There were two red-flag stories in the news last week. Neither item is a surprise, but they signal disturbing trends for healthcare marketing thought leaders. The headlines say: 1 in 5 Older Americans Cutting Back on Health Care to Save Money - Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) Spending growth on physician services sinks to record low - […]
Quick-check questions that reveal make-it or break-it problems before launch The difference between big-time winning vs. downright disaster in healthcare direct response depends on a million variables. A single, simple oversight can cost you the ballgame. Ask yourself these seven questions to find and fix fundamental problems before you rollout any direct response program.
A first-time visitor to your healthcare website knows very little about you. And what they find—or don't find—will be their "first impression" of you and your brand. The problem is that many are either out of date or out of touch, and the patient experience never has a chance. The first impression is also the […]
In the time it takes to read this post, a handful of new concept, Internet startups will launch with as much splash as they can muster. And, in the same brief amount of time, last week’s crop of “latest-and-greatest” social media, Facebook-clones and “community” sites will have vaporized. We don’t know if the lifecycle of […]
As medical practice marketing professionals well understand, the measure of patient satisfaction—or the lack of it—sometimes has little or nothing to do with a physician’s medical expertise. For some patients, the length of the “door-to-doctor” waiting time is a primary distinction between satisfaction and marching over to the competition. Individual provider offices—general practitioners and specialists […]
The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners is considering how the concept of online healthcare deals and discounts may or may not fit into its advertising and marketing rules for professional practice advertising. There was a small but important news item that touched on this. It's worth reading…and watching where it may lead. In the […]
Broadcast emails and e-newsletters can be useful tools in medical practice marketing as long as you stay on the safe side of anti-spam regulations. And that's easier than it looks. You may be surprised to learn that "spam" has a curious and slightly amusing history. As one source has it, S.P.A.M. is an abbreviation for […]
A significant sign of the turbulent changes in healthcare delivery systems—and medical marketing—is the fact that 30,000 drug and medical device representatives were laid off in the last 5 years. But as startling (and devastating) as that is for individuals on the pharma side, the same systemic storm has delivered something of a silver lining. […]
Do you have an idea for a successful open house? Please tell us about it. All too often we bump into a medical practice or hospital doing an “open house” or something similar. So far, so good…a community and patient involvement special event can be a useful doctor marketing tool. The problem is that simply […]
This is a brief post and a brief video about a not-so-brief topic. We see an emerging role for healthcare communicators in this. And if you invest two minutes and 41 seconds, this short video might be the most unique, creative and thoughtful healthcare marketing idea you’ve seen lately. On one hand, there’s the trend […]
Sooner or later every healthcare provider will need to name, or rename, his or her professional practice. And for most, it will be sooner, given the upheaval in contemporary health delivery systems. Healthcare reform and the tough economic climate have propelled many of these changes, with more to come. Medical practices and solo physician providers […]
Here’s a real-world marketing case study about…using clinical case studies. Cindy Gall sends us this medical practice marketing success story about how the Central Texas Spine Institute (Austin) is effectively using physician-to-physician clinical case examples. Cindy writes, “I attended a Healthcare Success seminar in September of 2010. Lonnie Hirsch recommended using case studies as a […]
The recent report from accounting firm PwC—Top Health Industry Issues of 2012—is near the top of our recommended reading list for marketing savvy physicians and healthcare marketing professionals. Thought leaders—providers, group practices and hospitals—will want to take note of two interconnected findings that jump out of the data. First, there’s the problem of the “disappearing […]
Talk about a compelling subject line. It’s hard to resist opening and reading an email, e-newsletter or news article with a provocative hook to turn your head. It worked with us recently, and having an attention-getting headline is the first tip for improving your healthcare marketing communications. Here are a few more ideas for better […]
Some health care advertising agencies would have you believe that trendy and award-winning creative materials, intricate and expensive media plans, and enormous medical advertising budgets are what it takes to win the hearts and minds of new patients. In fact there's more science and psychology at work in the business of influencing human behavior than […]
