Today, healthcare brands have more photography and videography options than ever. For many situations, hiring professionals, such as a professional photographer, a production company, or a videographer, will be best. In other instances, you and your team can utilize a high-quality smartphone camera, affordable software programs, and inexpensive starter equipment to quickly, cheaply, and easily […]
This is the time of year when a well-considered hospital marketing budget is in the final-finish stages. It’s nearly ready for rollout with the launch of a new calendar year. But getting it done isn’t the same as getting it right. Here are four thought-leader concepts to help optimize your budget—and your marketing results—as never […]
Recently I returned from a client photo shoot and drafted this list of helpful creative director secrets to help you produce professional and effective results. It's about details because the camera sees it all. Every photo shoot—from a big screen major motion picture, to images for your hospital or office—deserves careful attention. It’s fun to […]
A fundamental element of marketing and advertising tells us that, before you can persuade or convince an audience, it's imperative that you command their attention. And, when you can effectively and instantly grab the viewer/audience by the eyeballs, their curious mind is bound to follow. It's simply the way that we're wired. The physiology of […]
Who needs Dr. Leonard McCoy’s classic (but fictional) Medical Tricorder when iPhone health is already in your pocket? (Some of it anyway.) There are various configurations of the Tricorder on the Star Trek TV show. By today’s standards, the devices were bulky, but they enabled: Instant diagnosis ailments/disease Track general metrics/vital signs Monitor ongoing health […]
[SHSMD17 Speaker Podcast Series] Our guest for this podcast is Jenise Celestin, Director of Community Relations at Swedish Covenant Hospital. Jenise talks with Healthcare Success Marketing Strategist Peter Do as a preview of the SHSMD 2017 presentation: From Hospital Employee to Brand Ambassador: Building Bridges in the Community and Enhancing Your Brand. In today’s conversation, […]
A professional colleague provided this first-person experience and the reasons he fired the doctor. We’ll cloak the identities involved, but here’s what went wrong—and how the problem could have been avoided. “The physician that I had been seeing was leaving the practice, and an alternative specialist was recommended. Two weeks later I was present for […]
Let’s call this an informal Patient Experience survey—or a real-world test of “first impressions.” The thing is, this is something that actually happened to me recently. Please let me know what you would have done in my place. Having waited a couple weeks to get an appointment I was scheduled to see a doctor that […]
Our friend and colleague Rob Klein—a consumer authority for hospitals and doctors—told us this story from a research focus group. Many people in the group agreed that the glass window at the front desk made patients feel unwelcome. A glass window seems to be standard issue for every doctor’s office on the planet. But it […]
[Part of a continuing series] A colleague told the real-world story about seeing a group of senior citizens talking about their grandchildren. To our observer, the curious part was that each of the 70-plus-year-old grandparents had their smartphone in hand, complete with proud-moment pictures and videos. This snapshot is a micro-moment reminder of how personal […]
Recently, I had a unique experience at a local IHOP restaurant. I’d like to share this real-world, simple-but-effective marketing idea that everyone can use. Here’s how asking for referrals can be an immediate boost for business. I was enjoying Father’s Day breakfast with the family. About halfway through our meal, an employee —wearing the name […]
OK – here it is: Successfully marketing to Millennials—appealing to and attracting this major audience group—requires a totally new approach. For the most part, the customary ways-and-means of reaching this target audience completely misses the mark. As a result, they are the most difficult segment to market to effectively. Leave the challenges of an old-school perspective and […]
Your website is healthcare’s new front door, and nearly everyone has a website. Good, bad or mediocre, hospitals, health systems and doctors’ offices have some degree of Internet presence. But better than half the time, the all-important website metrics—the numbers that monitor performance—are neglected or ignored. The plus side of an effective website is that […]
In the retail world, it’s easy to find free or low-cost samples of goods, services, and the ever-popular taste-test of (a new flavor) bacon-infused crispy chip. Beyond the wall of healthcare marketing, reciprocity and the psychology of samples, test bits and trial models have a long and successful history. Retailers know that giving away a […]
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 […]
This is a brief article about a small-makes-big concept. It goes like this: When someone agrees to something small, they are likely to be consistent and go along with a bigger idea later. For the sake of a label, let’s call this the Cialdini Commitment Concept, and credit the marketing genius of Dr. Robert Cialdini. […]
There’s an analogy that I offer clients to demonstrate the importance of being first in marketing. I ask: “Charles Lindbergh made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Can you name the second person to do so?” “If John Hancock famously signed the Declaration of Independence first, can you name the second person […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
If your aim is to build an engaging, relevant brand there is one thing you must avoid: complacency. Brands unwilling or hesitant to embrace change, innovation, or advancements in technology quickly become irrelevant. Do you remember Kodak? It was a very popular photography company that sold cameras and roll film. It was built on a […]
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. […]
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 […]
