Less than a month ago the business news of the day was dominated by Steve Jobs' announcement that he was stepping down as CEO of Apple Inc. A few days later, he was on the cover of Newsweek, headlined: American Genius, Steve Jobs, How He Changed Our World. Both iPhones and iPads are so popular […]
The big-picture objectives of the “Bundled Payments” initiative seem worthy: “Better Health, Better Care, Lower Costs.” But we have to wonder if hospital marketing and advertising will find itself answering patient concerns about trusting their wellbeing to a “lowest bidder” system? Under a pilot program announced recently by the Department of Health and Human Services, […]
One of the analogies I shared with an audience earlier this week resonated with the crowd so well that I decided to share it in today's blog post. (Those of you who know me personally or have seen me speak know I LOVE using analogies to simplify concepts.) First, the back story. After listening intently […]
It’s a little frightening that in physician practice marketing we often discover more examples of “poor” patient experience than “good” ones. In fairness, the good stuff rarely gets the spotlight that it deserves, and the negative examples are often magnified. The doctor-patient relationship is often strained, and positive, personal relationships—among patient, provider and staff—is often […]
A few years ago, my dentist retired and I scheduled my first visit with a dentist who had become a client. After my first appointment, he personally made a follow-up phone call to see if everything met my expectations in the first visit. (It was a step in his new medical practice marketing plan.) Though […]
From the nation’s heartland to the big city, here are two “healthy heart” illustrations of healthcare marketing at work. Avera Heart Hospital Marketing and PR Thinks Mega Some things are larger than life in South Dakota. For example, Avera Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls has a big heart and knows how to make a big impression […]
For centuries, doctors made house calls to patients’ homes. Except in some rural communities, these visits have become about as practical as using mustard plasters to promote respiratory health. In today’s world, telemedicine increasingly enables doctor-patient communications in two different places for a high-tech house call. Telemedicine is also a great “hook” for hospital marketing […]
The managing partner of a large, respected group called me recently to find out if my firm could help them answer a rising competitive threat and build volume for their associates. The trouble was, he was very guarded and hesitant. After a lot of coaxing, he finally blurted out the real reason behind his reservations. […]
Testimonials—a patient’s expression of appreciation for you, your practice and their results—are powerful motivators for potential patients, and highly useful in medical practice marketing. And, being mindful of HIPAA, many professional situations can use this tool effectively. While patients are often happy to make referrals and testimonial statements, they often don’t have a clue about […]
The primary reason that public speaking is a powerful and persuasive tool in healthcare marketing is that it is highly personal. A good speech is a tool of engagement that can make an emotional or intellectual connection—sometimes a bond—between the speaker and individuals in the audience. Physicians, medical practice administrators, hospital public relations executives, and […]
A quick survey of 4 communications cornerstones and 24 basic ideas that might belong in your marketing plan. This is a "forest-for-the-trees" kind of thing. Or maybe it's a "nose-on-your-face" deal. In any event, overlooking an obvious opportunity is definitely common, and even somewhat understandable. Hospitals, practices and healthcare organizations are busy places and marketing […]
Don’t you just love it when a good plan comes together? As we speak with the principals and executives of hospitals, professional societies, medical groups and other healthcare organizations, a regular challenge is to help shape and execute an effective business and marketing strategy. And it’s gratifying when a good strategy wins the day. Goals […]
Here’s a heads-up snapshot of four recent news items. Each of these is likely to be of growing importance on your healthcare, medical or hospital marketing horizon. We’ll be watching and writing more about: Google takes a new swing at Facebook with Google+. This, we predict, will be big…or at least a big battle of […]
I had a call today with a prospective client that followed a theme I have heard at least one hundred times before. Essentially, he and his colleagues said they have "been burned" with their previous marketing efforts and are now "gun shy." He was understandably very reticent to do anything. He summarized, "I spent a […]
It seems that the nation’s hospitals have lifted their patient satisfaction scores, according to a recent survey. Kudos to the hospitals, with the doctors and staff deserving a healthcare marketing salute as well. Data from nearly 3,800 hospitals says that there’s been a 1.6 percent annual increase in the number of positive responses in the […]
Editor's Note: Healthcare Success authored this article as one of a series for ImagingBiz, a unique industry publication that delivers business intelligence for hospitals, imaging centers and radiology practices. The marketing concepts regarding physician liaison, practice representative, physician relations or business development apply to many professional, medical and healthcare marketing situations.
Here’s a roundup of four interesting and informative healthcare and hospital marketing vignettes from the past few weeks. There are insights and observations in each, and we’d like to hear your comments.
