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Healthcare Marketing: Pareto Principle of Driving Leads

By Jenna Bruce on Thu, Jun 11, 2020 @ 12:01 PM |

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If you are a healthcare professional that has been trying to handle your marketing, you may have heard about the Pareto principle – also known as the 80/20 principle. It generally refers to a principle that states “80% of results come from 20% of marketing efforts.”

But the principle has another angle in the healthcare marketing world, and that is typically 20% of healthcare organizations in any given demographic are responsible for 80% of the ad space. This means only 20% of marketers are reaping the rewards and increasing their bottom lines while the other 80% struggle to get their campaigns off the ground.

What are the top 20% of healthcare marketers doing that the 80% aren’t?

They Learn Who Their Audience Really is

You can’t develop effective ads if you don’t know who it is you are targeting. Unless you do a deep dive to learn everything you can about these prospects, you won’t know what kind if messaging will drive them to action.

Here is a perfect example: A lot of our physician clients, when they first came to us, told us they didn’t need to add digital channels to their marketing mix because most of their patients were seniors. But according to a 2018 Gallup poll, 52% of people aged 50-64 are on Facebook, along with 32% of people 65 and older.

So, if your patients are on a channel and you aren’t meeting them there, you are leaving money on the table.

That’s why the top 20% of healthcare marketers take the time to research and find out exactly WHO their audience is. Go beyond common demographics of age and gender and look into what makes them tick. What pain points (in this case literally) do they have? What motivates them? What is their buying behavior? How do they like to consume media and new information? The more you can uncover, the better able you’ll be to reach, engage and convert your audience.

They Set Clear Goals

Whether it’s on a billboard, in a brochure or on a digital platform, every ad you run should be connected to a clear goal. You’ll need to do some brainstorming to also understand your own goals and objectives so you and your team can make better decisions about ad content, audience and placement.

What are you trying to do? Build brand awareness in your local community? Get more patients to one specific service line or specialty? More patients calling your office? Figure out what you need to do, then find the best messaging and channels to help you do it.

They are Testing Their Ads

Too many healthcare marketers think of advertising in a “set it and forget it” way. They think they can run a couple of ads and sit back and expect those leads to roll in.

Taking this approach, you’d be better off taking cash out of the ATM and setting it on fire!

The top 20% of healthcare marketers consistently test their ads to ensure they have the greatest possibility in converting patients. They test headlines, ad copy, imagery and more. And just because one ad seems like it’s performing well, they keep on testing to see if they can develop a winning ad that performs EVEN BETTER!

They Care About the Creatives

Effective ad copy and images are key to converting your audience. If you think any old text and image will do, guess again.

Your choice of copy and text should stem from the research you did on your audience. What do they want from your practice? Do they care if your team is triple board certified? Or are they looking for gentle care above credentials? Your answers will dictate your creatives.

Working with a Media Buyer Has its Advantages

A final secret of the 20% of winning practice owners is they let the pros do all the heavy lifting for them. Our agency knows the ins and outs of running successful campaigns. We take market and audience research very seriously and know how to turn the data we mine into actionable insights that give our clients the biggest return on their investment.

If your ad campaigns could use a little CPR, you can either try to do it yourself, or go to a pro for help. If that second option sounds like the best treatment plan, then get in touch with us.

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