Women Control the Marketplace – and Your Healthcare Brand’s Success
Did you know that roughly 80% of women make household healthcare purchasing decisions? (Not to mention that women also make 85% of all U.S. consumer purchases in general.) Women control the marketplace, yet even with their well-defined control of the consumer landscape, 9 out of 10 women still feel that advertisers simply don’t understand them. This can be downright dangerous for healthcare brands that are sending the wrong messages to their key consumers.
Women are the health care decision makers in our country – not only for themselves, but also for their families. Women take the lead role in choosing health plans, scheduling doctor’s appointments, picking up prescriptions, and making sure their loved ones are getting the care they need. Women need the right tools and information to make the best health care choices. In today’s Value-based Purchasing era, it’s more critical than ever for women to know why they should buy from you and where to get information about your brand to make healthcare buying decisions that are right for them.
The Role of Today’s Woman
Gone are the days of the “women’s sphere” where women were confined to the household. Sure, women still play the role of mothers and homemakers, but the overall role has become so much more dynamic – primarily within the last decade or so. Women with families juggle these tasks as well as earning income with growing titles as entrepreneurs, all while playing a leading role in purchasing and daily life decisions for themselves and their families.
Understanding Women as Healthcare Consumers
Despite the huge presence of women in the marketplace, statistics show that only a mere 3% of advertising creative directors are women. This sets the stage for a rather large miscommunication in the marketing world, as men simply don’t resonate with the everyday woman’s plight. To remedy this, we need to shift our focus to truly understanding today’s modern woman and how she interacts with brands and makes purchasing decisions.
Healthcare marketers are facing unprecedented changes in the industry and more pressure to demonstrate results. To meet those challenges, marketers must boldly break free from the confines of the past and me-too marketing. We must move forward in new and better ways of engaging healthcare consumers. Traditional marketing tactics won't work in the new world of ACOs, health care reform and empowered consumers.
2015 Marketing to Women Conference
This year, the 10th Annual Marketing to Women Conference will be held at the Chicago Cultural Center. Expert speakers will offer up the latest trends, statistics, and case studies relating to the purchasing power of women and how best to reach them in their “natural habitat.” To learn more about the conference and register, visit www.M2W.biz.
By understanding how women are influencing the success of your healthcare business and adjusting your marketing strategies accordingly, you’re helping to position your brand for growth and break through the healthcare haze. Share this post if you think more healthcare leaders need to better understand healthcare decision makers.
