When one thinks of the population of Downtown New York City, the neighborhood is often characterized by artsy, hipsters who are in their mid-twenties to early forties. It is also a favorite destination for party goers around the world. The medical needs of this neighborhood of New York City can easily be overlooked because many do not associate it with permanence or family building. Yet, there are very real residents who live there and need their medical needs addressed. Downtown New York City serves one of the most diverse populations in the United States and has specific health care needs that can conveniently be met by home healthcare through digital media and marketing.
This particular part of New York City has seen an increase in alcohol related hospitalizations, is also more susceptible to alcohol binges, tobacco addiction, many do not know their HIV status, and cancer screening rates are low for preventable cancers (Take Care Lower Manhattan). A program can be developed to meet all of these needs in a convenient manner for the residents in this area making these screenings quick and easy. Since this area is known to harvest Generation X’ers and millennials, the best mode of reaching out to this group would be digital marketing via social media, internet, and email. An application to manage these home and/or other convenient location visits should be developed also and can help us cut quite a bit of our overhead and eventually spread throughout the city. This paper will outline the key demographics that must be recognized when creating a home healthcare system for Downtown New York City with a digital marketing plan.
Demographics
After we take a look at the demographics we can better understand the population that we are being charged to serve and market to. The total number of people living in Lower Manhattan in 2000 was 30,900. The majority of those residents were between the ages of 25 to 44 years old (42%). We will need to concentrate on engaging this population and meet them where they are (which is online). This area of NYC had the lowest overall average of poverty within the city (17%) and consists of working professionals in creative and financial sectors. Most residents in this area had completed college (54%). The neighborhood is mostly inhabited by Whites (53%) and Asians (24%) (Hispanics 13%, Blacks 7%, Other 3%) in 2000 (Take Care Lower Manhattan). This area is also frequented by many visitors due to its nightlife and culture. The neighborhood is concentrated with young to early middle aged, high income (educated) people. Their time is valuable as they go to and from work and can sometimes overlook their important health issues. Our marketing will garner their attention and our application will make it easier to engage them.
Advantages
The advantages in using email, internet, and social media when garnering attention to a home healthcare program towards millennials and Generation X’ers are numerous. This is where this group of people spend most of their time and they have access to this type of information 24 hours a day due to mobile devices versus traditional marketing methods. It would be to the benefit of the company providing home healthcare and the recipient to have a system of advertising and communication online. In fact, to take things a step further a system can be created much like Uber for healthcare. Notifying healthcare administration where help is needed and then dispatching workers to these locations. This program can cut overhead by not being housed in a building, hiring workers to work remotely (from within the neighborhood or surrounding area), and having insurance billed conveniently from such an application. We will be able to catch the eye of this generation by being online. If we can make their healthcare convenient they will be more likely to call for help when experiencing a binge and not being able to travel. This group of people can be found online and we can serve them better by meeting them there.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of using email, social media, and internet marketing are that the older population will be less inclined to use this program (Take Care Lower Manhattan). 11% of Lower Manhattan (in 2000) was 65 years or older. Out of a population of 30,900 that is around 3,400 that will need to be approached by more traditional methods of marketing. This is a small enough number in comparison to other cities to work with but this group of people cannot be swept under the rug as their medical needs are very real also. Another disadvantage is that more serious health care issues cannot be addressed outside of a hospital. Home healthcare can never fully replace a hospital’s care (IV’s, Surgery, ER, etc.) and this has been traditionally known. So the scope of home healthcare is limited. Fortunately, the issues that most commonly need to be addressed in Downtown New York City can be addressed through home healthcare.
Highest Yields in Location
Traditionally email marketing has been known to garner the most attention when it comes to sales. But with this particular group in downtown New York City, I believe that social media will be a stronger focus for us. In fact, much can be accomplished by sharing and retweeting information about our business in a virtual “word-of-mouth” fashion. The more it is used and people rave about its progress the more others will want to sign up. This program can also be easily adapted by the rest of New York City and eventually the country. We will need to produce relevant content to share regularly on all relevant social media channels to get the word out. We can even pay to boost certain Facebook statuses and updates to have a better reach within our demographic. The second highest yield will be engaging regularly through email with banner’s such as “Have you heard of the new way to see your doctor?” or “Don’t have time to get screened? Want a nurse that will come to you? Sign up today.”
Times have changed and people like to find their information online. This will be to our advantage when marketing a home health care system for Downtown New York City. This population will be easily found online and inclined to use an application system that will help us to better serve their home healthcare and emergency needs. The majority of this population needs to be updated on their cancer screening, HIV status, tobacco, and alcohol education/withdrawal/quitting. We have come up with a program that can conveniently serve these needs. Not only will we be keeping up with times there will be a retro aspect to this service as doctors once made house calls. Now with the convenience of our online marketing and application we will be able to go above and beyond house calls and conveniently serve those suffering from alcohol poisoning at a club, or on the street, or even make office visits in addition to our home care services. It will be important to keep in mind those in the population who have other medical needs and our diverse on call/remote staff will be able to fill those needs as we pull on the city’s best medical professionals.
- “Take Care Lower Manhattan.” New York City Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene. Web. 5 Jan. 2016.
