Impact of Digital Marketing on Patient Acquisition for Hospitals in a Tier-3 City (Tilda, District-Raipur)

Impact of Digital Marketing on Patient Acquisition for Hospitals in a Tier-3 City (Tilda, District-Raipur)

Authors:

Joy Ankit Suna

MBA

Amity Business School, Amity University, Chhattisgarh, India

Prof. (Dr.) Monica Sainy

Head of Department MBA

Amity Business School, Amity University, Chhattisgarh, India

Abstract

This qualitative study evaluates the effectiveness of digital marketing in patient acquisition across five healthcare institutions in Tilda, a representative tier-3 city in Raipur District, Chhattisgarh. Despite hospitals allocating 8-12% of their marketing budgets to digital channels, only 10-15% of daily outpatient department (OPD) footfall originates from online sources. Through patient surveys (n=227), administrator interviews, and digital analytics reviews, three critical barriers were identified: 1) a trust deficit in digital health information (with 72% of patients preferring local referrals), 2) infrastructure and connectivity limitations, and 3) mismatched content strategies (vernacular adoption less than 15%). The paper proposes a hybrid engagement model that blends community partnerships with mobile-first content to bridge the analog-digital divide in semi-urban healthcare marketing.

Keywords: Digital Health Marketing, Tier-3 Healthcare, Patient Acquisition, Vernacular Content, Trust Economy