If you work in the healthcare industry, it’s essential to remain prepared for potential challenges that may arise, including economic recessions. While no one can predict the future with certainty, having a solid healthcare marketing strategy in place can help your practice weather any storms that may come your way.

With inflation and supply chain disruptions impacting the economy, a recession may be looming in the future. A solid healthcare marketing strategy can help you stay ahead of the curve and mitigate the adverse effects a recession can have on your practice.

6 Healthcare Marketing Strategies to Consider When Preparing for a Recession

Unfortunately, if a recession does impact the economy, it won’t be as easy as simply riding it out. You must be proactive in your preparations and adopt specific healthcare marketing strategies now to help your practice stay afloat.

Healthcare practices and medical device companies that are lackadaisical in their recession preparations may find themselves in a vulnerable spot if a recession hits. Therefore, incorporating the following strategies into your marketing plan now will give you a better chance of success.

1. Keep Business Priorities and Goals in Alignment

During a recession, it’s important to keep your business priorities and goals aligned to ensure you make the most of your marketing efforts. This may involve reassessing your target audience, identifying new growth opportunities, or revising your marketing budget to allocate resources more effectively.

To keep your business priorities and goals in alignment, consider conducting a thorough review of your current healthcare marketing strategy and identifying areas that may need to be adjusted to better suit your current needs. This may involve focusing more on digital marketing channels, such as social media or email marketing, to reach a wider audience at a lower cost.

2. Prioritize Bottom of the Funnel Marketing Campaigns

Focusing on marketing campaigns that are more likely to produce tangible results is critical in a recession. This means focusing your efforts on bottom-of-the-funnel (BOF) campaigns, such as retargeting and email marketing. These campaigns typically have a higher ROI than top-of-the-funnel (TOF) campaigns and are more likely to generate leads that can be converted into paying customers.

By prioritizing BOF campaigns, you can ensure that the resources you are spending on marketing are being used in a way that is most likely to result in actual sales. BOF conversion-based PPC campaigns, for example, can be an effective way to target customers who are close to making a purchase decision and drive them toward your practice. This is because when potential patients are ready to book an appointment or service, they will likely utilize a search engine to search for healthcare providers in their area.

3. Focus On Driving Demand and Building Your Brand

When the economy is in a recession, it’s crucial to focus on driving demand for your products or services and building your brand to emerge stronger on the other side. To drive demand, consider implementing targeted marketing campaigns that showcase the value of your products or services and highlight how they can solve your customers’ problems or meet their needs. This may involve investing in content marketing to establish your practice as a leader in your industry or utilizing search engine optimization (SEO) to improve your online visibility.

Building your brand can also help you stand out in a crowded market and establish trust with potential customers. This may involve developing a strong brand identity and messaging, as well as consistently delivering high-quality products or services that exceed customer expectations.

4. Hone in on Organic Growth

While in a recession, many paid media channels may become too expensive to use effectively, so it’s important to focus on organic growth strategies. Organic growth involves optimizing your website and utilizing content marketing techniques such as blogging and social media to reach new customers without spending much money.

If you aren’t already, it is vital to start prioritizing your website and SEO. This could include optimizing your website for speed and accessibility or focusing on keyword research to identify topics that are likely to appeal to your target audience. By focusing on organic growth early, you can continue driving traffic and gaining qualified leads even if you have to cut your paid media budget in the future.

5. Strategically Promote Healthcare Services

As potential consumers deal with financial strain, they may be more likely to seek affordable healthcare services. Strategically promoting healthcare services that are lower in cost can help you draw in new customers or retain existing ones during a recession. This may include:

• Offering discounts on certain services
• Launching promotions to showcase the value of your practice’s offerings
• Focusing on preventative care to help patients avoid more expensive treatments
• Prioritizing mental health services to help people cope with recession-related stress
• Promoting telehealth services that reduce healthcare costs

6. Leverage Electronic Health Records to Drive Demand

As you fight recession-related budget constraints, it’s essential to leverage your practice’s electronic health records (EHRs). Targeting potential patients through your EHR and curating marketing campaigns to nurture and convert them may help you drive demand for specific procedures or services.

To implement this strategy, you can begin by combing through your EHR to identify potential patients who may be a good fit for a particular procedure or service based on their health data. You can then work with your medical staff to review these potential candidates and select the best ones to target. Once you have a list of potential patients, you may create focused healthcare marketing campaigns to drive demand without going over budget.

This may involve creating targeted emails or social media campaigns that provide valuable information about the procedure’s benefits and how it may help patients improve their health. You may also consider offering free consultations or information sessions to further educate potential patients and help convert them into paying clients.

Get Ahead of Your Healthcare Marketing Efforts with Levo Health

If you’re looking for support in preparing your healthcare marketing strategy for the future, Levo Health can help. As a full-service healthcare marketing agency, we have the expertise and resources to help your practice navigate these challenging times and come out on top. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your marketing efforts and drive business growth.