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 […]
Keeping up with what’s-new-and-creative among thousands of hospital and healthcare videos is daunting. YouTube alone has about a billion (with a B) active users each month. And every marketing-smart hospital in the US has embraced the engaging, educational and entertaining power of online video. The relatively low cost of video production, and the high user […]
[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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Nearly everyone agrees with the well-intended ideal of an informed healthcare consumer. But if your hospital is listed among the major national “hospital ranking” systems, you may need to offer some guidance and interpretation. From a 50-thousand foot altitude, providing patients and/or prospective patients with comparative insight about the good (and the not-so-good) performance of […]
By some estimates, hospitals have been behind the social media adoption curve. Unlike retail and service businesses, health systems and hospitals have had to navigate HIPAA considerations, find solid ground in healthcare’s changing landscape, and struggle with ever-present limitations of time and budget. Fortunately, that’s changing. Organizations recognize the considerable benefits of social media and […]
The crowd sourcing, user-review site Yelp has emerged as a regular reference check for people looking for hospitals, doctors, urgent care, dentists and other health and medical businesses. Notwithstanding that Yelp is a mash-up of all types of local business listings—from auto repair to yogurt stores—prospective patients frequently tap into the social networking reviews, comments […]
A truly excellent crystal ball—with the ability to accurately foretell the future of hospital branding—is practically nonexistent. While hindsight is 20/20, looking beyond the horizon and trend spotting in marketing are clouded by the near-constant change in healthcare. But, motivated by intense competition—and the dynamics of change—many of the best minds in hospital leadership are […]
Each year, the much-anticipated list of Best Hospitals by US News & World Report is a great national springboard for local and regional hospital public relations. Here’s an example of win-win-win PR that brings the big story down to the local reader. The San Diego Union-Tribune put the media spotlight on two respected, and nearby, […]
Every contemporary textbook about hospital and healthcare marketing deserves a robust chapter about the art of storytelling. Nearly everything that professional communicators do involves telling a compelling story, usually with the goal of engaging an audience and inspiring an action. From a one-to-one conversation between doctor and patient, to the focused interests of a social […]
Recently I spotted an article about online reservations for hospitals and doctors, where patients make their own appointments via the Internet. “Some practices rave about the money and time they've saved by allowing patients to schedule visits through the Internet,” according to the American Medical News write-up. “But so far, most physicians aren't that enthusiastic.” […]
Marketing-savvy hospital administrators—and their tuned-in communications teams—are writing new rules for success in reaching, attracting and retaining patients. As the nation’s healthcare delivery system has become an ever-changing playing field, many of the “old rules” of marketing are less important—including more than a few that are now passé. Among the well-known influence factors that continue to […]
Not so long ago, you might have seen advances in digital sign technology as minor wizardry. But today contemporary consumers—routinely surrounded by big-screens and monitors—see anything less as "aging analog." The traditional state-of-the-art in signage consisted of a static display with Helvetica words, symbols and maybe an occasional graphic. In contrast, progressive hospitals and medical centers are turning […]
Within the healthcare industry, reputation management is not new. But when the venerable Washington Post has something to say about hospitals and health systems, people in American’s capital and throughout the nation tend to take notice. An insightful Post Health & Science section article reports on “a new and urgent effort by hospitals and health […]
To be fair about it, the general use of videos and visual content isn’t the secret part of this story. The big brands and the not-so-biggies are all using some form of video content to tell their story. At least one assessment reports that video is, by far, the most popular and effective content marketing […]
[Series Installment] “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.” --Jean-Luc Godard Pure creativity is seldom born from a blank piece of paper. There’s nothing new under the sun, they say, but be open to sources of inspiration. Consider, for example, that Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, Thomas Edison did […]
The challenges of hospital marketing can appear unwieldy and complex because…well, sometimes they are unwieldy and complex. You have multiple audiences to address, professional and patient needs to consider, worthy objectives competing for scarce resources…and a million other goals, expectations and nuances. But to simplify, take a page from the retail world. A method that […]
