Segmentation in healthcare email marketing divides an email subscriber list into smaller groups, usually based on a specific criterion like interests or demographics. Emailing subscribers from such tailored lists allows organizations to target their messages better. Ultimately, these smaller groups should help organizations reach their customers and/or users, which is the first step to creating a proper digital marketing strategy.
For healthcare providers, starting an email marketing strategy with HIPAA compliant segmentation boosts personalized communication and increases patient engagement and satisfaction.
See also: HIPAA compliant email marketing: What you need to know
Healthcare marketing and segmentation
Segmentation can be a powerful starting point for healthcare marketing because it lets organizations easily cater to different patient groups. A recent statistic states that 80% of organizations that use market segmentation reported increased sales. Segmentation for healthcare marketing divides patients into distinct categories based on specific criteria such as:
- Demographics (e.g., age, gender, geographic)
- Behavioral patterns (e.g., website interactions, service usage history)
- Psychographic factors (e.g., lifestyle, values)
- Medical condition or treatment plan
- Upcoming appointments or appointment history
By dividing patients into distinct segments, healthcare providers gain valuable insights into who they serve. Starting with segmentation lets them tailor communication strategies to meet the needs of more patients. Moreover, segmentation is a beneficial first step, allowing organizations to deliver more personalized, efficient, and effective services.
Understanding different segments' diverse expectations and needs can improve services, reduce costs, and help organizations gain a competitive edge. Patients who feel like communication is not mass distributed but aimed at their needs are more likely to respond. Ultimately, proper segmentation will lead to increased patient satisfaction and patient care.
HIPAA compliant segmentation
Data used to create segmented lists, including email addresses and names, would be considered protected health information (PHI). Therefore, the information must be collected, used, and maintained compliantly under the HIPAA Act. The HIPAA Privacy Rule defines marketing as “a communication about a product or service that encourages recipients of the communication to purchase or use the product or service.”
Email marketing can only occur if a healthcare organization first obtains an individual’s consent. Healthcare providers must clearly communicate the purpose of collecting email addresses and what type of messages they will send. Patients must willingly opt-in to receive healthcare emails and understand the email communication's purpose.
Consent-based segmentation ensures that individuals voluntarily shared their information. It says that patients are open to accessing their PHI and receiving healthcare-related emails. This HIPAA compliant approach allows for personalized and protected content delivery.
Steps to HIPAA compliant segmentation
Proper segmentation in healthcare email marketing can be done by following the steps below. Email marketers who started with segmentation stated that their revenue increased to up to 760%.
- Read and understand HIPAA's rules about email marketing.
- Work out what you hope to achieve with segmentation and set your focus.
- Obtain and document patient consent (ensure that the consent process is clear and that patients have the right to opt out or withdraw consent at any time).
- Employ aggregated data for insights into segmented lists and continuously clean and prep the data for use.
- Identify and utilize nonsensitive segmentation bases to devise who receives what and whenever possible, tailor messages without PHI.
- Use HIPAA marketing tools and HIPAA compliant email platforms like Paubox and select HIPAA compliant vendors that offer encryption, audit trails, access controls, and secure storage and will sign a business associate agreement (BAA).
- Properly train healthcare staff on using HIPAA compliant email and HIPAA marketing.
Learn about: Implementing data segmentation in healthcare
HIPAA compliance must be continuous and up to date
On top of the above, organizations must keep segmentation strategies and security measures up to date. Healthcare providers should regularly review and update their email lists, removing inactive or unsubscribed patients. Furthermore, they need to develop and enforce data retention policies to determine how long patient data should be stored and where.
Finally, organizations must have a robust incident response plan to address future breaches or security incidents promptly. Regular audits and risk assessments of email marketing processes identify and address potential compliance issues.
Read: Applying marketing segmentation to HIPAA compliant email marketing
FAQs
What is advanced segmentation in email marketing?
This refers to creating highly specific groups within your audience based on a set of nested conditions, like purchase activity, gender, or age. It allows for more targeted and efficient campaigns.
What is segmentation in marketing strategy?
Segmentation in marketing strategy involves dividing a broader market into smaller groups of consumers with similar needs or characteristics to tailor marketing efforts more effectively.
What is the most effective email marketing campaign strategy?
This strategy uses personalization and segmentation to send relevant, customized messages to different audience segments, significantly enhancing engagement and conversion rates.
Kapua Iao
