Medical Marketing: Bridging the Gap
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65080/t5neq314Keywords:
Healthcare marketing, perceived risk, brand loyalty, customer trust, personalized messaging, customized solutionsAbstract
Introduction: The current study investigated the mediating role of perceived risk in the relationship between customer trust and brand loyalty in the UK healthcare sector. Marketing communication in healthcare had traditionally relied on one-way, low-risk messages that used fear appeals. However, such approaches have often proven ineffective. This study explored the potential of value-based marketing in the healthcare sector by focusing on personalised digital strategies and solution-oriented communication. It sought to assess the mediating role of perceived risk between trust and loyalty, compare traditional versus digital marketing effectiveness, and offer actionable recommendations for healthcare communication improvement.
Methods: A quantitative survey was conducted among 200 UK healthcare professionals, with 151 valid responses analysed using a structured 5-point Likert scale questionnaire. Statistical analysis through SPSS, including correlation and regression, was used to interpret the data.
Results: Results indicated that perceived risk is a stronger predictor of brand loyalty than trust (β = .536, p < .001) and that marketing strategy plays a critical role in influencing consumer decisions (β = .370, p < .001). While trust in endorsements from institutions like the NHS and MHRA is relatively high, consumers remain cautious about unfamiliar digital healthcare services. Digital strategies, especially personalised messaging, enhance engagement when they address risk-related concerns. Together, perceived risk and marketing strategy explains over 70% of the variance in brand loyalty (R² = .706). Trust in healthcare brands alone did not significantly predict brand loyalty when other factors were controlled (β = -.008, p = .903). Mediation analysis revealed that perceived risk fully mediated the relationship between trust in healthcare brands and brand loyalty (indirect effect: β = 0.56, 95% CI [0.42, 0.71]; direct effect: β = 0.08, p = .325), indicating that trust impacts loyalty only through perceived risk. In contrast, perceived risk partially mediated the relationship between marketing strategy and brand loyalty (indirect effect: β = 0.41, 95% CI [0.30, 0.53]; direct effect: β = 0.40, p < .001), suggesting that marketing strategies influence loyalty both directly and indirectly via perceived risk.
Discussion: Trust alone did not ensure brand loyalty; instead, it had to be complemented by transparent, strategic communication and risk mitigation. Public endorsements and patient-centred messaging were vital to building and sustaining consumer relationships. The study was limited by its cross-sectional design, small sample size, and lack of differentiation between types of perceived risks. Future research should adopt longitudinal approaches and broader demographic sampling to deepen the understanding of consumer behaviour in healthcare marketing.
Downloads
References
Anderson, S., Rayburn, S. W., & Sierra, J. J. (2019). Future thinking: the role of marketing in healthcare. European Journal of Marketing, 53(8), 1521-1545. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-10-2017-0779
Afifi, I., & Amini, A. (2019). Factors affect relationship marketing for creating customer loyalty in the hospital services business. ASEAN Marketing Journal, 10(2), 2. Available from: https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/amj/vol10/iss2/2/
Agarwal, R., Dugas, M., Gao, G. (Gordon), & Kannan, P. K. (2020). Emerging technologies and analytics for a new era of value-centred marketing in healthcare. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(1), 9–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11747-019-00692-4
Ahmed, S. K. (2024). How to choose a sampling technique and determine sample size for research: A simplified guide for researchers. Oral Oncology Reports, 12, 100662. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.OOR.2024.100662
Ajina, A. S. (2019). The role of content marketing in enhancing customer loyalty: An empirical study on private hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Innovative Marketing, 15(3), 71–84. https://doi.org/10.21511/IM.15(3).2019.06