When youthful enchantment with “rat tats,” tribal geometry and dolphin tattoos fades, it fuels a marketing gateway for hospitals, dermatologists and other removal providers. Somewhere around one in five Americans have tattoos, but as the population grows older (and perhaps wiser), “tattoo regret” begins to set in for many people. Typically, about 10 to 15 […]
You don’t have to look far to find a chorus of concerns about the HCAHPS survey tools. But you need look no further than the enormously popular Facebook for real-people feedback. In a quest for a uniform means of comparison for the informed patient/consumer, hospital administrators and managers continue to be challenged by the ways and […]
Is this a healthcare or hospital promotional idea here that you can use? Techno-Baby Example One: Somewhere between human-interest “blessed event” and worldwide “product promotion,” Samsung scored worldwide publicity for its Gear VR (virtual reality) headset, with headlines like: World’s first live-streamed, virtual reality birth and Father attends birth of his son from 4,000 km […]
Hospital advertising is in the spotlight, and we wonder how your facility would stand-up to the challenging ideas we found in the news recently. The first is about price transparency and publishing cost information in ads for patients. The second notion proposes that hospital websites should be labeled as advertising—with the implication that if it’s […]
In this Guest Post, thought leader and Pediatric Rheumatologist Dr. Paul Rosen envisions the disruptive transformations—mostly for the better—when healthcare inevitably embraces the transparency and data-sharing that have transformed other industries. In their new book Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate, Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries describe the […]
Well… we’re not advocating anything inappropriate here, but from time to time we bump into some clever hospital and healthcare marketing ideas that are worth sharing. One or more of the following engaging concepts could be an idea springboard or adapted for use by others. Comedy Show Benefits Children’s Hospital: A tip of the hat […]
Editor Note: Geographic Information Systems—a data visualization and analysis tool—is finding useful applications in hospital and health system planning and marketing. Here's how GIS, along with predictive analytics and other data tools, is helping to shape near- and long-term marketing plans and strategies. As we move into the future of healthcare marketing, a number of […]
Is your marketing message always clear or just confused? Happy baby pictures are a staple in hospital public relations. Virtually everyone gets the warm Happy Holidays message of images of newborns tucked snuggly into red and white “stockings” at MemorialCare’s Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital, Long Beach, CA. The images are season-appropriate and attention-getting PR […]
[Guest Post] Adrienne Erin is a freelance writer, designer, and subscriber to the Healthcare Success blog. Let’s face it. Some patients are more likely to post negative comments in online forums than positive ones. Additionally, negative comments can have more influence than positive comments do. These are some of the reasons that it’s imperative to […]
It seems as if every hospital in the US needs, wants or has a brand. More than a few have taken a stab at branding, but many facilities are short on experience and budget, and effectiveness suffers. Results are less than anticipated. To be fair, branding is a difficult task, and hospital branding is especially challenging […]
Editor Note: [Conclusion of a two-part article] Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, authored this article for print and online publication by Strategic Health Care Marketing. It is presented here with permission. Part One-- New Marketing: Improving Service Line Profitability -- is available here. [Part Two] In the constantly changing world of healthcare marketing, success—and […]
Editor Note: [First of a two-part article] Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, authored this article for print and online publication by Strategic Health Care Marketing. It is presented here with permission. Clinical service department profitability is a constant challenge for hospitals. What’s changed, however, is just about everything else. Boosting service line profitability requires […]
Most hospitals and medical practices recognize that email plays an important role in nearly every marketing plan. For some, it’s a “heavy lifter” tactic that is used in support of many goals. In other situations, email supports larger strategies. We know from experience that—done correctly—email is a powerful marketing and advertising tool. Unfortunately, some plans […]
Virtually all US hospitals now have a social media presence, with widespread adoption having increased significantly in the past few years. But a recent study suggests that hospitals are continuing to search how best to realize a meaningful purpose and payoff from social media (SM). “This dramatic increase in social media use may show the […]
Perhaps the most powerful tool in your hospital marketing plan is video. The creative and production costs are often low, and there are usually several options for placement where viewer interest is high. Moreover, video is a flexible and multitalented communications tool. Above and beyond the task of attracting new patients, video has the versatility of […]
