As healthcare advertisers work to maximize their promotional budgets, an ongoing shift is occurring from broad-based to niche market spending. The competition lies in having the best insights and access to first-party data to secure budgets and then creating opportunities with the reach to maximize these budgets. However, while hyper-targeting can ensure dollars are maximized, a catch-22 may be missing the most critical part of the patient journey: the first point of care—or primary care providers (PCPs).
PCPs can be an invaluable referral source as they’re not only the first point of care but, traditionally, the most trusted and consistent. As marketing continues to shift with the adoption of technology platforms—tools including artificial intelligence (AI)—it’s critical for marketers to strategically harness their budgets and digital tools for the biggest return on investment.
Understanding the Shift—How Did We Get Here?
For the last decade-plus, healthcare marketing has shifted its focus away from targeting PCPs. With the advancement of personalized medicine, including niche therapeutics, the budget spend has been directed more toward the specialists prescribing these therapies. What we’re missing is the capacity in which these patients are being referred to specialists for their medication. With the current payer landscape, patients are still required to have an initial consultation and be referred to these specialists by their trusted PCP.
It’s equally imperative to understand the unique and cherished relationship between patients and PCPs. Specialists are ultimately a secondary relationship, while PCPs and patients may have a life-long connection, which is continuously built on trust and connection both on a medical and personal level. By including all audiences in these marketing plans, physicians can better treat patients who need niche therapeutics, and care for patients who may not have specialist access—inclusive marketing can ensure personalized care for all individuals.
Reimagining Marketing: Maximizing ROI & Targeting Crucial Audiences
It’s important to note that effective targeting has proven to drive the highest ROI, so to do one, marketers must do the other. As data plays an increasingly greater role in healthcare marketing it’s imperative to leverage analytics, as well as emerging mar-tech solutions, to your marketing benefit. By leaning into these platforms and insights, it’s entirely possible to ensure targeted messaging for specific patients and disease states are hitting relevant and specific PCPs and specialists.
Additionally, the majority of advertisements today are targeted to patients encouraging them to seek out a specific therapeutic. Understanding their first call will be to their PCP showcases the opportunity to harness ROI by targeting all individuals in the journey—patient, PCP, and specialist—on getting on and more importantly, adhering to these medications long term.
Looking forward, emerging, innovative technology such as AI will continue to automate marketing, but the industry must remember the human element can’t be overlooked or replaced with a machine. Humans need to master AI to better serve patient populations and physicians—taking the recommendation and then creating the most effective messaging journey, including targeting PCPs, ensuring all providers have the most relevant information at their fingertips to best serve patients.
This article is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