Alkire, L., Myrden, S., Köcher, S., & O’Connor, G. E. (2023). Cultural Drivers of Health Engagement. Journal of International Marketing, 31(1), 90–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069031X221127938
Bernarto, I., Purwanto, A., & Masman, R. R. (2022). The effect of perceived risk, brand image and perceived price fairness on customer satisfaction. Jurnal Manajemen, 26(1), 35-50. Available from: http://www.ecojoin.org/index.php/EJM/article/view/836
Birkhäuer, J., Gaab, J., Kossowsky, J., Hasler, S., Krummenacher, P., Werner, C., & Gerger, H. (2017). Trust in the health care professional and health outcome: A meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, 12(2), e0170988. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0170988
Bove, L. L., & Benoit, S. (2020). Restrict, clean and protect: signalling consumer safety during the pandemic and beyond. Journal of Service Management, 31(6), 1185–1202. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-05-2020-0157
Diekema, D. S., (2022). Committee on Bioethics. Health care clinicians and product promotion by industry. Pediatrics, 149(4), e2022056549. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-056549
Ezeudoka, B. C., & Fan, M. (2024). Exploring the impact of digital distrust on user resistance to e-health services among older adults: the moderating effect of anticipated regret. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1057/S41599-024-03457-9
Farsi, D. (2021). Social media and health care, part I: A literature review of social media use by health care providers. Journal of medical Internet research, 23(4), e23205. Available from: https://www.jmir.org/2021/4/e23205/
Finney-Rutten, L. J., Blake, K. D., Greenberg-Worisek, A. J., Allen, S. V., Moser, R. P., & Hesse, B. W. (2019). Online Health Information Seeking Among US Adults: Measuring Progress Toward a Healthy People 2020 Objective. Public Health Reports, 134(6), 617–625. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354919874074
Greszczuk, C., Mughal, F., Mathew, R., & Rashid, A. (2018). Peer influence as a driver of technological innovation in the UK National Health Service: a qualitative study of clinicians’ experiences and attitudes. BMJ Innovations, 4(2), 68–74. https://doi.org/10.1136/BMJINNOV-2017-000208
Gur, A. (2020). Customer trust and perceived service quality in the healthcare sector: Customer aggressive behaviour as a mediator. Journal of Trust Research, 10(2), 113–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/21515581.2021.1927063
Harrison, L. (2020). Quantitative designs and statistical analysis. In Doing Early Childhood Research (pp. 127-154). Routledge.
Iliffe, S., & Manthorpe, J. (2021). Medical consumerism in the UK, from ‘citizen’s challenge’ to the ‘managed consumer’—A symbol without meaning? Health Expectations, 24(2), 182–187. https://doi.org/10.1111/HEX.13197
Kerasidou, A., & Kerasidou, C. (Xaroula). (2023). Data-driven research and healthcare: public trust, data governance and the NHS. BMC Medical Ethics, 24(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12910-023-00922-Z
Krupskyi, O. P., & Stasiuk, Y. (2023). Peculiarities of application of marketing technologies in the medical sphere. https://doi.org/10.35774/econa2023.03.202
Kuntsman, A., & Miyake, E. (2022). Paradoxes of Digital Disengagement: In Search of the Opt-Out Button. https://doi.org/10.16997/BOOK61
Mathur, T. (2021). Marketing health insurance products: Sources and consequences of customers’ confusion. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 14(4), 1337–1347. https://doi.org/10.1080/20479700.2020.1758896
Moncey, A. A., & Baskaran, K. (2020). Digital Marketing Analytics: Building Brand Awareness and Loyalty in UAE. 2020 IEEE International Conference on Technology Management, Operations and Decisions, ICTMOD 2020. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICTMOD49425.2020.9380579
Murphy-Young, S. I. M. (2021). Constructions of Trust, Credibility and Authority: Trade Associations, Advertising Standards and the Regulation of ‘Non-Ethical’ Medicines and Treatments, 1902 – 1971. Available from: https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/29616/
Parveen, N., Rima, O. S, Dima, M. A. A, Esraa M. A, Hina, S, Muhammad, S A, & Khaled, S (2024). Digital Marketing Strategies In The Age Of Social Media: A Comparative Study Of Global Brands. Nanotechnology Perceptions, 212–242. https://doi.org/10.62441/NANO-NTP.VI.2771
