More Men May Be Singing Your Song. Shifting Demographics in Healthcare Marketing & Advertising?
Steve Smith, Healthcare Success Senior Consultant, Writer & Account Manager
Steve Smith Healthcare Success
Singer James Brown sang, “It’s a Man’s World,” but he could also have written a song titled, “It’s a Man’s World Except for Healthcare Decisions.”
Women still make approximately 80% of the health care decisions for their families, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, but that figure may be rapidly declining—and hospital and medical practice marketing & advertising planners take note.
Last year 82 percent of layoffs due to the recession affected men, reports the New York Times. And separately, more women than men are graduating college and entering the workforce. Combined, this means that more men are likely to have increased influence over the family decisions that were traditionally left to women.
Chief among those are the decisions related to healthcare. Fueled by the increasing role of the patients in their own care, men will present both new challenges and opportunities to those who are ready to address their particular needs.
The shift in demographics means that doctor / physician marketing & advertising materials may need a make-over. For your website, for example:
Provide more scientific information. Men will make decisions based on data so make it easy to find. Even better is to create a navbar button titled, “Research and Results.”
Write succinctly. The flowing prose that may have worked in the past may have less success with male website visitors. Your male target audience will appreciate concise, factual copy that arrives at your point as quickly as possible.
Review your images. Men will respond to the types of images we have been conditioned over the years to avoid. What women may see as boring or even scary images of scan results, men will see as supporting data for their decision.
Increase the presence of your calls to action. Because men are more likely to make a firm decision faster, every page of your website should have prominent calls to action at the top and bottom of each page so they can act swiftly.
As men become more involved in home health care decisions, the winners will be those who take regular steps to ensure that their specific fact-finding needs are met.
Steve Smith, Healthcare Success Senior Consultant, Writer & Account Manager
