By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO

Many healthcare marketers are trying to complete projects left on their plates for 2017, while others are trying to set the table for next year. With just two months left on the calendar, it’s prime time to launch critical projects now that will pay off dividends in the new year.

Here are three recurring needs we hear from healthcare marketers that you may want to consider:

  1. Do the research: Companies looking to create thought leadership content and share expertise don’t always know what kind of content their customers and prospective customers value. The easiest way to solve the mystery is to ask your audience what they want. Developing survey questions, putting a survey online and then tabulating results to guide your content will provide the basis for setting your 2018 editorial calendar.
  2. Develop a content strategy: Developing a content strategy is critical when publishing content on a recurring basis. A strategy assesses the competitive landscape and the content sources your audience trusts. New or recent research is particularly helpful. A content strategy will help you design the 2018 content calendar and determine the appropriate media, frequency and methods of deployment. It will also help you determine how to measure your company’s success.
  3. Sharpen your sales presentation: Most presentations are too focused on products and fail to engage your customers around their most pressing concerns. Taking a hard look at your sales presentation can yield huge benefits for your messaging, and a sharper, more substantive presentation can better equip your sales team. As you assess your company’s accomplishments this year, can you think of ways to better tell your story? Evaluate your process, from building intrigue to presenting your core ideas to nurturing a long sales cycle. Does your material support your efforts?

You’ve got 60 days to launch a great content plan starting on January 1. What are you going to do?

Image Credit | iStock



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