor’s appointment.
Millennials, the
largest generation (72.1 million) on record, are single-handedly driving demand
for care models that offer both in-person visits and digital care services like
online appointment booking, one-on-one digital communication with their
providers, and telehealth. To attract this audience, focus on factual content,
offer up-front pricing, and support alternative healthcare options (even if
it's your goal to book a medical appointment).
Gen
Xers
Gen X is a smaller
but vital audience for your women’s health marketing efforts. As I mentioned,
this generation of women is responsible for making healthcare decisions for
three generations. Their primary concerns are quality of service, convenience
and time, and finding the best possible option for their unique circumstance.
They're very interested in and driven by excellent service, more appointment
options, and convenient scheduling capabilities (e.g., online booking).
To attract this
audience, focus on ways to reduce friction by offering different ways to
connect (e.g., social media, health portals, apps, etc.), present facts backed
by reputable sources, and offer loyalty programs to help them save money.
Baby
Boomers
If you’re creating
content for female baby boomers, remember that they are proactive about their
care yet cost influences their buying decisions. For this reason, they spend
more time making purchase decisions.
To reach female baby
boomers, create quality content that will help them make better-informed
healthcare decisions.
5.
Distribute the content on the right channels
Once you know who
you’re targeting, here's where you’re most likely to find them:
Gen
Z
Gen Z females
frequent platforms like Twitch and TikTok, so punchy, informal copy and
captivating videos are a must.
Millennial
Millennial females
gravitate toward Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and popular online
shopping sites, so captivating video content continues to be a high priority.
Gen
X
Video is still
important for this busy generation, but they're also willfully independent and
skeptical. Gen X females prefer YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. To
appeal to their naturally non-trusting sensibilities, avoid big-spend, flashy
advertising and focus on authentic, transparent, and direct women’s health
marketing tactics that favor visual content and story-based advertising.
Baby
Boomers
Can you reach them
online? Yes! But you have to know where they are exactly. While 50 percent of
boomers spend 15 hours a week online, they’re more likely to spend time on
hospital or provider practice portals. Finally, they’re also social. More than
80 percent of boomers participate in at least one social media site. Make sure
to develop snackable versions of educational content so that they can share the
information with their peers on social media.
6.
Be inspirational
Women are having a
movement amidst political unrest regarding inequalities like the gender pay
gap, sexual and reproductive rights, and more. They’re ready for businesses and
brands (and politicians) to listen.
Women are more likely
to engage with brands that stand for something, support a cause, or strive to
do no harm (e.g., ethical business practices). They're also willing to pay
higher prices for the products and services they need from businesses that care
about their issues.
7.
Go social
Seventy-six percent
of women aged 18-50 use social media sites regularly and are more likely to
interact with brands online than men. If you need more convincing data,
consider this:
• 76% of women are active on Facebook
• 55% of women use social media to access
sales and promotions
• 30% of U.S. women check their social
media accounts several times per day
• 58% of those who consume news on social
media are women
8.
Be mobile-friendly
Women are always on
the go, whether going to or from work, pick-ups, doctor or dental appointments,
or grocery shopping. So it's not hard to see why 60% of their social media time
is spent on mobile.
If you’re looking to
attract a female audience, make sure your campaign, promotion, or integration
is compatible across all devices.
It's time to make
women’s health marketing a top priority when creating content for your products
and services—even if your products are meant for men. More likely than not,
they'll be the ones doing the research, choosing the doctor, and scheduling the
appointment.
Next week, I’m
sharing more about the wellness-oriented healthcare consumer, so be sure to
check that out.