We see this all the time and it drives us nuts. Hospital executives and doctors—people who are experts in their own profession—don’t have a good test for qualifying outside marketing help. And without a guide, would-be “marketers,” with limited real-world experience and knowledge, are hired for the wrong reasons. This is the first in a series […]
A basic element of healthcare delivery--one that has not changed in recent reforms and re-invention--is that medical care is truly a personal process. Yes, telemedicine has closed issues of distance. And, yes, technology advances have accelerated the speed of diagnosis and care delivery. But in the highly competitive industry, hospitals have not lost sight of the importance of […]
Sometimes healthcare marketing seems like juggling chainsaws and watermelons. In the grand scheme of things, hospital executives, administrators and marketing professionals frenetically toss around competing priorities, political pressures and shifting goals—and at the same time, assure that nothing crashes to the ground. Ultimately, the challenge for people responsible for the performance of hospital-owned ambulatory services and […]
Healthcare Success’ Kylie Ladd talked with Preston Gee, Vice President, Strategic Marketing at CHRISTUS Health. They spoke about Preston’s 2014 SHSMD (Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development) presentation titled: Surf ’s Up: Catching the Consumer-Empowered Tidal Wave Produced by Exchanges [SHSMD14 Speaker Series] Hospital and healthcare marketing and strategy functions will be pivotal to […]
For nearly 10 years or so, hospitals have been struggling with how to effectively and profitably reinvent themselves. The direction is to become increasingly consumer-direct. Among the transformational market forces are the informed and empowered public, increasing competitive pressures, and the desire for hospitals to serve women and other demographic groups. Sprinkle into this recipe the overarching goals […]
Let’s say an informed patient determined that the cost for “arteriography and angiocardiography using contrast material” was half as expensive at “Hospital A” as compared to “Hospital B.” At half price, would they want to buy two procedures? On the other hand, does the consumer trust that "cheapest available" is the ideal purchase decision in health care? More realistically, would […]
[SHSMD14 Speaker Podcast Series] Lonnie Hirsch, Co-Founder of Healthcare Success talks with Tom Jensen, Director of Marketing for Mercy Health System about Mr. Jensen’s upcoming presentation at the 2014 SHSMD Connections Conference on the topic: Enabling Tools and Technologies: The Rise of Google Plus. Google Plus is standing toe-to-to with Facebook, but—as Tom Jensen and Lonnie […]
One “certainty” about healthcare reform, and the continuing effects of the Affordable Care Act, is that there is no certainty…except that change is universal and it will continue. The big picture can appear—justifiably—frightening for the individual. You fear that your hard-earned career in hospital marketing is in peril, a potential casualty of a hospital roll-up, […]
"Stealing from one is plagiarism,” according to American playwright Wilson Mizner, but “stealing from many is research." That said—and apropos of nothing at all—here’s a quick “research” roundup of fresh ideas and examples of how hospitals are continuing to leverage the power of video in marketing. Seriously, savvy marketing and communications executives are always learning…and […]
Keeping up with the “big stories” in the news is fairly easy. Dozens of media outlets jump on what’s hot and fuel the torrent of information overload. But, scratching a bit deeper, there are some timely and instructive news items about hospital advertising...with marketing lessons for administrators and marketing executives. Here’s a quick roundup of […]
It turns out that there’s a huge and nearly-untapped marketing opportunity among men: “men who, studies show, avoid doctors for virtually anything short of a bullet wound,” as The New York Times describes them. Hospitals in New York have been operating health centers in Midtown Manhattan that cater specifically to what just might be healthcare’s most reluctant—and […]
When a patient chooses a doctor or a hospital, the decision process is often driven, not by quality factors, but by simple geography. Check out these surprising and insightful numbers... Three recent surveys seem to agree; “location” is a highly significant consideration. What’s more, according to Healthgrades data, “convenient location” is more than twice as […]
Strictly speaking, Dr. Eric Topol is not a marketing person, but—in addition to being an eminent American cardiologist—we have to regard him as a futurist. His view of what’s ahead in medicine and healthcare delivery will impact how doctors, hospital administrators and communications professionals will be doing their job in the near future. Beyond his […]
[Part of a continuing series.] There’s a long-standing attitude throughout much of the corporate world that avoids “transparency." In the face of fierce competition and market rivalry, public- and privately-held businesses are understandably guarded about trade secrets, strategy information and business plans. It was a cultural attitude that, for many years, dominated the public relations […]
A crisis communications plan is a bit like the safety air bags in your car. You always want to have them, but you hope they’ll never be needed. It’s always bad news. Preparedness is the key to handling "bad news" in hospital and healthcare communications. It’s simply good “PR insurance” to have contingency protocols at […]