As a HealthLeaders Media commentary put it recently, “Expecting patients to shop for discount cancer treatments and bargain heart procedures is, of course, a non-starter.” But coupons, discounts and special offers can take many forms in healthcare and hospital marketing. What's more, the search for savings, and being value-conscious, is no longer a middle-income trait. […]
We see a ton of healthcare, medical marketing and hospital websites in our work. We review them, we critique them and we provide advice how to improve them. And sometimes it’s downright frightening what we find. Perhaps the scariest moment is when we discover a provider or healthcare organization that has no website at all. […]
Major changes and pivotal events in the growth of a medical practice require a solid marketing program—and a stream of new business—to assure success. Here's when to consider financing for marketing and how we can help. [Series installment.] In the kindest of terms, the current state of healthcare in the United States is "dynamic." Maybe […]
If you don’t know a lot about “The Father of Advertising,” please invest a few minutes with David Makenzie Ogilvy. Your return on investment will be an insight to some of the most powerful and effective ideas in advertising. This is a tiny piece of advertising industry history, but we can assure you that David Ogilvy’s […]
If you’re a little behind in reading your Federal Register subscription, we see that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing to use “secret shoppers,” perhaps in your office. The HHS wants to sample Primary Care Physicians’ (PCPs) wait times, accessibility and availability. In government talk, the Proposed Project is titled Assessing […]
A highly successful medical device representative that we know jokingly refers to one of his first jobs in college as being a supermarket “samples lady.” And for physicians, hospitals and healthcare marketing professionals there’s a gem of an idea among the free samples and trials. Once or twice a week our friend would pack up […]
The most neglected healthcare provider marketing opportunity, and how to break the habit Email is the communications means of choice for many individuals, but it's a surprisingly neglected strategy that never gets off the ground for the simple lack of opt-in email addresses. Here are seven easy ways to build a permission-based contact list and […]
Starting a conversation is about as easy and automatic as breathing, right? Doctors talk with patients. Administrators talk with staff. Staff members interact with patients. Public Relations people talk with reporters. Physicians meet members of the community. Effortless? Routine? The answer is no, it’s not always easy. A meaningful conversation, a purposeful conversation, an engaging […]
I don’t know anyone who isn’t occasionally guilty of using “medical-ese.” It's the verbal shorthand, technical talk, healthcare jargon, slang or hospital lingo that spells trouble. Doctors, nurses, hospital marketing executives, and practice administrators are all experts, but our audience is not. And we kill our well-intended message quicker than you can say "hyperlipidemia." The […]
Here’s an early heads-up about Google’s brand new “social recommendation” product. If you haven’t heard about this, you might want to start tracking. In time, it’s certain to have an impact on healthcare marketing, Internet advertising and healthcare search engine optimization (SEO). Google, the giant gorilla of all search engines, calls it “the +1 button,” […]
Editor's Note: The marketing concepts discussed in this article-authored by Healthcare Success for ImagingBiz-also apply to many professional, medical and healthcare marketing situations. ImagingBiz is a unique industry publication that delivers business intelligence for hospitals, imaging centers and radiology practices. This education and information portal offers a wealth of expertise on the rapidly changing world […]
There’s no doubt that Americans are going to the doctor less frequently than they did a few years ago. The downtrend in patient visits is well documented…there’s plenty of empirical as well as anecdotal evidence. We hear about it routinely from our clients in primary care practices, which is not surprising. But it’s a bit […]
In many respects, marketing a health care organization or practice is not substantially different from marketing a small business in other industries. Basic business marketing principles that apply in other industries - including market and competitive research, strategic planning, budgeting, positioning, branding, marketing strategies, tactics, media options, public relations opportunities, implementation processes, tracking processes - […]
On December 21, 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau announced the results of Census 2010—the resident population of the United States is now 308,745,538. But Census 2010 data isn’t just about counting noses. You may be surprised to learn that there’s a “new majority” in town, and there’s an important paradigm shift underway for healthcare marketing […]
gold·en goose • n. a continuing source of wealth or profit that may be exhausted if it is misused. Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English You’ve probably heard the “golden goose” story. It’s been around since about the 5th century and there are several versions of the fable. Unfortunately, there’s a healthcare marketing version that’s […]
The deal-of-the-day coupon phenomenon is new, but it very much looks like it’s here to stay…at least in the retail/merchant sector. For healthcare, however, some cautionary tales have emerged. Our previous post pointed to Groupon as the leading poster boy for a dozen or more “try-it-you’ll-like-it” deal sites. And more importantly, the fact that the […]
For some time now, we have championed the benefits of video content as a powerful, and often underutilized, tool in healthcare marketing. No pun intended, but here are two cutting-edge video examples of surgery—direct and graphic from the OR. Viewer Discretion Advised. These video examples of actual surgery include graphic content. Online video broadcasts (and […]
It’s like being a driving instructor. Part of our job is to keep clients steering their healthcare marketing and advertising bus on the right course and away from the potholes. But all too often we’ll see an accident…someone has veered headlong through the good-sense guide rail and their advertising dollars have gone up in flames. […]
Try “Googling” search terms for your practice or hospital. Your healthcare site page ranking may have moved (or may move soon). The world’s biggest search engine has changed the secret formula that it uses to index all that is cyber. And different rules are now producing different results.
