The basics of the story are sadly similar. A medical office will contact us about their website. It’s new, colorful and brimming with whiz-bang graphics. Custom-built by the designer guy down the hall, it definitely looks pretty—everyone in the office says so. But by any measure, the medical website just isn’t delivering new business. Diagnosis […]
Early on, more than a few medical practices, providers and hospitals jumped onboard the nearest social media bandwagon because it was the trendy “thing to do.” Besides, we all know that “social media is free.” Right? It turns out, of course, that social media can be relatively low in cost, but overall, it isn’t completely […]
Even the most carefully constructed 37-page Curriculum Vitae is a sure-cure for insomnia. Other than the doctor who compiled the CV, it’s common for heads to droop after the first few pages. A detailed and current CV is a useful tool in professional circles, but the document is not at all the same as a physician’s […]
If today’s patient--now an informed consumer--isn’t at the center of your branding universe, you don’t have an effective brand. In the rarified world of physics and mathematics, “singularity” is a point at which a function takes an infinite value. Sci-fi readers find the term applied to “space-time when matter is infinitely dense, as at the […]
Our regular readers appreciate that we have a positive bias toward healthcare marketing and advertising that produces measurable, near-term results. Direct Response Marketing isn’t the only option, but for hospitals and medical practices—facing tough competition with a lean, cost-effective budget—it offers advantages over brand-based methods. Experienced writers will devote half (or more) of their creative […]
Hundreds of hospital and healthcare provider websites in the US simply aren’t doing their job. Some are broken…others are simply broken-hearted. If your website was a valued employee—but not performing to a reasonable standard—you would, at the least, provide counseling, coaching and encouragement. It’s no stretch to consider your online presence—primarily your website—to be a valuable […]
With very little encouragement, a professional colleague of ours will enthusiastically explain why her personal physician is an outstanding provider. As it happens, her hero-physician is highly skilled, credentialed and experienced. But one of the top reasons that she will recommend her physician is that the practice actively uses text messages and patient-physician email to […]
The concept of “free publicity” appeals to medical practices and providers because it appears to be...well, free. It turns out that that "free" is something of a misnomer. In healthcare—for that matter, in any industry—communications professionals recognize that the process that results in positive publicity is time intensive and rarely easy. Ultimately, the story that appears […]
[A GUEST POST by Paul Rosen, MD] Millennial medical students are starting their third year clerkships in hospitals around the country and are asking: Where is the cutting age technology I am used to? Where are the seamless communication systems? Where is the user experience? The students are evaluating the care systems they are asked […]
Mastery of the many dynamics of personal interaction in healthcare is, in the kindest of terms, a continuous challenge. But successful individual doctors, hospitals and sprawling health systems have a semi-secret formula for success. The curious thing about this six-point recipe is that it has helpful applications to nearly every type of communications and person-to-person […]
If there is one dominant factor that quickly erodes the patient-physician relationship, it is lack of respect—particularly a feeling of disrespect for the patient’s time. Patients have a limited ability to judge a physician’s clinical competence, but they do have a sense of personal self-worth that says: “My time is just as valuable as your […]
There’s no need to remind motion picture fans—which is nearly everyone—that the 2016 Academy Awards nominations will be announced next week…or that the annual glitz-and-glamour event is next month. (February 28, 2016; Dolby Theatre, Hollywood; ABC) But I did anyway. Hollywood, and the heart of the film industry, is just up the road from our […]
[Podcast: Part of continuing series.] Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf talks with Rob Klein, founder and CEO of healthcare marketing research firm, Klein & Partners, about why patients are now consumers, and how being a doctor “that people like” is no longer sufficient to remain competitive in business. In contemporary healthcare, passive patients have become […]
Doctors don’t always wear the title of CEO for their practice, but if it’s your business, you’ve got the top job. And along with it, you hold the ultimate hire-fire responsibility for the organization. Command, as the saying goes, is a lonely place. Personnel matters are often tough. Employees can be liked, but perform marginally. And even […]
At this time of year, some healthcare professionals are tempted to feel that their online marketing plans are “all set” for 2016. Hopefully that’s true. But don’t let “quiet comfort” become painful “complacency.” If you’re not vigilant to constant change—even during the holiday season—your Internet presence can quickly and quietly shift off target. Did you know, for […]
One day you’re a skilled and experienced healthcare professional and the next day the doctor asks you to create content; writing for the medical practice website, blog and/or social media. It’s a sudden and challenging new assignment, and not everyone is up to the task. Certainly it’s important to maintain fresh and interesting content for […]
In the beloved 1983 holiday classic, A Christmas Story, you’ll recall that hapless Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) wants two things: A Red Ryder BB gun, and to avoid the hassles of schoolyard bully, Scut Farkus (Zack Ward). The Jean Shepherd tale is retold each holiday season, and will be broadcast again this year on Christmas […]
