This document outlines five bold moves to transform healthcare marketing. It recommends changing the marketing culture to be more strategic, cross-functional, and results-oriented. It also suggests configuring a new marketing organization by restructuring functions, acquiring new competencies like data analytics and digital skills, creating a compelling case for change, and communicating new expectations that marketing will be more strategic and accountable for growth. The overall goal is to position the organization to better compete in a changing market and achieve growth objectives.

1. Five Bold Moves to Transform
Healthcare Marketing
Karen Corrigan
Corrigan Partners LLC
@karencorrigan
corriganpartners.com

2. So, how do I . . .
 Create a future-ready, high-performing and
efficient marketing operation; that will . . .
 Better position the organization to compete
as changing market dynamics reshape the
competitive environment . . .
 And achieve organizational growth and
profitability goals?
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3. Establish a transformative agenda for change
• Restructuring markets and intensifying competitor activities
in anticipation of reform and other industry pressures
require more focused marketing investments.
• New reimbursement methods and emerging business
models require greater emphasis on customer engagement
to optimize profitability.
• Web, social networking and mobile technologies are
changing consumer behaviors and revolutionizing business
processes everywhere, requiring new competencies,
capabilities and investments for customer acquisition,
retention and engagement.
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4. Five bold moves to transform marketing
 Change the marketing culture
 Configure the new marketing organization
 Acquire new competencies, capabilities and skills
 Create a compelling case for change and bias for action
 Communicate new roles, new rules, new expectations
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5. Bold move #1:
Change the marketing culture
This requires a shift in thinking about marketing as tactical operations to a
discipline that is strategic, cross-functional and bottom line oriented.
STRATEGIC
Focused on opportunities that drive growth and better
business performance.
CROSS FUNCTIONAL
Orchestrated across marketing, clinical and business
functions, with shared accountabilities for success.
RESULTS ORIENTED
Delivers on growth, revenue and profit targets.
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6. Bold move #2:
Configure the new marketing operation
 Establish a future vision, role and scope for marketing
 Restructure to align/integrate critical functions
 Review and update staffing models and skills
 Standardize planning and resource allocation modeling
 Develop performance management standards & measures
 Invest in the core technology infrastructure
 Build a unified, high performance operation and culture
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7. Bold move #3:
Acquire new competencies, capabilities and skills
 Strategic marketing planning
 Market intelligence and business analytics
 Brand building and management
 Market and customer creation abilities
 Product development
 Sales, CRM, PRM, customer contact centers
 Customer engagement proficiencies
 Social commerce and community management
 Cross-channel content strategy and management
 Digital media fluency (web, mobile, social, etc.)
 Real-time responsiveness
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8. Bold move #4:
Create a compelling case for change; bias for action
Growing revenue, improving business performance, increasing brand loyalty
and building sustainable competitive advantage . . .
 Build brands that attract customers and remain relevant as markets change
 Develop highly targeted smart growth strategies across inpatient, ambulatory,
retail and virtual sites
 Drive successful growth of more tightly integrated physician partners
 Redefine and leverage channel relationships
 Create future-ready models of care delivery that optimize profitability under
reform economics
 Leverage web, mobile and social media technologies to attract and engage
stakeholders
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9. Bold move #5:
New roles, new rules, new expectations
 Communicate new rules and expectations:
 Marketing will establish a robust partnership with administrative, clinical and
business operations to drive clear alignment of growth, brand and marketing
strategies and investments to the health system’s transformation agenda, growth
and financial goals
 Marketing investments will be prioritized to strategic planning, business
development, growth and financial performance imperatives.
 Data and analysis will inform strategic marketing thinking and planning, and provide
an evidence-based approach to marketing investment.
 Marketing and operations will establish cross functional collaboration, decision-
making and co-accountability for outcomes.
 Time – and dollars – will be focused on fewer, more impactful activities; and
activities and tasks that do not contribute to growth and improved competitive
performance will be transitioned or eliminated.
 Marketing performance measures, monitoring and reporting systems will be
developed and employed to track progress and outcomes.
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10. Key questions to get the conversation started . . .
 What is the current state of marketing in terms
of priorities, effectiveness, capabilities, skills,
systems, structure and performance?
 What is your vision for its future state? What is
the gap between current- and future-state in
terms of structure, processes, competencies
and investments?
 What are the marketing opportunities and
challenges in regards to changes in the delivery
system; e.g., care transformation, multiple
geographies, expanding services portfolios,
employed physician SBUs, etc.?
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11. Key questions to get the conversation started . . .
 What marketing capabilities and controls are/should be held by the
corporate operation; what is optimally administered by major business
units?
 How are advances in technology (digital, social media marketing, CRM,
etc.) changing marketing practice, and what new infrastructure, skills
and competencies will this require?
 What are the optimal synergies and relationships between planning,
marketing, PR, sales, etc., as well as with finance, IT and SBU operations
to inform and support brand building, business development and growth
priorities?
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12. Embrace change, then drive transformation
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13. Questions. Comments. Discussion.
Karen Corrigan
Founder/CEO
Corrigan Partners
karen@corriganpartners.com
P 757.288.2480
@karencorrigan
blog @ karencorrigan.com