Lately, there’s been a whole lot of talk about the four distinct generations in the work force and the marketplace, and their different values and expectations.  But what does it mean for healthcare marketers?  In Friday morning’s general session, Michael Howe talked about the influences that have shaped the values of the Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials, and how those values determine their expectations of the healthcare system.  As Mr. Howe points out, there are fundamentals that we all expect – quality, access, and continuity of care – but each generation also has other, unique demands related to convenience, affordability, and how they would like to be engaged.

For instance, the Greatest Generation wants direction, so it’s important to assist them in finding their way – through the system and through the facility. Baby Boomers desire engagement, so bring them into decision-making and the care process.  Self-sufficiency is important to the Gen X group, so give them tools and education that will enable them to help fix problems.  And, work on achieving a comfort level with online tools so that you can make the kinds of social connections that are important to Millenials. As Howe notes, if you don’t create the right experience based on what the different groups value, you won’t get them as customers.

For more on marketing to different generational audiences, check out Matching the Market: Using Generational Segments to Attract and Retain Consumers, a new Research Brief from Thomson Reuters.  Drawing on consumer and customer segment research, the report examines significant findings about how the four adult generations use healthcare, and highlights contrasting differences among the segments.

Have you been asked to scale back your marketing efforts?  While your organization’s first response might be to pull back, the downturn presents some unique opportunities as well.  Economic dips and recessions are much-studied phenomena and much is known about the strategic use of marketing communications in these times.  Sound strategy and solid plans can help keep the sharks at bay and assert the value of marketing.  SPM Marketing & Communications has a new white paper out that offers solid advice for healthcare marketers in today’s difficult economy.  Read Marketing in a Tightening Economy and learn:

• 10 ways to cement marketing’s role in your organization AND protect your budget in the process
• healthcare’s unique opportunities in a down economy
• how to apply lessons in branding, communications, and media strategy gleaned from previous recessions
• how America’s top researchers, scholars, and institutions are saying firms should approach marketing today

In healthcare, as in other service industries, marketing is allabout managing the service and the customer–or patient–experience.  And, the role of the service marketer differs from that of a product marketer in important ways.  In their keynote session this afternoon, The Service is the Marketing, Leonard Berry and Kent Seltman described three “not so obvious” roles for the healthcare marketer.

First, the healthcare marketer is a Clue Manager.  The service experience is influenced by numerous clues … including technical quality of care, the look of the facility, noise levels, and how the patient is treated by the many people they interact with.  No one in the organization should be more conscious of the need to orchestrate these clues to paint a positive picture than the marketing director, says Berry.  The marketer should take a leadership role in helping the organization close the gap between what the patient and his or her family want to feel and the actual experience.

Second, the healthcare marketer is the Internal Brander.  It is the marketer’s role to sell the brand promise to employees.  That involves educating staff throughout the organization about the desired brand experience along with celebrating brand-strengthening behaviors.

Third, the healthcare marketer is a Quality Service Champion.  As Berry and Seltman point out, the healthcare marketer cannot be successful in his or her job if the service and the experience are poor.  The marketer must champion excellent service because the service IS the marketing–it is the quality of the service delivered, of the patient experience and all that goes into it, that will deliver the positive word of mouth that is so essential to marketing healthcare.

Just two more days until the Customer Based Marketing Strategies Forum kicks off … and we here at the Forum for Healthcare Strategists are really looking forward to all the great keynote and concurrent speakers we’ve got lined up.  Leaving frigid Chicago for sun and 70’s in Las Vegas will be a delight as well!

We hope you’ll visit this blog and share your comments on the sessions you attend while at CBM.  It’s a great way to stimulate discussion, and to keep colleagues who aren’t in attendance posted.

And, remember, if you couldn’t make this year’s CBM conference, you can order the CD-ROM.  Use the Registration Form, or call 312-440-9080, x23, to order.

See you in Las Vegas!