Global warming, certainty, and healthcare marketing measurement
“Healthcare marketing needs to become less of an art, more of a science” has been a common refrain of mine for a while now. By “science”, I’m talking specifically about our ability as marketers to measure the impact of our efforts, using many of the philosophies and techniques scientists use, to discover what works best. Following a rigorous, “scientific” approach not only helps marketers determine what does work – and what doesn’t – but also helps marketers present and defend their strategies to others in the organization.
Even with a scientific approach, however, there will likely be no absolute answers, at least not in the short term. After all, science itself doesn’t always provide absolutes. Take the extinction of the dinosaurs, reasons for which scientists have changed multiple times over the centuries. For a more current example, scientists aren’t exactly rock-solid in their agreement on what’s causing global warming, or even that there is global warming.
The point here is not to diminish the role a scientific approach to measurement can have for healthcare marketers, but to release the pressure of finding the answer in our measurement efforts. In my book, “The Marketer’s Guide to Measuring Results,” Larry Daly, director for planning and business development at Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw, MI, take a great perspective on this issue. For example, he talks about the difficulty in using market share as an absolute measure of marketing efficacy, given other variables (such as competitor efforts or physician capacity) that can affect market share.
“It helps for everyone to understand that it’s an imperfect science,” he says. “But just because it’s sketchy doesn’t mean you don’t pursue a scientific approach to measurement. To use a clinical metaphor, it may not be as good as a digital thermometer, but it is better than putting your hand on a forehead and saying, ‘Seems warm.’”
It may take years of marketing measurement to feel confident in what works best in a given situation or market. But in the end, even when there may be no 100% absolute answer, the knowledge and improvement gained along the way is well worth the effort.
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