[The second of two articles. Our previous post identified The 4 Biggest Reasons to Rethink Everything About Healthcare Marketing.]
“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” In just 13 words, motivational speaker, pastor and author Robert Schuller presents a clean-slate approach to goals, priorities and actions.
Some of the most rewarding goals are risky. Physicians and healthcare providers understand that there is a risk/reward equation present in every patient encounter. And healthcare marketing is not without some element of business risk.
In general, there are two options in rethinking and redefining your healthcare marketing plan. The first of these would be to do nothing in the belief that inaction has no downside. The reality is that doing nothing (a) has no reward, (b) inaction benefits the competition, and (c) your situation or circumstances worsen.
The other alternative is to devise and institute a plan of action that minimizes risk. A carefully considered and resource-conscious marketing plan can embrace the significant elements of change discussed in our previous post, and successfully attract patients and increase revenue and profits.
Some (but not all) medical marketing strategies to seize opportunity today…
An additional benefit here is that an active online presence puts you ahead of the competition. Only a few marketing savvy practitioners and hospitals aggressively use their website, blog, Facebook page, pay-per-click advertising and social media to proactively engage patients. As an example, Patients Want Online Appointment Scheduling, but Few Medical Providers Claim this Marketing Differentiation.
The payoff for “rethinking everything” is that your hospital or medical practice marketing is significantly better prepared to work successfully in a healthcare delivery system that struggles to reinvent itself. As we approach the 2014 launch of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, your healthcare and hospital marketing plan has to be more than, “same-stuff-new-year.”
There is more to this concept than fits in these two articles. Nevertheless, challenge yourself to rethink everything about healthcare marketing.
[SEE ALSO: Our previous post on this subject, The 4 Biggest Reasons to Rethink Everything About Healthcare Marketing, is available online here.]
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