Healthcare Marketing

'Healthcare Marketing is about Creating a Positive Experience'

The treating physician/consultant remain the biggest factor in the retention and delight of the customer

You may have the best product or service on Earth, but it cannot become big without the right marketing strategy. Marketing, today has become a vital component of all hospital & healthcare operations owing to the rise in the number of hospitals and immense competition, observed Vivek Shukla, during 'Healthcare Marketing', a two-day conference and workshop, held from June 5th and 6th 2010, Bangaluru.

Tanjai Kapoor, Senior Vice President, Marketing of BGS Global Hospitals, Bangaluru spoke on 'Re-positioning Strategy for a Growing Hospital'. "The process of brand re-positioning includes four phases: determining the current status of the brand, analysing what the brand stands for today, developing brand positioning platforms and defining the repositioned brand identity." Gopal Vaidyanathan, Director, Corporate Marketing & Strategy, Super Religare Laboratories (SRL) Ltd, Delhi spoke on 'Challenges in Marketing Diagnostic Services in India'. Lack of skilled and technical talents, limited regulatory requirements, ineffective/ non-compliance of available accreditations and quality standards, absence of any regulatory body and the fact that general physicians still have the largest decision making power are the key challenges faced by the diagnostics industry in India, he said. Said Dr SK Saran, Director - Medical Services, Yashoda Medicare & Research Center, Bangaluru, "Healthcare marketing isn't just about advertising and Public Relations. It is all about creating a positive experience that embeds trust. whatever the situation, the customer/patient comes first." Sanjay Rai, Director, Marketing & Customer Management, Max Healthcare, Delhi spoke on 'Communication & Branding in Healthcare'. He emphasised on the fact that the success of a hospital is all about trust, and it depends not only on doctors, nurses, equipment and best practices, but providing remarkable service experiences.

"The treating physician/consultant remain the biggest factor in the retention and delight of the customer," said Ravindra Pai, Vice President - Marketing, Apollo Hospitals, Bangaluru, as he presented on Customer Retention and Achieving Customer Delight. N Ravi Shankar, CEO of Aim High Consulting, Bangaluru, in his presentation, depicted various advertisements and PR campaigns carried out by healthcare organisations across the country. Lakshman TL, COO of The Cradle, Calicut, spoke on 'Structuring the Marketing Department of a Hospital & Recruiting the Best Talent for the Department'. He stressed on the fact that today's hospitals need to recruit professional healthcare management personnel for operations and marketing. He also emphasised that most of the successful hospitals in the country have achieved excellence under the leadership of healthcare management professionals. The second day included a half day Workshop by Vivek Shukla on 'How to Grow your Hospital Business'.

EH News Bureau