Video content in healthcare marketing is increasingly affordable and useful for many reasons, but to our budget-stretching mindset, but using “leverage” is the best part of the equation. We talk about leverage in our popular instructional series about the many uses of video. (All six video segments are on this page.) But the compelling value idea […]
We launched our new series of marketing articles at ImagingBiz this week with a short lesson in branding. We’re pleased to contribute to the ImagingBiz educational and informational portal on a regular basis. It's for decision-makers in medical imaging in both the outpatient and hospital environments. And although our initial article is directed primarily to […]
We think Jennifer Robison, Senior Editor for the Gallup Management Journal, hit a timely hot button with both marketing professionals and business administrators when she wrote about healthcare organizations missing the “patient experience” target. Her focus was primarily hospitals, but her words are just as vital to other healthcare organizations, marketing, advertising and PR executives […]
The problem with “common wisdom” is that it is often a myth cleverly disguised as the truth. And it’s easy to buy into these notions, especially when you hear something frequently or from a well-meaning source. For example, consider the common wisdom (and debunkments, if that’s a word) from WebMD: Drink at least eight glasses […]
Don't start without at least one of these or your "Medi-Spa" may go down the drain. The cross-over blending of a medical practice and a day spa continues to grow in popularity. The public finds value and authority in medically directed services to improve personal appearance, and many physicians recognize how a "medi-spa" can add […]
So you think you’ve arrived. Solo practitioner or group medical practice…hospital or health system…you’re at the top of your marketing game by whatever measure you want to use. You have the first Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ranking, or you’re the undisputed leader in brand awareness. And now that you’ve arrived, you can sit back and […]
For healthcare marketing, there’s value in knowing people’s preferences and the medical gateways that are important to consumers. It’s important insight for healthcare providers, hospitals and other medical and patient-facing organizations. People--healthcare consumers and prospective patients, that is--tell researchers they want tests that predict if certain serious diseases are likely to be part of their […]
What’s not to like about personalized healthcare service? Same day and on time appointments, email access to scheduling and to your doctor, physicians who are not in a hurry and have the time to listen to patients—these are the patient benefits of a concierge practice without the typical (premium) concierge fee schedule. An article in […]
Creative new ideas are the fuel of healthcare marketing success, and in all modesty, we come up with new ideas all the time. It’s our business. What’s more, our clients—physicians, hospitals, dentists, medical groups, pharma/device executives, surgeons and healthcare providers and organizations—tend to be leaders in their field and pretty smart people. Typical of these […]
Wait! Don’t change that channel. Advertising’s long-form—the 30-minute video format—is not always about home exercise equipment, kitchen knives or Chia Pets. In fact the sometimes-misunderstood “infomercial” can be a highly professional (reputation enhancing) communications tool, and an excellent healthcare marketing, advertising and public relations workhorse. What’s more, advances in technology have pushed down the cost […]
Every day we see a sign for “Oral Surgery” or read a healthcare advertising headline that is mainly the physician’s or hospital’s name. Unfortunately for the marketing budget, it’s not advertising…it’s a failure to communicate. Whatever the intent, the medical marketing message missed its mark. The fundamental truth here is that no one goes shopping […]
It appears that the chaps over at King’s College London’s Dental Institute—the largest academic dental center in Europe—think they have something that will appeal to both dentists and dental phobic patients alike. It seems that Professor Brian Millar and associates have developed an “adaptive filtering” technology that erases the universally disliked sound of the dentist’s […]
Healthcare practices and hospitals have been slow to adopt email as a standard communications tool with patients-most of whom would welcome the connectivity. Bringing email into the mainstream of your office, even for non-clinical matters, is a powerful way to differentiate your business from the competition, increase satisfaction and patient retention...and boost office efficiency. Recently, […]
These two little questions, which seem perilously close to being disrespectful, can save you from wasting precious healthcare advertising dollars. In fact, they can help lead you to a higher Return-on-Investment (ROI). Let’s say you or your staff is planning a new advertisement. Use these questions as the first challenge to the prospective advertising message. […]
