Marketing Your Consumer Health Information Service
By Don Buchanan
Coordinator, Health Resource Centres
Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation
buchanan@hhsc.ca
Report on the workshop was titled "Marketing Your Family Resource Center", and was presented at the "1st Conference on Family Resource Centers in Pediatric Health Care Settings", held in Nashville TN. from March 12-14, 1999. Participants worked in small groups to answer some questions about their marketing efforts. As usual, the collective wisdom was greater than the sum of the parts! Here are the answers:
Who is your target audience?
- Parents/Families
- Community Partners
- Policy Makers
- Businesses
- Public Libraries
- Schools
- Health Professionals
- Funders
- Media
- Child care agencies
- Religious groups
- Public Health Departments
- Vendors
- Home health care agencies
- Volunteers
What are some of the ways you can communicate with your audience?
- Posters
- Workshops, lectures
- Health Fairs
- Tent cards in cafeteria
- Offer space for support groups
- "Volunteer Ambassadors"
- Information on Intake form
- Parent word of mouth
- Health professional word of mouth
- Special events
- Useable give-aways
- "Info-Script"
- Parent bulletin boards
- Display window
- Quick e-mail messages
- Website
What are the generic messages we want to deliver?
- We're here to help you find answers
- We're free
- When, where and how to use our service
- How you will benefit from this information
- What you will get
- Information is powerful, both on costs and on outcomes
What is one targeted message you would deliver to one specific group?
- Schools: We can help you
- Public Libraries: The sum is greater than the parts
- Physicians: We have credible information
- Volunteers: Why volunteer for us?
- Home Health Care: We can make you look better
- Businesses: "Worried parents aren't working full-time"
- Policy Makers: "Informed consumers drives costs down and satisfaction up"
- Religious Groups: "We can help your families"
- Community Partners: "Help us help you. We can be an information clearinghouse"