How to increase sales in the health sector

Nowadays, no matter what industry you are in, being online is great for your business. Businesses who communicate efficiently with their followers are more likely to have loyal and engaged followers and customers. 

Marketing within the healthcare sector

Whilst it is not possible to prevent all illnesses or diseases, “prevention is better than the cure” as stated by Desiderius Erasmus a Dutch philosopher in the 1500’s. We have doctors, scientists and healthcare professionals that work hard to create and supply us with the best remedies that we may need. 

Particularly due to the coronavirus pandemic, people all over the world have become more health conscious. When all of the gyms shut in the UK, people thought of alternative ways to stay active. For example, people are buying their own gym equipment or going for jogs outside. The British public have also become more conscious about personal hygiene and washing their hands.

The coronavirus pandemic has also created a shift in a different direction when it comes to doctors appointments. Face-to-face appointments are now being advised against where possible. A large proportion of all healthcare services have moved online thus, speeding up the process of some services. Digital technology has been crucial throughout this uncertain time. Allowing patients to video call healthcare professionals to obtain any advice they may need keeps them out of reach of a doctor’s practice or hospital. 

This has kept the NHS staff safer as they were coming into contact with less people. Although video calls may not be the solution to everyones problems it is the next best solution and has helped many patients. 

With a possible rise in cases to happen throughout the winter months, online doctors appointments will again be inundated with new possible covid cases. To get ahead, maybe now is the time to focus on specific elements of business strategies. It is important to highlight where companies can become a hub of information for the people who need specific information and increase sales within the healthcare sector. 

Shifting focus from general health to fitness

Fitness is very related to the healthcare industry. Online devices such as health and fitness apps have changed the way we think about fitness. We can use these apps to track our performance in both exercise and nutrition. Do you have a fitbit or step counter? How often do you check this to how close to reaching your recommended step target you are? 

In addition, outdoor exercise has risen dramatically throughout lockdown and has continued to surge despite gyms reopening. There has been a 40% increase in snack purchases throughout lockdown however, there is a lot of information suggesting people are more conscious on wanting to feel good and with improved health. 

Covid 19 has created a ‘new normal’, how can you benefit from this?  

You may wonder what the right marketing strategy is for your company?

According to research, 73% of online users within the previous 12 months have researched online for various illnesses, treatments and symptoms. When people have queries often the first thing they do is search online. There are many different marketing strategies that could be included within your business: 

Blogging

Blogging can be very beneficial especially in the healthcare industry as there is so much content that can be produced and knowledge to impart. This can help you to become a trusted industry leader and an authoritative figure within your subject. To successfully blog, planning is key! Defining topics to write and deciding when they will go live will ensure your website is up to date and relevant. 

Defining your target audience 

A vast age range of people use the internet to search health related queries. A UK study in 2019 states 77% of internet users aged 65+ have searched for issues relating to health. Therefore, it may be worth considering segmenting blogs into age related queries.  

Website Optimisation

You should optimise your website so that information can be found simply and quickly to increase the chances of traffic on your site. 

Social media

Social media can be used to drive traffic towards your blog pages and promote your services.

Be specific

Try to create relevant content to generate a high quality audience rather than being too generalistic. 

B2C and B2B

Some businesses will provide services or products to an end consumer whereas, other companies send them to other businesses. Therefore, they will be targeting different audiences and will require different content and tone of voice. This should be considered when writing and sharing content on blogs and social media etc.

Video content

Google is the most popular search engine followed by YouTube, highlighting that your content should be posted where your audience is most likely to see it. To maximise efficiency and reach your potential audience, businesses should transform videos into blog posts and their blog posts can be transformed into videos.