I was recently asked by the CEO of a growing Health IT company whether it would be better to hire a senior marketing leader who is skilled at marketing but new to healthcare or someone who has healthcare experience, but not as skilled at marketing. 100% of the time I would choose the less experienced marketer who has healthcare experience.
Here are 3 reasons why.
Marketing education is more plentiful
Ultimately every company wants to have a senior leader who is both a great marketer AND who has deep healthcare knowledge. Learning marketing strategies and techniques is far easier than learning healthcare.
This isn’t because healthcare is tougher to learn than marketing. They are equally challenging. However, there are plenty of educational resources available to learn marketing. You can do a simple Google search and find hundreds of books, courses, conferences, webinars, and YouTube videos on a variety of marketing topics. The same is not true for healthcare.
There are not many resources for people to learn about healthcare. I challenge you to find more than 10 “healthcare 101” courses that aren’t part of a post-secondary institution. Most healthcare marketing education happens through apprenticeship and experience.
When I first started in healthcare marketing, I was lucky to work with someone who had several years of experience and she was willing to “show me the ropes”. She taught me the basics of US healthcare, how clinicians didn’t react to certain forms of advertising and how important conferences are for demand as well as lead generation. The knowledge she shared was invaluable.
Unfortunately, not everyone is as lucky to have such a person available to them.
Healthcare buyers tune out outsiders
The old adage says that you only have one chance to make a first impression. In healthcare I would modify that to say you only have one chance to show a potential buyer that you truly ‘get it’.
Spell (or use) HIPAA incorrectly or refer to plan members as patients in your marketing materials and you will be instantly seen as a healthcare outsider. Your sales team will then have a big hill to climb and your marketing programs will not yield the expected results. Having a marketing leader who has healthcare experience means they are more likely to catch these types of marketing-misses before they hit production.
Can a non-healthcare person learn this? Absolutely. But why wait the 6 months or year for that to happen when you can get a healthcare savvy senior marketing leader today?
Healthcare marketing missteps can be costly
Misusing a term and sounding like an outsider is a challenge, but one that can be overcome. There are, however, some marketing missteps that are far more costly.
Many healthcare organizations have strict policies that prohibit employees from accepting any gift over $25 from a vendor. Some organizations have a $0 policy. Anyone who is caught could lose their job.
Seasoned healthcare marketers know not to take pictures of clients at conference events (dinners or drinks) and post them to social media. They know that the only way clients can participate is if the event is non-exclusive (meaning that more open to non-client attendees as well).
If a posted photo ever made its way back to the organization, not only could that person lose their job, but the company hosting the event might find themselves losing their client when it comes time to renew.
The one exception
There is one instance where I would recommend hiring marketing experience over healthcare experience. If you have someone in your organization who is willing to coach and mentor your new hire then it could work well.
That coach or mentor doesn’t have to be another senior executive. It could be existing members of the marketing team that have been at the company for a while. Or it could be an outside consultant, advisor or board member that could serve in that role.
Talented senior marketers are out there
Many CEOs at Health IT companies that I speak to, do not know where to start looking for senior marketers who have deep healthcare knowledge. I try to reassure them by pointing them to SHSMD and HITMC – two amazing communities where there are hundreds of talented healthcare marketers.
If you are looking for a senior marketer, take the extra time to find one with the right healthcare experience. You won’t regret it.
Agree 100% Colin! My career has definitely pivoted from niche healthcare subject matter expert to health IT marketing/communications professional. I’ve learned a lot throughout my career, but the healthcare knowledge was definitely the foundation needed to be successful in health IT marketing.
Appreciate the comment Kathryn. Healthcare knowledge & experience isn’t MANDATORY, but it can make a huge difference. You are 100% that Healthcare domain knowledge is a great foundation.
Interesting perspective here. I was the opposite as a marketing person brought into the healthcare world. It was definitely a jump, from what I was doing before! But it has been rewarding.
Our organization’s marketing team was in need of marketing minds to revitalize the approach.
Today’s marketers need to be results focused and not set on doing the same things just because “that’s how we’ve always done it”. I think that mentality can be applied in any industry and any position. I’d be curious to see more articles/materials on how healthcare likes to be marketed to!