Healthcare Marketing: To Reach Moms We Have to Get Smart…Phones That Is

May 11, 2011

Becoming a mom triggers more dependence on smart phones. 

 A young woman has a baby.  And gets a smartphone.   That desk computer or laptop is pretty hard to manage with a baby on your hip.  And especially if you have two or three children.  But staying connected and having access is even more important.  Sharing those pictures and daily baby updates with family and friends is certainly essential.  So what do you do?  You get an iPhone, Android, Blackberry or other smartphone…  Or maybe an iPad.

A recent study by Babycenter cited research that states over half of new moms purchase a smartphone as a direct result of becoming a mom. The camera is a necessity as well as apps for getting things done and staying organized, social sites to stay connected to friends and family, and games to keep the kids entertained.   In fact, a study by Morgan Stanley estimates that in 2011 there will be more smartphones and tablets shipped than notebooks and desktops.

So for healthcare marketers, reaching moms should include a mobile strategy.    “If you are not reaching them through their mobile device, you have less and less chance to reach them at all,” according to Matt Carmichael in a recent article in Advertising Age.  And the study by BabyCenter also indicated there was a sizeable correlation between having a smartphone and moving toward a more digital mix of media consumption.  Forty-six percent of moms with smartphones have taken some form of action after seeing an ad on their mobile device.  And as reported in the Ad Age article, on average, moms with smartphones spend over 6 hours a day with mobile media, which includes email, mobile, web, apps, SMS and voice messaging.

Few hospitals have a well-defined mobile strategy or have even experimented with mobile marketing.  But in the future, it may become necessary for reaching moms. Moms are a key target for hospitals. They are the gatekeeper for their family’s healthcare and control an enormous amount of healthcare dollars.  Mobile is where they are.  It is the communication device they depend on.  It goes with them, stays with them, is the most convenient and fits into their hurried lifestyle. To build a brand and a relationship with them will mean having a mobile strategy. To reach them, we have to get smart too.

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Posted by Jimmy Warren

Healthcare Marketing: Boomers Spending Big on Technology

December 19, 2010

Baby Boomers are into technology, spending more money on technology than any other age group.

Technology and social media are ways to reach the younger generations.  Right?  Not so fast. Baby boomers might be the real target.  The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that baby boomers have fully embraced technology.  They are the biggest spenders on technology according to Forrester Research’s annual benchmark tech study.

Think about the boomers you know.  The typical boomer has a desktop computer at work, a laptop at home, are on facebook, have a smartphone, have multiple accounts on the internet, DVRs their favorite television shows and is wishing for an iPad. If they don’t already have one.

“It’s actually a myth that baby boomers aren’t into technology.  They represent 24% of the population, but they consume 40% (in total dollars spent) of it”, stated Patricia McDonough, senior VP-analysis at Nielsen and reported by Beth Snyder Bulik in Ad Age.

Baby boomers are not early adapters but they certainly pile on.   Ten years ago only 25% of boomers went online daily.  Today 70% go surfing everyday.   And examine these stats about baby boomers:

  • 47% use social media
  • One in five use social media every day
  • A full 66% use their cell phone for texting
  • 91% use email
  • 88% use search engines
  • 78% use the internet to research health information
  • 74% get news from the internet

Baby boomers are aging and have become huge users of health services and that will grow tremendously as they age. To healthcare marketers they are a huge and critical target audience and if we think they can only be reached by traditional media we are making a critical mistake. Technology and social media have been embraced by boomers and have become a very common and pervasive part of their lives.  Technology, new media and social networking are effective ways to reach, communicate and even build relationships with those 45-64 ears old.

Boomers are the greatest spending generation.  And they spend their money and their time on technology.  It would be a huge disconnect for healthcare marketers to assume otherwise.

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Posted by Jimmy Warren

Healthcare Marketing: When Creating Mobile Marketing Strategy, It’s Important to Consider the Heavy Users

October 24, 2010

African-Americans, Hispanics, women, southerners and teens talk and text on their cellphones more than others.

African-Americans average 1300 minutes per month on their cell phones, the most of any demographic.  Hispanics are second averaging 826 minutes per month.  This is compared to Caucasians who average only 647 minutes per month.

Nielsen conducted a yearlong study to determine who used their mobile phones the most.  In their report, Mobile Usage Data, they determined that African- Americans and Hispanics also text the most.  African-Americans average 780 messages a month with Hispanics averaging 767 per month.  Caucasians average 566 texts per month.

The survey analyzed the cellphone bills of 60,000 mobile subscribers each month in the United States.  The analysis indicated women talk more than men with 856 minutes per month and 666 for men. They also text more than men averaging 661 text messages per month compared to 447 for men.

To no one’s surprise, teen’s text the most, averaging 2,779 texts per month.  The average each month for age 18-24 decreases to 1299 texts per month and 25-34 decreases even  more to an average of 592 messages.  Voice usage is more uniform with 18-24 year-olds using 981 minutes per month while 25-34 age group averages 952 minutes per month.

Additionally, southerners use more mobile minutes than those of other regions, averaging over 800 minutes per month.

