Consumer-driven healthcare marketing: using the web to get up close and personal.
This essay examines the emergence of consumer-driven healthcare marketing, including its operational definition, how it has been used in the past, and how it has evolved. Specifically, marketing practices in other industries are inspected to understand the factors that have contributed to their successes and to determine the relevance of these efforts to healthcare marketing. The advantages of new, technology-enabled marketing opportunities are considered as well, such as stealth ads, blogs, podcasts, and corporate participation in social networks. The implications of the regulation on healthcare websites, along with the work-around strategies used, are analyzed. Lastly, the essay submits recommendations for the healthcare executive when implementing a consumer-driven healthcare marketing plan.
Rooney
Keila
K
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA. Keila.Rooney@health-first.org
D000329:Advertising; D003256:Community Participation; D020408:Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D014481:United States