One of the great rewards of working with doctors and healthcare executives for over two decades is that we have a treasure chest of experience that we share with clients. We’ve seen first hand those things that are most effective in marketing a practice, hospital and organization. We love success stories in medical marketing and […]
Years ago, the term “convergence” implied wonderful advances yet-to-come in technology. (Healthcare marketing professionals take note: advances lead to advertising opportunities.) “Someday” your cellular phone would also take pictures (who could possibly need that?), and you’ll be watching television programs on a laptop (isn’t that called a TV set?). In fact, that was a number […]
In the healthcare advertising agency industry, we’ve found that clients who are open to advice and guidance are those individuals who understand that there is a best practices approach to doctor marketing and advertising. Sometimes wisdom comes from making mistakes, but the wiser approach is to listen to and learn from the experience of others. […]
This year promises to be healthcare marketing's Year of the Video. Once an emerging trend, online video has already reached mainstream status. And as we look ahead, medical practices, dental offices, hospitals and other healthcare providers will be deploying new and creative uses of video. (We've included some exceptional examples below as new ideas you […]
We’d like to hear from our readers about a quote from a USA Today story. (We suspect that more than a few people will have a reply…perhaps a passionate reply.) The subject matter is physician liaison work and the context is primarily about hospital-physician relations. More broadly however, the subject is physician referral marketing in […]
Perhaps there is a tendency to take patient satisfaction for granted. It’s the part of doctor marketing that everyone does and, really now…there’s nothing to it. No big deal. Patient presents with symptom…diagnosis confirms…treatment follows…everyone’s happy. Right? Maybe not. Sound clinical care can resolve the medical problem, but the patient may still have a sense […]
Are you marketing or just wishing something will happen? Simply having a goal in mind does not achieve success. A goal without a plan is just a wish...and daydreams alone seldom produce results. To move beyond wishful thinking-and produce tangible results-requires specific goals and a well-crafted marketing action plan.
The surprising reason why patients leave and the impact to your bottom line. Most say nothing at all...they just don't return. Patient satisfaction is the cornerstone of patient retention. It's difficult to detect, but It is a perception of indifference that causes most people to quit coming back. And the financial loss to your business […]
Everyone in healthcare and hospital marketing likes business performance metrics. (Well, nearly everyone.) The benchmark or progress numbers that quantify exactly how we’re doing. It’s how marketing people (and the boss) keep score. Metrics tell us if a project is meeting its goals, or if an advertising campaign is producing results, and sometimes how we […]
With the approaching New Year, we like to look ahead for emerging trends in healthcare delivery and medical marketing. On our “new technology” list, there are three concepts (among many) that we’ll be watching closely in 2012. Marketing savvy doctors, administrators, dentists, hospital marketing and advertising professionals might want to keep these topics on your […]
A guest post by Randall S. Barton, PhD, Managing Partner, Ideopolis LLC We recently read a great article on the Healthcare Success site titled "Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition”—a Surprising Lesson for Doctor Marketing. It prompted us to write about a prevalent misconception in the medical industry today…that meaningful improvements must be big. In reality, […]
If a professional reputation is to be protected at all costs, should a healthcare provider file a lawsuit against a patient for a negative online review? From time to time we see news items about doctors or dentists who threaten legal action against patients. But suing a patient for a negative comment (or comments) is […]
Not so long ago, only a few hospitals and medical practices had some sort of “ambassador” on their staff. But as healthcare marketing and delivery systems have changed in recent years, this occasional and sometimes informal position has evolved significantly. Practices, hospitals and health systems large and small have hired physician liaisons for the primary […]
It’s no wonder that many physicians are frustrated with a lack of patient compliance and continued unhealthy lifestyles. Healthcare providers now have to contend with an “action gap,” and we’d like to hear your suggestions. How can healthcare marketing and advertising close the “action gap?” Here’s the problem. There's another survey out that confirms that […]
There’s nothing like a real-life success story to illustrate the bottom-line, dollars-and-cents value of a medical practice marketing principle. In this case, a physician group specialty practice more than doubled its new patient revenue by training the staff to properly answer the phone and book appointments.
It shocks me how many doctors say they want "first class" patients, but then treat these same patients (paying customers) like second class citizens. The following cautionary tale illustrates my point well.
