Marketing to gender: Men and women are different when it comes to their health care needs

Women account for 85 percent of all consumer purchases, according to Ogilvy & Mather, an international advertising and marketing agency based in New York City -- and that includes health care.

"Today, women are very savvy health care consumers," says Felecia Blanton, marketing manager at Saint Francis Medical Center. "They aggressively seek the information needed to make smart decisions and expect a lot from health care providers." In fact, women make 60 percent of all visits to the doctor and spend two out of three health care dollars, says Blanton, citing a report by the Society of Healthcare Strategy and Marketing Development. Two-thirds of women say they make the health care decisions for their households.

And that's why it's crucial for health care providers to consider gender when it comes to their marketing strategies -- and to make those strategies as unique as the health care needs of men and women.

Saint Francis' health services for women range from obstetrics, gynecology and perinatology to cardiology and oncology -- the No. 1 and No. 2 killers of women in the country, respectively, says Blanton.

One way Saint Francis is spreading the word about its services and connecting with patients is via social networking.

"Women are three times more likely to share personal experiences with a friend than men," says Blanton. "It is estimated that 25 million women wield their influence online via blogs and social networking. Saint Francis actively posts events and information on Facebook and Twitter to keep patients informed."

Knowing that women are the main decision-makers for their families, SoutheastHEALTH also takes gender into account when choosing a location and medium for its marketing.

"Messaging has to be relevant to the audience," says Greg Hudson, vice president of strategic planning and marketing for SoutheastHEALTH. "Without relevance, it's easy to have your message overlooked or ignored. Obviously men and women respond differently." Running emotionally-based ads or commercials with female voice-overs appeal to women, for example, while it's more effective to reach men via commercials during a sportscast, Hudson explains. Though the means to reach men and women are different, Hudson says the goal is the same for both: to help people access services offered by SoutheastHEALTH.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has reported that men are 24 percent less likely than women to have visited a doctor in the past year, says Blanton. Still, she believes men are becoming more aware of their health and making healthy decisions with outdoor sports, fitness facilities and workplace wellness programs. Saint Francis' Heart Hospital and Cancer Institute, set to open this summer, will address the two biggest killers of men, and the hospital's Center for Digestive Diseases will open in April to address colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer in men.

"We understand the unique health care needs of men and women and cater our marketing efforts to communicate the medical center's services to meet those needs," Blanton says.