Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Healthcare Marketing Edition
A Career Roadmap for Healthcare Marketers Who Want to Grow, Lead, and Make a Lasting Impact
If you’re like me, you didn’t choose healthcare marketing because it’s easy. You chose it because you thrive on being part of something fundamentally important to your community. You chose this career because you want to make a difference and because you believe in the power of human understanding to change lives, shape systems, empower communities, and drive better health outcomes for patients.
Building a truly fulfilling career in this field isn’t easy and honestly, it can feel overwhelming. There are daily fires to address, processes to learn and improve, and more pressure to prove your value—not just to your team, but to leadership, the health system, and your community.
That’s why I want to offer you a powerful framework—one you are likely familiar with, but maybe haven’t applied to your own career: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs… for hospital marketers.
Originally developed to explain human motivation, Maslow’s pyramid reminds us that we must meet our most basic needs before we can unlock our full potential. And it turns out, this model applies perfectly to our professional lives. As healthcare marketers, we need the same kind of progression—from stability to impact—to build careers that are not just successful, but meaningful.

There are four key stages that every healthcare marketing professional will experience. Wherever you are today in your career as a healthcare marketing professional, this framework can help you see things a little more clearly, clarify your path to growth, fuel your intellectual and professional evolution, and unlock your highest potential.
Let’s climb together.
Step 1: Secure Your Foundation (Material Needs)
Every remarkable career starts with a solid base and that means getting grounded—financially, professionally, and personally. If you’re early in your journey (or even resetting after a transition), this is where you focus your energy—its the foundation you need to feel confident.
At this stage, your mission is to find your footing. That means learning the fundamentals of healthcare marketing, working in an environment that allows you to grow, and building a sense of confidence in your ability to contribute.
What This Looks Like:
Establish Stability: Find a role that provides fair pay, solid benefits, and a growth pathway.
Master the Fundamentals: Build fluency in the language of healthcare. Learn campaign strategy, digital tools, analytics, and audience targeting.
Use the Right Tools: Get hands-on with platforms for research, media buying, marketing automation, and performance tracking.
Understand the System: Learn how hospitals work. Be a student of patient behavior and needs, clinical pathways, service lines, financial models, and strategic priorities.
This phase is about learning, earning, adapting, and becoming the best version of yourself in a role that excites you. Don’t rush it—this foundation is what sets you up for long-term success.
Step 2: Build Meaningful Relationships (Social Connection)
Once you’ve got your footing, it’s time to branch out, invest, and build the trusting relationships that will shape your journey. Because let’s face it—healthcare marketing is not a solo sport. It takes a village and now is the time to build yours.
Your impact grows exponentially when you surround yourself with the right people: mentors who guide you, peers who challenge and support you, and partners who help you extend your knowledge, reach, and sharpen your thinking.
What This Looks Like:
Strengthen Peer Connections: Collaborate with colleagues across departments. Build a reputation for being a team player who brings value. Say yes to opportunity and learning.
Seek Out Mentors: Learn from marketing leaders, system executives, and strategic thinkers inside and outside your organization.
Fuel Collaboration: Engage with partners, both internal and external, who bring expertise in research, strategy, economics, community health, tactics, and creativity.
Engage with the Industry: Attend conferences like The Forum and HCIC, join associations like SHSMD and your state marketing society, and participate in communities across your professional landscape where new ideas are born.
Strong relationships unlock new perspectives, access to innovative thinking, and better opportunities. At this stage, you’re becoming more than just a good marketer, you’re becoming a connector, a collaborator, and a contributor to something larger than yourself.
Step 3: Earn Recognition & Influence (Self-Esteem)
Here’s where things get exciting.
You’ve earned your stripes, and now you’re leading from the front. Your work is delivering results. People are noticing. You’re influencing direction, not just reacting to it. This is the phase where confidence and credibility take center stage. You know your value—and now it’s time to share it, amplify it, and expand your reach within the organization and beyond.
What This Looks Like:
Lead High-Impact Initiatives: Take ownership of projects that drive real outcomes—better access, higher volumes, stronger brand affinity.
Showcase Your Expertise: Publish your thinking. Present at industry events. Share your POV with your peers.
Seek Leadership Opportunities: Don’t wait to be asked—raise your hand for management roles, special projects, or cross-functional initiatives.
Gain Executive Visibility: Communicate your wins to leadership. Speak their language. Demonstrate how marketing moves the business.
At this stage, recognition isn’t about ego—it’s about earning the trust that gives you access to bigger tables and bolder conversations. It’s the bridge to long-term influence and leadership.
Step 4: Lead with Purpose & Make an Impact (Self-Actualization)
This is the summit. The place where success becomes something deeper. You’ve mastered the craft. You’ve earned the respect. Now, you’re here to consistently make a difference—not just in your role, but in the industry and community you serve. At this stage, you’re shaping conversations, mentoring the next generation, and driving initiatives that improve lives—not just campaign performance.
What This Looks Like:
Champion Innovation: Lead your team and your organization into new territories—data-driven strategy, digital transformation, behavioral insight.
Mentor and Elevate Others: Share your wisdom generously. Invest in people.
Influence the Bigger Picture: Join policy conversations. Weigh in on C-suite strategy. Push healthcare forward.
Align with Purpose: Let your work reflect your values. Use your platform to advocate for better care, more human understanding, and smarter systems.
Self-actualization isn’t your final destination—it’s a mindset. You’re not just playing the game anymore. You’re helping write the rules.
Final Thoughts: Your Roadmap to a Purpose-Driven Career
A career in healthcare marketing isn’t built overnight—and it isn’t built alone.
At every stage of your journey, partnerships matter. Early on, they give you tools and support. Later, they give you clarity, confidence, and reach. And ultimately, they help you shape a legacy that lasts far beyond a single campaign.
So wherever you are in your career journey—grounded, growing, or guiding others—know this:
Your role is evolving. Your influence is expanding. And your potential to make a real, lasting impact has never been greater.
Stay curious. Keep building. Lead with heart. And always, always map your work to those who remain at the center of healthcare–your patients.

Anna Riehm, Vice President of Operations
Anna’s experience leading healthcare marketing & operations teams and serving as an executive in a digital marketing agency gives her insight into how healthcare systems need and want to fulfill their promise to care for communities. She is a servant leader who also happens to love camping.