By John Lavey | Hammock President/COO
During a call discussing marketing this week, I heard a word that I don’t often hear outside of church: stewardship. In this case, a head of sales and marketing for a healthcare technology company mentioned that she was a steward of their brand.
Careful, responsible stewardship of the roles and resources we’re charged with is a terrific lens from which to look at the challenges we all face, particularly in healthcare. Isn’t that the same mentality clinicians have at their core? A surgeon may be highly competitive or motivated to advance the practice of medicine, but he or she also cares deeply for patients.
We can be superior marketers if we focus on our work with that same level of care. We aren’t merely controlling a budget or trying to engage customers. We are constantly making decisions about how to manage the resources available to us to nurture our brands.
Make no mistake, we all work with resource limitations. But even without enough time or money to do everything we’d like to do, how do we act as good stewards of our brands?
You can’t succeed without expending resources for marketing. Too many companies want to deliver thought leadership at the level of a national consultancy but only spend a few thousand dollars a month. That’s not realistic, and you’re unlikely to see useful results.
Start like a good steward should: What is it you are trying to protect, grow or achieve? What is the value to your company if a certain goal is met? What must you do to be a good steward of that which has been entrusted to you?
If you have a large internal team, then clear their path so they can focus on delivering without distractions or shifting priorities. If you need additional resources, find a partner who also views their job as stewards of your resources. You shouldn’t be looking for help generating pieces of content or even driving conversion ratios. You should find folks who want to passionately support your success.
Takeaway: Marketers should consider how they can be a steward on behalf of their clients, not merely a manager—the same way clinicians do.
About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email | This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here . To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here.