Traditional vs. Digital Marketing for Medical Practices

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After the change in market trends, we can no longer remain comfortable doing things the way we always have done them. The modern healthcare marketer is empowered by technology that enables patients and physicians to leverage centralized data and collaborative workflow.

Traditional marketing and digital marketing for Medical practices are two sides of the same coin. They both promote medical services, communicating effectively with healthcare professionals and patients.

Traditional marketing is based on building relationships through sales representatives, but since the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare digital marketing has taken an overhaul. The reason was the need for sales reps to meet hospital patients and persuade them to try the specified medical services. So, healthcare practices had to look for other ways to introduce patients to their offered services.

Digital marketing is the new way to reach patients without leaving the office. So, what is the difference between the two? And which is better than the other? We will explore what differentiates them and how you can utilize them in the healthcare industry.

What Is Traditional Healthcare Marketing?

Traditional marketing encompasses any marketing activities that aren’t online. This includes any

Physical sales aids
Brochures
Adverts in journals
Live event stands

Traditional marketing is all about brand credibility and forging personal connections. Word of mouth and sales representatives are also considered traditional marketing.

Advantages of Traditional Healthcare Marketing

Traditional marketing allows sales representatives to understand patients more precisely and adapt their medical services to fit patient’s needs. This helps you to get an idea of how interested patients are in getting converted into leads. The results of this type of marketing can be more immediate than digital marketing for medical practices.

It helps to build credibility for your practice. All it requires is the expertise to create a positive impression that your practice is well established so patients can trust you.

Moreover, advertising materials like brochures only have to be created once and can be used repeatedly until they are no longer relevant. On the other hand, digital activities like social media must be regularly updated with new content almost daily.

Disadvantages of Traditional Healthcare Marketing

The main disadvantage of traditional marketing for healthcare practices are

The gains of marketing are not measurable with brochures
It is hard to decipher how many patients your practice gain
It is less able to improve campaigns
It is less expressive in spreading the message
It takes time and costs each time something needs to be reprinted

What Is Digital Marketing for Medical Practices?

Digital marketing for medical practices is different as it is subject to regulations. Only a few companies were capitalizing on the opportunity that digital marketing presents, but things are starting to change. Digital marketing has brought a revolutionary change in online reputation management of medical practices that helps them to attract more patients.

Digital marketing, also known as Internet marketing, includes any activity that takes place online. This includes

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Social Media
Email Marketing
Paid Advertising
Online Videos
Digital Sales Ads

It is considered the new marketing frontier because new research brings the most effective way to perform digital marketing for medical practices.

Advantages of Digital Healthcare Marketing

The main benefit of digital marketing is the ability to closely target specific segments of your patients based on factors such as intent and location.

As a result, marketers can tailor the content they show to their patients to let them see what tends them to convert. This helps healthcare practices to get a detailed report about their marketing activities. They can use analytics to gain actionable insights that will improve their campaigns and, therefore, increase their outcomes.

As well as this, digital marketing campaigns can continue to bring in leads long after they are launched. The benefits of digital marketing for medical practices are long-lasting when your website becomes SEO-optimized.

Disadvantages of Digital Marketing for Medical Practices

It is not necessarily a quick win
It takes too long to start seeing the results
Social media and email campaigns may not convert straight away
The connection between the patients and the brand can deviate

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