Programme

Registration and refreshments

Introduction and welcome from the Chair

Understanding marketing within the NHS

What do we really mean when we talk about marketing within the NHS? As a relatively new concept for the NHS, marketing goes much further than glossy leaflets for patients. Marketing must go through the heart of the organisation and drive strategy, activity and decision-making at all levels.

Providing a comprehensive overview, this session will enable you to learn the core principles of the marketing mix and how to effectively apply them within the NHS. Understand the distinction between 'commercial' and 'social' marketing in an NHS context. Plus, explore the boundaries set by the DH Code of Practice for the promotion of NHS funded services.

Learn how to:

• Define the boundaries of NHS marketing
• Apply key marketing principles, tools and techniques
• Measure the impact of marketing activity

Developing a marketing strategy

Where do you start in developing a marketing strategy? What are the key components to consider? How do you link this into the overall strategic direction of your service? How do you embed this into organisational culture?

This session will provide a guide to developing a marketing strategy for your service. Explore how to improve the patient experience through marketing tactics, and understand the importance of effective internal marketing. Encourage staff to act as ambassadors for your organisation.

Learn how to:

• Link marketing with strategic objectives
• Improve understanding and perception of marketing across your organisation
• Get the marketing mix right
  

Question and answer session

Morning refreshments

Segmentation – the route to effectively understand customer needs and efficiently deliver solutions

At the heart of effective marketing is a real understanding of the needs of patients and, importantly, patient groups. You need to understand which patients use your services, what they want and how you can maximise the quality of your care and services. But it’s also important to understand which groups do not use your services, except when critical need dictates. These groups could be silently edging towards a critical provision crisis. They might need a different, but no less important approach.

Through effective market research and analysis of referral data, key segmentation patterns and trends can be identified to help better understand your customer/patient and the groups/segments in which they reside.

This session will explore the key principles of applied market segmentation to help you maximise your marketing strategy.

Learn how to:

• Segment the “market”
• Recognise the differences between segment needs
• Use patient mapping, referral data and socio-geodemographic information to develop your marketing strategy
  

Using marketing as a lever for service improvement

Marketing is a powerful tool to drive effective service redesign. Once you have a firm understanding of who your customers are and what they want, services can be redesigned to create differential advantage. This is critical in an environment where you can’t compete on price.

This session will explore best practice marketing tools and techniques to review your service development strategy. Gain an edge for your trust through tactical strategies and compete effectively on the NHS playing field.

Learn how to:

• Analyse data to shape future services
• Meet patient expectations through service development
• Identify new opportunities to add value through the marketing mix 

Question and answer session

Lunch

Managing GP relationships

GPs are key customers in the NHS, especially under a regime of Practice Based Commissioning. They are the main influencers of patient choice, directing people to your door. Service providers need to understand the main priorities of GPs and identify their key incentives and drivers. Strengthening relationships and communication channels across primary and secondary care clinical interfaces will be critical to success.

This session will look at how you can effectively build GP loyalty and break down cultural barriers to improve the GP experience of working with your service, and help facilitate referrals.

Learn how to:

• Engage GPs through marketing
• Understand the commissioning behaviours and motivations of GPs
• Strengthen GP and Consultant partnerships 

Using insight research to build and manage your reputation

Service reputation plays a key role in patient choice. But do you understand what your reputation is and how it is formed? Do you know what people are saying about you over the breakfast table or in the pub? Do you know how your staff to about you - to their friends and families, and to your patients.

Understanding this will give you the tools you need to start building your reputation: What messages can you use that will have the most impact, how should these messages differ for different audiences, and where should you get those messages to make sure people hear them?

Learn how to:

• Think about reputation and branding research strategically
• Commission the research to give you the most effective insights and outcomes
• Get the views you really need to hear from patients, public and hard to reach groups
  

Question and answer session

Afternoon refreshments

Developing a digital marketing strategy

As a key communication channel, service providers cannot underestimate the importance of maximising their online marketing strategy to raise the organisation’s profile and build relationships with key NHS customers.

This session will provide a comprehensive overview to help you optimise the design, content and layout of your website to meet the needs of your different user groups. Explore the opportunities to maximise an online presence via NHS Choices, GP Forums and social networking sites. Plus gain top-tips to help you develop online marketing copy, and increase your visibility in internet search engines.

Learn how to:

• Create an effective digital marketing strategy
• Optimise the design, content and layout of your website
• Maximise online presence and make the most out of social networking practice
  

Question and answer session: Understanding marketing principles in the NHS

Chair’s closing remarks and end of seminar