MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR MEDICAL COLLEGES
Are you planning to start up a medical college or invest in one? Looking for information about the different ways to promote the same? In this article Hospaccx Healthcare Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. has put forward some techiques to market an upcoming medical college. Theses marketing strategies could be very useful for the puroposes of promotion.
Why is it necessary to ‘market’ a medical college?
The key to success in marketing a medical school is to combine time-tested marketing techniques with the most cutting edge strategies in today’s marketplace.
A high-quality marketing plan connects your company to your customers. Without it, you’ll quickly find your medical school cut off from the marketplace.
It is extremely essential to understand the features and characteristics of the institutions which sets it apart from the rest. Most of the time it’s not the quality of the product offerings but it’s the ability to communicate granular marketing messages to their customer base. Following are some techniques which can be implemented-
- MARKET SEGMENTATION-
Market segmentation is a method where customers are divided into groups based on their common collective characteristics.
In this scenario, segmentation can be done for parents and students who are interested in getting admitted to a med-school. Another segment is to target a panel of medical professionals for the role of faculty members. Variables like age and location also play a vital role.
Creating personas of your target audience members is a helpful way to market to the right people. What communication channels do they use the most? What type of messaging are they more likely to respond to? Developing personas can also help you to advertise the right product to the corresponding medical professional or potential student families
2. BUILDING A STRONG WEBSITE
A strong website can prove to be extremely beneficial in showcasing all the salient features of your institution.
- An overview of the college
- Pictures of the campus area.
- Infrastructure
- Facilities
- Admission criteria and eligibility
- Admission procedures
- Various departments
- Location and contact information
Provision of such essential information creates a sense of awareness and gives them the required knowledge before taking career altering decisions in their child’s life
3. LAUNCHING A SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Social media allows an inside scoop into the happenings at your organization. If your social media channels are fun, educational, and helpful, visitors will assume your events and products will be the same. In turn, making them more likely to interact and engage on social media.
A few easy, engaging social media posts to get started with are:
- Trivia questions
- Interesting tidbits from your organisation
- Photos of medical conferences, seminars, cultural activities conducted by the colleges over the years if it is an old institution. If it is an upcoming college, an introduction about the college, the founders, faculty members and departments can help in creating a difference.
4. PAID DIGITAL ADS
With paid digital ads one can reach valuable demographics such as residents and fellows, students and their families, physicians, nurses and people who are intrested in the medical college.
This marketing method lets you highlight the salient features in sponsored listings on search engines and boost the name in the search listings
5. SEARCH ENGINE OPERATIONS (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a marketing tactic that will help in increasing the visibility of your website on search engines like Google. The higher you rank for a valuable keyword or phrase — “Medical colleges in Pune” for example — the more chance you have of boosting conversions and increasing the leads.
75% of search users never click past the second page of search results, making SEO crucial for marketers. Therefore, if you want to increase theexposure of your medical college, invest in SEO.
6 EMAIL MARKETING
By targeting the leads who have previously viewed the website, personalised emails can be sent by mentioning links to get further information through the website, FAQ’s and more. Although just targeting leads may seem like a tedious task but it is really important to understand that qualified leads are more likely to convert.
7. BEING A SOURCE FOR JOURNALIST
Journalists for print, online, and TV regularly seek out medical professionals to provide context and legitimacy to their stories. Think about partnering with a local news outlet on a health or even a career column to position yourself as the expert to prospective and current patients aswell as students
This will gain you access to media queries as well as provide you an outlet for pitching story ideas of your own to journalists.
8.CONNECTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
There are more than 1.94 billion monthly active Facebook users worldwide. And as the social network’s tagline makes clear, the site is all about connection. A professional Facebook page for a med school allows one to frequently contact your audience and remind them of your presence.
Posting about admission deadlines, news, and other noteworthy items like alumni stories will help ensure followers and potential clients keep you in mind. It’s also an ideal forum for blog posts—useful and interesting links of your college’s posts on Facebook can be shared and passed around, providing virtual word-of-mouth
Twitter, Instagram, and other social networks likeLinkedIn provide additional opportunities to connect and share with your audience.
CONCLUSION
Marketing involves public relations, media planning, client support, market research, and community involvement as well as advertising.
Therefore Marketing strategies help in showcasing unmatched teaching skills through experts in your field of medicine, and successful outcomes.
However it is essential to understand that those who invest in marketing themselves thrive, while others who resist tend to fall behind.
It is a superficial macro level study. For more details kindly contact Hospaccx Healthcare business
consulting Pvt. Ltd on Hospaccx.india@gmail.com
