Health B2B Marketing

Most top 10 lists are about as useful as the one above, but I found one worth passing on.

‘Tis the season for Top 10 lists, be they looking back on the Top 10 things that happened in 2009, or the Top 10 things you can expect in 2010. Most of these lists are just random musings from some guy who doesn’t really know much more than you or I. But I found this list by PriceWaterhouseCoopers worth a second look—Top 10 health care issues for 2010.

Items I found interesting:

Issue #1: “Expect intense, industry-wide efforts to reduce health care costs.” For health care IT marketers, that means we need to continue to promote the products and services that have a strong, verifiable ROI. That was our story in 2009, and it looks like it should continue in 2010.

Issue #3: “Physicians and providers will be scrambling in 2010 to adopt healthcare IT to reap bonuses in 2011 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” Doesn’t really take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. I hope that you’ve already been positioning your products in relation to ARRA, because it might be too late to enter the game.

Issue #5: “The technology and telecommunications sectors will become leading players in healthcare.” I think that means that an already crowded B2B landscape will get even more crowded. And crowded marketplaces favor stronger brands.

What issues in 2010 will most affect your marketing?

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Health care marketing leaders usually have a lot of balls in the air. How do you keep from dropping them?

As a marketing leader at a health care b-to-b vendor, you probably share some or all of these experiences:

• You have multiple people demanding your time and budget
• You have so many balls in the air, you have to drop some of the less important ones
• You have great ideas that could enhance your bottom line
• You struggle to convince your leaders of the value of your ideas
• You have difficulty finding top-notch marketers who also have health care experience

How do I know? I’ve been in your shoes.

I’ve been a marketing and communications professional for more than 13 years, and I’ve also spent 10 years working in health care. I’ve experienced the business of health care from many different perspectives. I’ve done public relations for a small community hospital. I’ve worked in corporate communications for a large integrated delivery system. I’ve been in charge of all hospital-focused marketing at a large health care IT vendor. I’ve managed media relations for a Fortune 50 health and wellness company. Today, I’m the managing principal of a health care marketing agency.

And whether or not you’re in the market for my marketing and advertising services, I’m writing this blog for you.

Now, I’m under no delusion that I’m any more talented than you. I’m sure you can come up with thoughts and ideas and campaigns and strategies that are just as good as anything I can come up with. But this blog will be valuable for you because it will be a seed-bed for growing your marketing department, for improving your standing within your organization, for helping you do your job a little bit better. I hope this blog will be fertile ground where a thought, an idea, or a tip from me can sprout into an intriguing concept, a winning strategy, or a successful campaign for you.

Time is money for you. Same goes for me, so I’ll keep my posts short. And, please, post your comments. I’m sure I and the other marketing leaders reading this blog will benefit.

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