“Bounce rate” might be the single most frustrating metric in online marketing. Here’s how to combat bounce rate—single page visits. It’s maddening to realize that someone has invested considerable time, effort and money in creating a website that statistically repels visitors. They leave as soon as they have arrived, without browsing further. They’re gone. There […]
[Series Installment] Here’s how to inspire advertising action. Look back at last week’s installment in this series titled, Social Proof Primer: How to Use Marketing’s Psychological Secret Sauce. Previously, we labeled the concept as “marketing’s psychological secret sauce.” As a device to boost response, a dash of this power-packed juice belongs in every advertising message. […]
Poke around online briefly and this prediction appears. It heralds the need for doctors to change and accept healthcare consumerism: “The medical world expects ‘patients’ to bear up patiently. But the medical world needs to learn to live with ‘consumers.’” What’s most surprising is that this quote is more than three decades old. It’s from […]
It’s no secret that the Internet has become the new front door for healthcare providers and hospitals. And Google searches are primary pathways for that lead to health-related information, medical practices and professional care. They dictate being lost or found online. Without a strong online presence, providers and practices simply disappear from view. Three-quarters (75 percent) […]
[Series Installment] Think of it as marketing’s psychological secret sauce. A serious dash of social proof is often the most compelling and motivating ingredient in the applied science of marketing. Success—with clear and measurable results—follows when you put predictable human reactions and behavior to work. You can kick start your effectiveness by incorporating at least […]
We’ve been looking for a good springboard opportunity to present the creative advertising images that are included with this post. It’s difficult to characterize all the ways how-and-why reasons that good visuals turn your head, tell a story and/or bend your mind. And frankly, that’s an important secret sauce ingredient. There aren’t many ad messages […]
What do you do when the news media suddenly knocks on your door regarding a hot news item? What if one or more members of the press wants a media interview? Without much notice they're seeking your expert medical opinion or professional point of view. It’s useful for the media to know that you're available. And […]
If this blog post had sound effects, you would hear a painful and protracted “Arrrrrghhhh!” It would represent the classic mistake of a neophyte healthcare advertiser who is murdering their advertising budget and their new business opportunity. So, exactly what’s wrong here? Blame is heaped on the ad campaign—which, by the way, is actually working. […]
Here’s where a rational marketing mind might wonder: “Exactly WHY should I care that Google has—yet again—changed the “Ad label" at the top of search results?” To the casual observer, it seems to be a subtle change—from yellow versions to a solid green background, to (now) a green outline with a white background. Is this […]
[Second of Two Parts - Series Installment: Current Marketing Trends] The first of these two installments, 4 Top Hospital Marketing Trends to Watch Right Now, examined Customer Relationship Management, and Precision Marketing Audience Segments. Our list of top hospital marketing trends continues… The nation’s healthcare delivery system continues to change rapidly. And to keep pace, […]
[Series Installment: First of Two Parts - Current Marketing Trends] Here are some important but easily overlooked facts about trends in general, and hospital marketing trends specifically. Trends don’t suddenly explode onto the scene (usually). Allowing for some rare exceptions, healthcare and hospital trends tend to emerge over time. The best observers—professionals who keep ahead […]
A significant majority of prospective patients look online to research hospitals, doctors and medical practices before they select a provider…and long before they meet you in person. The digital pallet of online reputation management paints an image and shapes expectations in the consumer’s mind. Nearly everyone—customers, buyers, and patients—envisions who you are based on the strength […]
More than 30 percent of email recipients open the email based on the subject line alone. Unfortunately, the folks that study those things seem to be silent about what happens to the other 70 percent. But we have a pretty good guess. Everyone’s INBOX is the target of tons of digital missiles each day, and […]
Creating and maintaining an online wellspring of useful and interesting information is a positive step in healthcare marketing. Presenting authoritative information—on your blog, your website and elsewhere—is a foundation for connections and relationships. But the first secret of content marketing—with the rich rewards of attracting and engaging prospective patients—is inspiring shareability through your audience. Shareability, […]
For some time, I’ve wanted to prepare an article about bad billboard advertising. Unfortunately, the world is overflowing with examples of ineffective and non-communicative text. So the first lesson is that creating great billboard advertising is a difficult creative challenge. It’s easy to spot bad ads, there are plenty of them. Perhaps this is because […]
Right out of the box you should know that working with your digital influencers is a useful way to bolster your social media presence. But you should also know that it’s an advanced, sophisticated and challenging method that’s not for everyone. (Please check out this article to start. But if you still have questions, please […]
There's an excellent reason why Baskin Robbins offers more than one flavor of ice cream. And why the people they attract don't shop there for…say, bicycle tires. The Baskin Robbins a brand name that is known for excellent ice cream. In fact, 31 flavors, enough ice cream varieties to satisfy nearly everyone. And that's it—all […]
You are welcome to share our list of TED Talks for healthcare. Or compile your own and circulate your favorites. We think these presentations—each about 20 minutes in length—are TED Talks you need to hear. They provide insightful observations about healthcare, marketing and/or business. And, as the TED concept predicts, these are talks to stir […]