Papanicolas, I., Mossialos, E., Gundersen, A., Woskie, L., & Jha, A. K. (2019). Performance of UK National Health Service compared with other high-income countries: observational study. BMJ, 367. Available from: https://www.bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l6326.short
Perrot, S., Cittée, J., Louis, P., Quentin, B., Robert, C., Milon, J. Y., Bismut, H., & Baumelou, A. (2019). Self-medication in pain management: The state of the art of pharmacists’ role for optimal Over-The-Counter analgesic use. European Journal of Pain, 23(10), 1747–1762. https://doi.org/10.1002/EJP.1459
Portal, S., Abratt, R., & Bendixen, M. (2019). The role of brand authenticity in developing brand trust. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 27(8), 714–729. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2018.1466828
Purcarea, V. L. (2019). The impact of marketing strategies in healthcare systems. Journal of Medicine and Life, 12(2), 93. https://doi.org/10.25122/JML-2019-1003
Rana, S., Farzana Sikder, N., Shahin, H. R., & Ali, R. (2024). Impact of Digital Marketing on Hospital Marketing Strategies: A Comprehensive Literature Review. Journal of Primeasia, 5(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.25163/PRIMEASIA.519804
Senyapar, H. N. (2024). Healthcare Branding and Reputation Management Strategies for Organizational Success. Technium Soc. Sci. J., 55, 26. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v55i1.10690
El Sherif, R., Pluye, P., Thoër, C., & Rodriguez, C. (2018). Reducing negative outcomes of online consumer health information: Qualitative interpretive study with clinicians, librarians, and consumers. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(5), e9326. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.9326
Slinn, J. (2017). A cascade of medicine: The marketing and consumption of prescription drugs in the UK 1948-2000. Deconstructing Radical Orthodoxy: Postmodern Theology, Rhetoric and Truth, 143–169. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315254883-7
Sophia, S., Nelsen, J., Nelsen, J., Wallace, E., & Uk, A. (2021). Independent Study: Understanding the Pharmaceutical Industry Independent Study: Understanding the Pharmaceutical Industry CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at the core. Available from: https://scispace.com/pdf/independent-study-understanding-the-pharmaceutical-industry-4eki05r3w2.pdf
Statista. (2024). UK health spending 2024| Statista. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/301992/health-spending-uk/
Statista. (2023). Healthcare digital ad spend in the UK 2021. Statista., Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1355801/digital-display-healthcare-ad-spend-uk/ (Accessed on: May 23, 2025).
Shmait, L., Hamati, L., Remlaoui, B., Khalil, N. Y., Haidar, C., Nasr, S., ... & Nemar, S. E. (2024). The Role of Social Media Presence and Personalization in Increasing Sales and Achieving Sustainable Business Growth. In Navigating the Intersection of Business, Sustainability and Technology (pp. 175-199). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8572-2_9
Tran, B. Q. (2021). Strategies for effective patient care: Integrating quality communication with the patient-centred approach. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 15(1), e12574. https://doi.org/10.1111/SPC3.12574
van Overbeeke, E., Whichello, C., Janssens, R., Veldwijk, J., Cleemput, I., Simoens, S., & Huys, I. (2019). Factors and situations influencing the value of patient preference studies along the medical product lifecycle: a literature review. Drug Discovery Today, 24(1), 57-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2018.09.015
Zharlinska, R., Trynchuk (Mishchuk), A., & Lepetan, I. (2025). The paradigm shifts in healthcare marketing at the current stage of healthcare system transformation. Available from: https://dspace.vnmu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/6741
Zhou, W. J., Wan, Q. Q., Liu, C. Y., Feng, X. L., & Shang, S. M. (2017). Determinants of patient loyalty to healthcare providers: An integrative review. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 29(4), 442–449. https://doi.org/10.1093/INTQHC/MZX058
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Keyaan Nanjwani (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
