How can the worlds of social marketing and healthcare communications join forces to enhance health service reputation?

Abstract

There has been a noticeable policy shift towards customer-centric healthcare service in recent years in England, both for patients in terms of choice, information and service and for the community in terms of health improvement. This will reflect on the roles of the commissioner and provider. Social marketing aims to improve health and reduce health inequalities in the community through influencing behaviour. Choosing the right partners to build trust and engagement can significantly improve the reputation of the health service in the community. Social marketing has much in common with relationship marketing, in that it develops a continued dialogue with the target audience and builds a deeper insight into their lives — their motivations, fears, influences and access to services. This paper provides case studies which demonstrate social marketing principles that help build these relationships. It argues that the concurrent growth of social marketing inspired through the work of the National Social Marketing Centre, and the changing paradigm of health communications skills implied by World Class Commissioning in the UK, provide a natural place to explore the fusion of social marketing and health communications within the health service. It emphasises that social marketing requires teamwork — the right mix of skills — for best impact, and that public health improvement professionals working closely with health communication professionals can go a long way to providing the required blend of skills.