As mobile marketing becomes more viable and more adopted by marketers, it’s important to identify the heavy users of their mobile devices.  The use by calls or texts varies significantly among different demographics.  Practically everyone is relying on their mobile phones to communicate and the numbers continue to increase. Mobile marketing has indeed become a mass medium. And as health care marketers discover and implement mobile marketing tactics we can know whom we are most likely to effectively reach.

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Posted by Jimmy Warren

Healthcare Marketing: Consumers Can’t Get Enough Media

October 19, 2010

Americans are watching more, surfing more, texting more and consuming media more!

Americans continue to consume more and more media. And there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.   Due to a slow economy, ubiquitous broadband, widespread Wi-Fi access, increased multi-tasking and the proliferation of new devices and technology, consumers are living a lifestyle of almost continuous media consumption. In the past 18 months we watched two more hours of television per week, sent and received half a trillion more text messages and spent 1.3 more hours on the internet.  “We’re finding a way to do more of it, watch more of it and take more of it with us”, stated Patricia McDonough, VP-analysis, Nielsen Company.

Beth Snyder Bulik reported in Ad Age some  of the latest figures for U.S media consumption.

Television

  • 116 million Americans have at least one television
  • 55% of households have at least 3 televisions
  • There are more televisions than people in the US
  • Americans spend an average of 35 hours and 34 minutes per week watching traditional TV
  • Another two hours is spent each week watching time-shifted TV, such as DVR
  • We spend an average of 20 minutes per week watching videos on the internet
  • TV watching is shared with social networking  (21%), playing video games (16%), purchasing products online (15%), participating by phone or internet with what’s happening on TV (7%) and tweeting (4%).

Internet

  • On an average day, 78% of Americans with internet access go online
  • 62% send /receive email
  • 49% use a search engine to find information
  • 43% get news
  • 38% go online for fun
  • 38% use social media
  • 34% check the weather
  • 26% do banking
  • 23% watch video

Newspapers

  • Only 31% of those surveyed read a newspaper on a given day
  • 65 and older – 62%
  • 50-64 – 44%
  • 40-49 – 39%
  • 18-24 – 20%

E-Readers and iPads

  • 3.7 million e-readers sold last year
  • 10.3 million predicted to be sold this year
  • 15.5 million predicted sold next year
  • 30 million predicted sold by 2015
  • 10 million American’s either already own an iPad  (2.5 million) or intend to buy one (7.4 million)

Mobile Phones

  • In 2009 there were 286 million wireless subscribers
  • 72% of consumers now text
  • There are 153 billion texts sent each month
  • Teens send and receive an average of 50 texts per day – adults an average of 10
  • 42% use their cell phones to access the internet
  • 30% do mobile search
  • 27% download apps
  • 26% use it for buying products
  • 15% use their cell phone to purchase products

Social Media

  • Linkedin has 75 million members
  • Twitter has 100 million members
  • Facebook has 500 million members
  • 40% of Americans maintain a social-networking profile
  • 86% of adults 18-24 use social media
  • 47% of boomers use social media
  • 26% of adults over 65 use social media

It is clear that Americans consume an enormous amount of media.  And it continues to increase.  These figures vividly show the power and influence of the media.  They are tools, when used wisely, that can deliver our messages to consumers.


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Posted by Jimmy Warren

Healthcare Marketing: Mobile is Part of the Consumers’ Driving Experience

March 20, 2010

Consumers use mobile devices while driving.  And even though they are concerned about safety they refuse to give up their devices.  They even want more capabilities.       

Much is being discussed today about the dangers of using mobile devices while driving.  Some states have enacted laws making texting or the use of cell phone while driving illegal. But despite the safety concerns, drivers view cell phones and music players necessary items to their driving experience.  In fact, consumers want more capabilities and more convenience.

Rimma Katz reporting in an article for Mobile Marketer, cites a study conducted by G2 Marketing which indicates drivers are very much attached to their mobile devices, and feel disconnected without them.   The study indicated that drive time has become work-time or stay-in-touch time via phone calls.  Time spent driving is no longer viewed as down time but is used as catch-up time for business and personal conversations.

When confronted with the dangers of such activity, drivers were not willing to give up their devices but rather wanted hands-free capabilities. “Drivers wanted wireless capability permanently installed in their vehicles, using installed speakers, and felt his would allow them to pay more attention to the road while using their phone” stated Gretchen Gehrett, president of G2 marketing.

Gehrett continued, “Today’s in-vehicle environment reflects the societal trend of being given exactly what we want, when we want it.”  It’s all about convenience and maximizing the time we have.

The purpose here is not to discuss the pros and cons of using mobile devices while driving.  Or to highlight the potential safety hazards.  The intent is to point out how attached consumers are to their cell phones and how it is viewed as an ever-present necessity.  Mobile phones have become part of our person and we can hardly stand to be without them. That is a marketing lesson.  With people being more and more dependent on their phones, we must discover how to enter that world to effectively communicate and become engaged with consumers.

BMW claims to offer “The Ultimate Driving Experience” but it may be more certain to say that the driver and his cell phone is “the ultimate driving experience”.

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Posted by Jimmy Warren

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