LABORATORY MANAGEMENT
Marketing in healthcare: an important role
Very few healthcare professionals react positively to the mention of marketing. But, explains Agnieszka Jagiello-Johnstone, those with an open mind have much to gain.
When healthcare professionals hear the word ‘marketing’, many react negatively or, at best, with indifference. Some see it as a superficial layer added to a service or product to make it more appealing. Others view it as an oversimplification of scientific information. Some question whether marketing has a place in healthcare at all, assuming that if people are unwell, they will seek help regardless. My understanding of healthcare
marketing has evolved significantly over the years. When I first joined the medical diagnostics sector, I believed it had to be all about the product: its features, specifications, competitive advantage and, above all, regulatory compliance. Over time, I stepped back and revisited what my role as a marketer should really be about. I asked myself a simple question: “What does success mean to me?” Is it the number of diagnostic instruments installed? Is it the speed with which innovation reaches the market and is adopted? Is it being considered best in class – and, if so, by whom? Purchasing managers, laboratory managers, biomedical scientists, doctors or patients? Healthcare outcomes depend on
many factors: prevention and targeted treatment supported by accurate diagnostic tools, comprehensive test results, skilled clinicians who can interpret those results, and finally, on informed patients who are supported to follow care recommendations. Above all, healthcare depends on continuous improvement and education for every stakeholder involved. The more I thought about it, the clearer
the picture became: healthcare success is ultimately about teamwork. Good healthcare marketing should therefore be about teamwork too. To enable teamwork, we need to communicate – and the first step to effective communication, in my opinion, is listening.
Good marketing As Roy T Bennet wrote: “Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we listen for what’s behind the words.”1 The UK has many world-class
For laboratory professionals, thought leadership can take many forms: publishing articles, presenting at conferences, participating in podcasts and webinars, contributing to professional forums or collaborating on educational initiatives.
laboratories, staffed by highly skilled and dedicated professionals. While most work within the overarching NHS framework, their workflows, priorities, and routines can differ considerably. Laboratory professionals often underestimate the value of sharing what they do. What appears routine to one laboratory may represent a significant learning opportunity for another. Sharing these experiences can improve practice,
October 2026
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