A Continuing Series by Raheim Bundle Just the other day, a headline caught my eye proudly declaring 2017: The Year of Voice Search. Maybe my calendar runs a little faster than others, but the staggering statistics say voice search use has already moved beyond “emerging.” The commonplace practice now has a comfortable “mainstream” foothold. There […]
Here’s a cautionary tale from the real world. If you can relate to this story, it can either help or hinder a hospital or group practice. You may have experienced times when a sour culture or negative internal attitudes stand in the way producing superior results. Briefly, here’s the backstory from a multi-location healthcare organization. […]
These are the seven fundamental healthcare marketing strategies that you should already be doing to ensure marketing success for your healthcare practice or business. Let’s face it, if you’re not already experiencing success with your healthcare business’ or practice’s marketing efforts — and especially if you’re not yet marketing at all — there are many […]
Compared to other forms of marketing, community marketing doesn’t get a lot of attention or even respect. In fact, truth be told, I’m a digital marketer at heart, and until a few weeks ago I really didn’t appreciate its power either. My “awakening” came when I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a […]
At a routine medical appointment yesterday, a friend of mine was greeted with a chilling: “Please sign in, and take a seat.” No warm hello. No friendly smile. And no way to treat a regular member of the internal audience of this practice. Here's why: The math is simple and straightforward. It costs at least five […]
With increasing frequency we are finding practices and hospitals that are paying for “phantom” Search Engine Optimization services. Call it “Grand Theft SEO.” They’re being charged for the services, but they don’t even have the most basic of SEO techniques in place. Search Engine Optimization is a broad term relating to technical services that the […]
If nobody’s aware that your patients are satisfied, does it even matter? Related: 9 Essential Steps to Improve Doctor Ratings Online Yes, of course it matters — but it isn’t helping your marketing. Word-of-mouth and online review websites are the dominant resources patients use to select their doctors. Which means that in 2017, taking charge […]
A lot, actually. As you might expect, many doctors and hospitals want to target upscale patients. Sometimes it is a matter of insurance coverage, other times doctors want to attract more fulfilling cases, and still other times clients simply want to improve reimbursements. Two weeks ago at our Orlando seminar, someone asked the familiar question […]
If your schedule permits a quiet moment, look at the competitive landscape. Group practice marketing is constantly challenged to keep up with mergers, rollups and acquisitions. Know it or not, business conditions in your service area have changed in the past few months. It could be that the territory has shifted. And, like it or […]
Not long ago, The Des Moines Register published an interesting opinion piece about hospitals that advertise. We’d like to know what you think about their coverage titled: Hospitals spend millions luring patients away from each other. Please take a minute to review their editorial handiwork and register your own opinion in the space below. Curiously, […]
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the fine-tuning process intended to maximizing the number of visitors who come to your website or landing page. Appealing to Google and the other search engines is a constant challenge. The goal is for online searches to have your web address on the first page of search results. But the […]
Every industry has it’s own, unique vocabulary. These are the specialized terms, buzz words, phrases and jargon that is peculiar to a particular business. I wouldn’t attempt the work-a-day words that a doctor-to-doctor conversation might include. There’s a strong prospect that I’d be lost (quickly) in a forest of multisyllabic medical terminology. The word-world of […]
Anyone who knows me personally or professionally would likely agree that I’m sort of a high-energy guy. Nevertheless, we would also agree, that heavy-handed swear words are not in my usual nature or vocabulary. But -- there’s an important lesson for others in this tale, so I’ll confess to this recent, embarrassing exception. The story goes […]
Just the other day, an out-of-town guest sat in on a company-wide meeting in our office. To my surprise, he was super-impressed with what, to us, was a regular Monday morning “standup.” This is the starter session for our business week. It brings together everyone in the office, plus two or three people who attend […]
In a quiet moment, every doctor will admit that some people simply make better patients than other people. On a good-to-bad scale, the “bad news” people sink to the bottom slice of chart. They represent a (hopefully) small percentage of your patient-population. For one reason or another, they are uncooperative, unpleasant and/or difficult. It seems […]
While Facebook and Instagram are among our favorite social media channels to generate patients, Twitter can play a supporting role in your healthcare marketing. There are a lot of ways to leverage Twitter, but let’s focus on five easy things you can do today that have the potential to impact your business tomorrow. Twitter: Communicate, […]
I recently heard an on-hold message that was so creative, memorable and powerful that I texted my editor with the message, “Hey, you HAVE to listen to this on-hold message...” I'll share the story behind my cryptic message in a moment, but first I want to address why you should even care about on-hold messages. […]
Editor’s Note: In this guest post, Neil H. Baum, MD, presents doctor-to-doctor ideas founded in his 30-plus years of real-world experience as a practicing urologist in New Orleans. Want more patients? How about more patients without a big-budget investment? Can you attract more patients who won’t stress your staff? Want more patients who you can […]
In today’s increasingly tech-savvy world, it’s easy to get lost in the complex jargon of the on arena. Don’t give up — we’re here to break it down for you. Whether you’re looking to brush up on your marketing knowledge or starting from scratch, the ABCs of Marketing will help you understand some of the most important terms that you need to know today.
