The following is a guest article by Andy Pollock from BrandActive
The need to centralize more marketing functions is a hot topic these days, and for good reasons. Healthcare marketers see more centralization at the corporate level as a way to improve the patient experience, reduce costs, and increase speed to market.
There’s also lot of agreement on how healthcare marketing got to the point where operating inefficiently and promoting fragmented patient experiences is almost the norm. For years, healthcare systems have been consolidating through widespread M&A. The post-M&A integration process doesn’t usually include how to best optimize new and legacy marketing and brand operations. As a result, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and brand consistency suffer.
Left unaddressed, a decentralized structure will continue to impede the marketing effectiveness of a healthcare system. And that appears to be a likely scenario. Even amid recent regulatory rumblings and the devastation of the COVID pandemic, M&A activity didn’t significantly decrease. In fact, Kaufman Hall reports that during 2020, healthcare M&A “stayed within the historic range of activity seen in the past ten years1.” Most industry prognosticators expect a significant uptick in 2021.2
Agreeing that centralized marketing is needed is one thing. But actually figuring out how to move from the decentralized marketing or “home rule” model to a more efficient, centralized model is another matter altogether. It’s not always intuitive or without pitfalls. Here’s what we’ve learned.
Three steps to developing a more efficient, centralized marketing function
- Understand exactly how marketing is being done today
Start by figuring out exactly where your organization stands. It’s usually best to map activities by location, meaning each hospital, clinic, and specialist practice. Identify all marketing activities and processes along with who is responsible for planning, approving, and executing each of them. In a decentralized marketing department, you’ll expect to find a lot of variation in roles, responsibilities and operating procedures. Then, document the processes, tech systems and workflows used to execute marketing activities at each location, with an eye to identifying which appear to be the most efficient. You’ll come away with a comprehensive view of marketing operations at your healthcare system and what needs to change—and an understanding of how complex this all can become as a result of M&A.
- Create streamlined structures and processes
Take your findings about what’s working and what’s not and layer on how the needs of each location/entity may differ along with an understanding of your organization’s overall marketing strategy. Then, work through what can and should be centralized for better outcomes and efficiency. You’ll need to consider how centralization will affect job responsibilities, workflows, and costs. In the end, you’ll likely recommend a structure that clearly defines what the central marketing team is responsible for and what the local marketing teams are empowered to do. Include detailed blueprints on what tech platforms will be used, optimized ways of working with agencies and other suppliers, and what types of initiatives need to be rolled out system-wide.
No doubt, this is change with a capital C. It likely alters who is doing what, with whom, and how much autonomy staff members have. So, how the change is crafted and communicated to your marketing teams can make or break this initiative. For your marketing employees, the goal is to ease anxiety and increase buy-in and support. Start by clearly explaining the potential gains. Perhaps it’s the ability to use new technologies and templates, learn from a broader range of colleagues, or participate in the development of inventive campaigns or breakthrough initiatives. Also, make it clear that the cost savings of centralization can benefit everyone involved.
- Preserve your gains through future organizational changes
As you move to a more centralized marketing model, you’ll want to preserve and build on the gains you’ve made. Given it’s reasonable to expect more mergers or acquisitions ahead, take a bit of time now when the process is fresh in your mind to create an M&A playbook. This resource will enable you to quickly evaluate a future target’s marketing function. You’ll also be able to map out how to integrate their marketing department into your overall system in a way that preserves their ability to respond to local needs.
Follow these three steps to create and maintain centralized, simplified marketing processes and infrastructure—all key assets in delivering a better patient experience, improving productivity, decreasing costs, and building brand equity.
Notes:
- Kaufman Hall: 2020 M&A in Review: COVID-19 as Catalyst for Transformation
- PwC: Global M&A Industry Trends in Health Industries
About the Author
Andy Pollock helps healthcare brands with the financial analysis and logistics of rebranding in his role as Vice President of Client Service at BrandActive. To date, he’s worked with more than 35 hospitals, healthcare systems, pharma companies and medical technology firms. He began his career in integrated sports and marketing, focusing on building market share and brand image for national clients including Chrysler Corporation, Siemens, Rolex, Callaway Golf, and Glaxo Smith-Kline. For several years, Andy managed corporate marketing for Briggs Equipment/Sammons, a global industrial supplier. He holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas.
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