Your brain “reads” images faster than words alone. And for hospital and healthcare storytelling, it’s a powerful way to communicate compelling and more memorable ideas in branding, marketing and advertising. Show before you tell. As you and I spin through the blaze of thousands of marketing messages that assault our brains each day, the ones […]
While languishing in a medical practice reception area, more than a few patients have fantasized about financial revenge, thinking: “I should send a bill to this doctor for making me wait so long.” That’s not a fanciful idea. “In 2010, people in America spent 1.1 billion hours seeking health care for themselves or for loved […]
The highly competitive, new-patient battleground among healthcare providers—doctors, hospitals and health systems—is online via your Internet presence. Prospective patients (including family and friends) shop for healthcare services and providers online before making their purchase decisions. In the retail world, nearly 90 percent of consumers do their online homework. The numbers are nearly the same for […]
A Guest Post by Paul Rosen, MD After reading Stewart Gandolf’s recent post, Patients Feel Healthcare Is Stuck in the Digital Dark Ages, I felt compelled to piggyback a few thoughts onto his astute observations. Stewart referenced the survey from Nielsen Strategic Health Perspectives, which demonstrates that healthcare is lacking in its ability to leverage […]
Is Google Plus too big to fail? On more than one occasion, since its launch in 2011, social media observers have predicted the network’s imminent demise. And on more than one occasion, parent company Google Inc. has refined and revamped the social networking service. A couple weeks ago, the company unveiled another re-do. The new, […]
After 20-some years in the business of healthcare marketing, I’m still a bit surprised to find medical practices that have written their own advertising copy. The complaint that they bring to us is that “it didn’t work.” And when I see it, I have to wonder if they realize how much this misguided effort cost […]
Every 12 months we turn the page on the calendar and observe the start of a New Year with grand ceremony. Admittedly, it’s a milestone celebration…a memory marker to help sort out “what was” from “what’s new.” Generally, ushering in a New Year can be a lot of fun, but the actual dividing lines are […]
[HS Leadership Podcast Series] David Dirks, Assistant Vice President of Healthcare Transformation for Intermountain Healthcare, and Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf discuss “shared accountability,” Intermountain’s overarching term for their transformation efforts in patient population health and healthcare delivery. Many hospitals, health systems and providers throughout the United States face the future proactively, bringing a new […]
Incorporating some sort of video content in your mix of healthcare marketing material seems like a no-brainer for doctors and hospitals. Producing and posting online video is relatively inexpensive and potentially highly effective—if it’s done properly. The enormous audience and the compelling impact of video storytelling is a powerful one-two punch for marketing planners. Recognizing […]
The diverse faces of telehealth—from virtual doctor consultations to remotely monitored patients—are continuing on a solid growth path. One assessment, by IHS Technology, says that doctors’ virtual consults with patients will double in less than five years, reports Forbes. Marketing strategies for hospitals, doctors and health systems will continue to adjust to keep up with […]
[Podcast: Part Two in a series.] Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf talks with Rob Klein, founder and CEO of healthcare marketing research firm, Klein & Partners, about how retail is learning healthcare a lot faster than healthcare is learning retail. What is the new healthcare CUSTOMER mindset? Rob Klein, our guest in this podcast, explains […]
Earlier this week a colleague was stuck in a medical office verbally providing health history details for a staff person to type into the practice computer. The desk was stacked with thick, unfiled charts that nearly filled the space between patient and office manager. Facetiously, someone (nameless) joked how the dawning age of Electronic Medical Records […]
[Conclusion of a two-part series. Refer to Part One: King of the Hill: Healthcare Marketing and the Millennial Mindset.] Healthcare marketing plans by doctors, hospitals and communications executives have been reshaping their strategies and tactics for greater effectiveness with America’s largest demographic group--labeled The Millennials. Reaching this highly diverse and well-educated group is inherently different […]
[First in a two-part series.] Not long ago, a momentous shift—demographically speaking—occurred in America. If, somehow, you missed the data temblor, some of your marketing and target audience assumptions might be off track. Significantly, the Millennial generation—defined as individuals ages 18 to 34—pushed the long-standing, post-WWII Baby Boomers group (ages 51 to 69) out of […]
Picture this scenario. You have an unhappy patient in your office, and, frankly, nobody on the staff (much less the doctor) is eager to jump into that thunderstorm. Let’s hope that this doesn’t come up too often, but realistically it happens even in the best of practices. You and your staff should be prepared to […]
Healthcare’s intensely competitive environment has hospitals, group medical practices and providers scrambling to win and/or protect market share. Sometimes, as Aristotle Onassis put it, “The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows.” The following Internet marketing tools aren’t really a secret, but they are often neglected. In fact, using them ahead of […]