About 90 percent of practices and healthcare organizations lose new business opportunity, and money when they answer the phone. That makes the front desk the second most critical job in any doctor’s office. Of course, the top job under your roof is that of the provider or providers. But the front desk is the vital […]
There’s a trap waiting for you in the world of marketing. And the more capable you are as a doctor, the more likely you’ll spring it. Why patients don't care… You’re a talented, personable and board-certified surgeon with a beautiful office in a great location. You have an exceptional team of nurses and staff. You […]
Before we get to the benefits of video for your business, let’s clarify one thing. While professional--studio quality--video production is often required, there may be some informal exceptions. You can sometimes get away with simple, DIY videos from your smartphone. Impromptu videos of your health fair booth, for example, posted on your practice Facebook page. Video […]
Here's why you need a guide to Millennials. Not long ago, it was the Baby Boomers that dominated the healthcare demographic landscape—one of the top audience targets of opportunity. The post-war crowd still represents a substantial slice of the American population. But boomer-babies are no longer the largest cohort. Millennials (age 18-34) are now the […]
Marketing-smart doctors want advertising results that are profitable—with an efficient Return-on-Investment (ROI), and a reasonable cost per lead. Whew…those are welcomed challenges in most marketplaces. These days, competition is first-team tough and sophisticated. In some markets, healthcare providers can’t compete without television advertising doing the heavy lifting. The fact is, TV delivers a positive difference […]
Successful practices and businesses are built from great service, good leadership and rock-solid strategies. A good marketing plan is important so you know whom to target. But before you get to the planning stage, you need to determine what you want to accomplish in the next 12 months. You may already have a strategy […]
It was only a year or two ago that the trendy marketing watchword was "personalization." It seems like everyone was using the P-word in email marketing. Everyone’s ambition was to take email (and other content) to the high-impact, “next level.” Internet and computer sophistication provides the ability to deliver relevant content to the right reader. […]
Customer testimonials offer great benefits to your marketing and business health for very little cost and effort. In the dictionary, marketing is defined as the action or business of promoting and selling products or services. That’s as simple as it gets; too simple, really. Marketing is communication for a particular goal or set of goals, […]
All too often a healthcare practice will wait to ask for my help until the “eleventh hour.” That was the case when a medical group (belatedly) discovered their growth curve had become a flat line. It turned out that their once-robust stream of professional referrals was vanishing. A rival practice was attracting this group’s lifeblood of […]
A confounding notion in our industry is that medicine is a profession, but healthcare is a business. Think of these as opposite sides of the same business coin. The medicine/profession side leaves little time for the healthcare/business side. But, it turns out that a marketing outsource strategy can achieve critical objectives for both. Most of the time, a […]
The only constant in today’s healthcare marketplace is rapid change. Competition is increasingly intense. Group practices are the product of mergers, rollups and acquisitions. And prospective patients are confused without a strong brand message. When dynamics scramble the consumer message, consider these branding tips to differentiate your group practice. One white coat looks the same as […]
There’s a connection between busy practices and doctors who embrace selling. Marketing savvy doctors understand how healthcare marketing builds their business. The breakthrough business doctors understand how salesmanship is a key to success. The dreaded “S-word” isn’t in the vocabulary of many doctors. Sales gets relabeled as business development or case acceptance. In many practices, cost factors […]
There’s an immensely useful and effective technique in creating healthcare content that we see all the time. You might recognize it as a “cliffhanger” or a “page turner.” But by any label, experienced as well as freshman writers can use this suspenseful social media secret to keep their audience connected, interested and reading more. Everyone […]