As everyone with a holiday shopping list knows, “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” have propelled the season into high gear…including the search for the perfect gift idea for one healthcare practice or hospital to give to a physician’s office. Our earlier post, Whacky or Wonderful? Making Gift-Giving Memorable in Medical Practice Marketing, challenged medical practice […]
More Inside Tips, Dos and Don'ts to Reach Patients Through the Media EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a follow up article to Healthcare Publicity: The First Three Steps To Getting Free Press Coverage Our previous article about medical publicity and public relations got you started with the first three steps to discovering short-term healthcare practice publicity […]
Get Free Healthcare Practice Publicity by Giving Local Media What They Want Ever wonder what the difference is between advertising and publicity? Simply put, publicity is free. Advertising costs money. In other words, if a newspaper writes a news article about you (but doesn't charge you), that's publicity. If the newspaper charges you for the […]
by Healthcare Success Co-Founder Lonnie Hirsch Just recently, we happened to spot a thoughtful article about how small business needs to embrace new marketing methods to better cope with the nation’s tough economic climate. It turns out that the article was nearly two years old (an “eon” in marketing time), but small business is still […]
At a recent seminar, some of our attendees joined us in a rant about the pitiful customer service endemic at so many hospitals and practices. Some examples: 1. One surgeon shared a story about the time he "went home for Christmas," but ended up accompanying his very ill and nervous mother to the ER. A […]
Right about now you might be wondering exactly how the "Spanish Inquisition" catchphrase could possibly harbor a lesson for doctor marketing. The answer is surprisingly simple and it's a useful way to define, create and deliver an exceptional patient experience. To be clear, we're not talking about a patient's medical care or the provider's skills, […]
There’s something unsettling about the healthcare article in The Seattle Times last week; it seems a bit out of balance. We’re guessing that the hospital public relations professionals in the Puget Sound area are scratching their heads over this one also. Is this a legitimate news story or a media-invented tempest in a teapot? The […]
Guest Post by Healthcare Attorney Stephen H. Kaufman Whether you are starting a new medical practice, operating a long-established business, or actively engaged in hospital advertising, you probably have a trademark—a name, a phrase or a design that brands your business in the marketplace. You can establish rights in your marks just by using them […]
Almost everyone with experience in physician marketing recognizes that word-of-mouth (WOM) advertising is (a) highly desirable, but (b) not an easy thing to inspire. After all, it’s far easier and more reliable to purchase time or space in the media and create a medical practice advertisement.
It's been all of a couple months since we previously wrote about the many Ways iPads Are Changing Hospital Marketing and PR. Apple doesn't send us their official sales numbers, but reliable estimates have it that millions of iPad 2 tablets have been shipped during these last 90 days. As we write this, by calendar year end, […]
Owners and leaders of the most accomplished and admired healthcare practices rarely achieve their success accidentally. This is just as true in the broader scope...including healthcare organizations, hospitals and related businesses such as pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
In this guest post, Dr. Janice Frates offers ways for healthcare providers to use caring, concern and affordability as medical practice marketing tools. Here are her suggestions to build rapport and inspire patient satisfaction because tough times are here to stay. Gradually, it’s dawning on all of us that the current recession is now the […]
Here's another bit of forward-looking competitive intelligence in medical practice marketing. There was a flurry of conflicting news reports recently that said Walmart was gearing-up to dominate the healthcare provider sector…or maybe not. As we see it, the real question is not “if,” but “when.” And there are several private sector horses in this race. […]
We have yet to find an online physician and medical practice rating system that is "perfect." Are you aware of how you rate on HealthGrades.com, or ratemds.com, or Vitals.com, or any of the dozens of other physician rating websites that populate the Internet? If someone has taken the time to post a comment, does it […]
What’s the worst holiday gift idea that you've ever seen given to a doctor’s office? What’s the best? We’d like to hear from you on this one. Right about now, medical practice administrators, physician liaison people, practice ambassadors, physicians and hospital marketing executives are ramping up for the annual ritual of holiday gift giving. And there’s no […]
How the Voice of the Customer translates into greater case acceptance and referrals. Some interesting study data came to our attention recently. It's useful in understanding patient expectations and increasing case acceptance by way of the "Voice of the Customer" (VOC). It's especially helpful when economic times are challenging for both the patient and the hospital, healthcare […]
Here's one of several critical medical advertising mistakes that doctors and hospitals make every day. For any number of reasons, they—meaning you—may be blind to the competition. Consider this to be a reality check. Do you see yourself anywhere in the following picture? For one thing, doctors rarely like to think of their professional colleagues […]
Our recent post, How to Destroy Your Medical Practice Marketing New Business in One Easy Step, was a hot-button topic for many readers. So think of this article as the next installment for medical practices and physician advertisers who are losing business for the lack of good front desk phone skills. For a doctor or […]
With the holiday season upon us, here’s an incredibly useful gift idea for doctors, hospitals and healthcare professionals. What’s more, the cost couldn’t be better. Offer a subscription to the Healthcare Success Marketing Advisor to your friends, colleagues, physicians, administrators and staff. You'll be giving them the gift of success that is packed with valuable, practical, […]