We know more than a few marketing-smart executives and healthcare professionals who admittedly don’t know much about Search Engine Optimization. They understand the concept and the practical techniques that help or hurt in the complex SEO world. But… Let’s face it, some extremely talented marketing pros will privately admit that their personal command of SEO […]
In my advertising industry career, I’ve tended to resonate to the strength of direct response advertising. It’s not appropriate for every situation, of course. But where and when there’s a good fit, it’s one of the most powerful and effective tools. The reason: Direct response is advertising that gets results. And when it’s done properly […]
Working late one night a few months ago, I somehow stumbled on Periscope, the social video app that enables live streaming broadcasts--from you to the world. There’s a bubble of hype and hoopla connected with the launch of Periscope, so I was a bit skeptical. It turned out to be fascinating. Periscope is a free app […]
There's a New Consumer in your service area. No longer “merely a patient,” healthcare reform and societal dynamics have empowered a new breed of high-expectation consumers and value-aware shoppers. Before they select a hospital or provider—for themselves or family members—they are increasingly informed about outcomes, reputation, safety scores, patient experience and the cost of care. […]
[First in a series.] Rob Klein, founder and CEO of healthcare marketing research firm, Klein & Partners, inspired our headline and this series of articles. We'll be speaking with Rob again about this topic and present our conversation as an audio podcast in the near future. Our neighborhood RiteAid store—just a couple blocks down the street, and one […]
Among Benjamin Franklin’s considerable list of achievements in life is—along with physician and surgeon Thomas Bond—establishing the first hospital in what later became the United States. Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia continues today as the oldest hospital in America. In the tradition of Franklin and Bond, many doctors have much to brag about...if they wanted to […]
When you look up from your smartphone for a couple nano-seconds, it’s obvious that social media is ubiquitous in the culture…and pervasive enough to have crossed over to other media. There are at least a dozen major media television programs based primarily on social media. And nearly every major network drama, professional sports broadcast and […]
In a completely unscientific estimate, roughly nine out of 10 doctors would probably say they hate “selling” in healthcare. At a minimum, it’s not what doctors are trained to do. And, more critically, they believe that sales is a sleazy, manipulative and difficult process intended to strong-arm people into paying for something they don’t need or […]
Art and science have a special meeting point in social media. And with the proper blend of each, social media has the power to reach, recruit and retain private pay and elective care patients. For the most part, the “science part” is often the easier side of the equation. The major social media platforms—Facebook, Twitter, […]
Many doctors still have a gaping hole in their social media plan and Internet presence. For many, “too busy” is a quick and convenient excuse. It seems that everyone has a million other priorities, plus the compensation questions, and then there are all those pesky HIPAA sensitivities. For whatever reason, many physicians and medical practices […]
Healthcare is not short of controversy these days. Transformational change is disrupting every corner of the industry. One of the questions facing many physicians is how did I get here? Remembering back to medical school, we were passionate, committed, empathic individuals choosing to serve a higher calling. We took out loans to pay for medical […]
[Article Series: An excerpt from a forthcoming book by Mark Tager, MD, and Stewart Gandolf, MBA, for private practice physicians and healthcare administrators about reaching, recruiting and retaining private pay and elective care patients.] Each of the primary social media tools has a distinct personality. If Facebook is the family SUV, and Twitter is a […]
At the risk of sounding like a minor rant…here’s a quick story with an important marketing lesson. I HATE calling doctors’ offices. I suspect that a lot of people feel the same way. Please let me know if you can relate to my brief-but-irritating experience. The other day I discovered that I needed a new […]
With upwards of 80 million active monthly visitors in the US, Twitter is second only to Facebook, and it’s about the only microblogging site you need in your social media plan. Surprisingly, there are dozens of other similar platforms—better than 100 around the globe—but few people can name more than one or two. As a […]
You’re busy. I’m busy. So here’s the point: People have become so used to instant gratification that they expect everything now. Right now. You can either embrace society’s instamatic mindset or rapidly be swept to the bottom of the marketing and competitive lineup. Convenience is the new currency. Across the board in products, services and […]
ICD-10 is here, and the sound business advice for the foreseeable futures is: “Conserve cash. And boost your marketing efforts for fee-for-service options.” For the next few months, medical practices are going to be wrestling with more than a few problems during the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. Although there’s been a long run up, […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] This podcast previews the SHSMD15 presentation of Don Stanziano, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Scripps Health: Empowering a Strong Brand: Scripps Health Integrates CRM into its Marketing Mix. There’s a new way to integrate digital and traditional healthcare marketing. By using customer relationship management (CRM) tools, healthcare companies are able to […]
