The Chief Marketing Officer's New Agenda

Marketing executives have never had a more opportune time to better establish the discipline of marketing as a strategy-critical business competency for healthcare organizations.

The underlying basis for competition in the industry is shifting -- driven by the converging forces of healthcare reform, physician services restructuring, provider consolidations, consumer expectations, and networked information technologies. Changing economics are front and center, and make a compelling case for the role that marketers must play in an increasingly competitive industry.

What is the new agenda for Chief Marketing Officers? To adopt a market-making P & L mindset. To transform the discipline from promotions-oriented tactics to growth-oriented strategic leadership. To drive value-innovation across the health system. To crusade for customer-centered practices. To prepare and position organizations for long term success while simultaneously enhancing and growing the core business.

The imperative is three-fold.

• First, to build a marketing organization that is strategic and focused on near-term enterprise growth as well as creation of future customers, products, and channels.
• Second, to establish the critical relationships and linkages across the value chain (clinical operations, finance, purchasing, IT, physicians, partnerships, etc.) to orchestrate alignment to customer needs and company growth goals.
• And third, to develop a results-oriented marketing operation that delivers on revenue growth and profit goals.

The next decade may well represent a period of signficant change and transformation in our industry. What great opportunity!

Karen