As the health care field increasingly focuses on population health, hospital and health system marketers need to learn how to use their promotional skills in new ways to help their organizations achieve the objectives of this model of care. “For many marketing professionals this requires a different way of thinking,” said Amy Stevens, vice president of marketing and communications at Tidelands Health. “Typically our efforts have concentrated on either increasing brand awareness or driving profitable business into our key service lines. Using our talents and the tools of marketing to support population health requires something of a behavior change.” Stronger Through MovementIn 2016 Tidelands Health clinical leaders, senior leadership, and marketing jointly developed a successful population health initiative to guide individuals living with or at risk for Type 2 diabetes into a low-cost medical fitness program called Stronger Through Movement. The physician-referred program is offered at Tidelands Health’s wellness center, a 40,000-square-foot facility that features an indoor track, cardiovascular equipment, free weights, lap pool, aerobics studio, and gym. During the initial two-week free membership, participants in Stronger Through Movement meet with an exercise physiologist to put together a personalized exercise routine and have the option to register for personal training and various programs.The marketing team promoted the program using traditional marketing tactics but later launched an innovative customer relationship management (CRM) campaign that has proven to be much more successful. Using the health system’s CRM database and predictive modeling, the team sent targeted direct mail and email to community residents already living with diabetes as well as those at high risk for developing the chronic condition.“Once we implemented a data-driven approach to contacting specific groups of people who could benefit the most from the program, that’s when we began to see strong results,” Stevens said. Promoting Population HealthIn a recent issue of SHSMD's Spectrum newsletter, Stevens shares insights and implications of the marketing campaign.
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