Using marketing terminology in relation to the health service is more acceptable now than it has ever been. Many use the term “marketing” synonymously with selling, advertising or promotion and public relations.

Apply this view of marketing to the NHS and a picture appears of providers engaging in any range of activities to communicate more clearly about their service – what’s delivered, to whom and why people should use it. They may just be highlighting the availability of their service or, indeed, they may want to sustain or improve their service’s image.

Conscious of the less attractive competitive behaviors and marketing practices sometimes found within the private sector, many NHS organisations are rightly keen not to have resources squandered on needless or improper promotion. The Code of Practice for Promotion of NHS Services provides a guide to public services in their promotional activities.

The concept of marketing has evolved over past decades. It has moved from one of “selling” to one in which the needs and wishes of the customer are captured and reflected in the service. And services also seek to have a distinctive marketing strategy, to differentiate them from other providers and support the development of their provision.

This is reflected in the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) definition of marketing as “a management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.” Public and voluntary sector managers prefer to substitute “efficiently” or “within the resources available” for the word “profitably” in agreeing their vision of effective marketing.

Those who adhere to this broader definition recognise that marketing has more in common with public and patient engagement than “selling”. They see it as an ongoing process of assessing and responding to your position within a dynamic marketing environment. For the NHS, this includes flexing provision to meet the needs and views of public and patients. It means being mindful of the existing or potential provision by “competitors” or alternative providers.

In this model, promotion is viewed as just one possible activity out of a range of optional “marketing mix” adjustments that might be used to keep your service viable or, to use another term, “contestable”.

Take the former view of marketing – that equates to selling, if not promotion – and the benefits are limited. They largely hinge around maintaining or improving your service’s image, and excelling over any competition.

Use the CIM’s broader definition of marketing, review marketing theory and apply the principles and practice to the NHS, and commissioners and providers alike will find there is a range of tools with which to assess and shape provision.

Some marketing techniques may be new, others may already be familiar. For instance, you can use environmental scanning frameworks, such as SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis to assess the future viability of a service.

Market analysis enables you to generate reliable information that can underpin and prioritise marketing efforts and the use of resources.

Mapping different types of customer is a good starting point. These might include commissioners, stakeholders and staff as well as patients, their families and carers, both within the local area and further afield.

In a tendering context, marketing positioning models can help to assess your service’s attractiveness to commissioners compared with those of competitors. Look at what percentage of the market competing providers have, and whether they focus on a niche group within the overall market.

Whatever tools you use, it helps to follow a clear market planning process. Start with marketing objectives, align these to market opportunities and resources, formulate a strategy, then develop and implement a detailed plan of specific marketing activities.

Originally published in the Health Management Journal Sept / Oct 2008