All physicians understand the value of knowing a patient’s lifestyle and work environments in correctly diagnosing conditions and evaluating treatment options. With the rise in consumer-driven health insurance, medical spending accounts and out-of-pocket pay, practices are more aggressive in gathering patient information as soon as the patient walks through the door. But to maximize your marketing efforts and your return on those efforts, it is essential to understand who your patients are before they go into your office.

Who your patients are might seem to be an easy question to answer. For pediatricians, they are families with young children. For the cosmetic surgeon, they are largely women over 40. This is a good starting point, but it falls short in two key areas: defining who the target truly is for a particular practice and how to best reach that person with a marketing message.

Media organizations utilize research from a wide variety of sources to paint a picture of whom a practice should target, how that person thinks, what that person does with free time and how that person interacts with media messages.

Using data from MRI or Scarborough Research groups, a media partner can tell you that the best bariatric candidate is a woman in her 50s who watches a great deal of T.V., mostly during the day, as she doesn’t work and is looking for a solution to a weight problem she has struggled with for years. In many cases, research can even tell you what area of town she lives in and how she spends her money.

“Our fundamental belief is that by uncovering the lifestyle nuances of a particular group, we can not only identify the most compelling way to connect to them, but also have a better sense of what messaging would resonate most,” said Kathleen Ramirez, regional director of research for Time Warner Cable Media Sales.

Time Warner Cable Media Sales focuses on a consultative approach to solving clients’ marketing challenges. “We pride ourselves in being true marketing consultants for our clients,” said Judy Rettinger, general manager for Time Warner Cable Media Sales in San Antonio. “That is only possible if we take the time to understand our client’s business, the industry and in this case, the needs of the patients. This in-depth understanding allows us to create marketing solutions – not just advertising schedules.”

By using research to define the prospective patient beyond standard demographics like age, race and education, we can develop both a media plan and a creative message that will connect the consumer with the practice in a meaningful way.

“We know that women openly embrace their role as the chief procurement officer of her home,” Ramirez explained. “But it is critical to understand the generational and lifestyle distinctions to get her attention, get her to listen and ultimately, get her to act. Health care is probably one of the areas she is most passionate about and skeptical about when it comes to marketing. Delivering messages in a way that aligns with the passion points in her life can help break through any barriers that might exist.”

For more information about Time Warner Cable Media Sales, visit www.cablemediasales.com.