Earlier this week a colleague was stuck in a medical office verbally providing health history details for a staff person to type into the practice computer. The desk was stacked with thick, unfiled charts that nearly filled the space between patient and office manager. Facetiously, someone (nameless) joked how the dawning age of Electronic Medical Records […]
[Conclusion of a two-part series. Refer to Part One: King of the Hill: Healthcare Marketing and the Millennial Mindset.] Healthcare marketing plans by doctors, hospitals and communications executives have been reshaping their strategies and tactics for greater effectiveness with America’s largest demographic group--labeled The Millennials. Reaching this highly diverse and well-educated group is inherently different […]
[First in a two-part series.] Not long ago, a momentous shift—demographically speaking—occurred in America. If, somehow, you missed the data temblor, some of your marketing and target audience assumptions might be off track. Significantly, the Millennial generation—defined as individuals ages 18 to 34—pushed the long-standing, post-WWII Baby Boomers group (ages 51 to 69) out of […]
Picture this scenario. You have an unhappy patient in your office, and, frankly, nobody on the staff (much less the doctor) is eager to jump into that thunderstorm. Let’s hope that this doesn’t come up too often, but realistically it happens even in the best of practices. You and your staff should be prepared to […]
A core consideration in social media is that people interact and do business with people that they feel they know, like and trust. And for hospital executives, medical practitioners and marketing professionals there’s no better online forum than LinkedIn to connect with peers, organizations and ideas as a means to showcase your reputation. LinkedIn is the […]
Healthcare’s intensely competitive environment has hospitals, group medical practices and providers scrambling to win and/or protect market share. Sometimes, as Aristotle Onassis put it, “The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows.” The following Internet marketing tools aren’t really a secret, but they are often neglected. In fact, using them ahead of […]
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 […]
In my advertising industry career, I’ve tended to resonate to the strength of direct response advertising. It’s not appropriate for every situation, of course. But where and when there’s a good fit, it’s one of the most powerful and effective tools. The reason: Direct response is advertising that gets results. And when it’s done properly […]
Working late one night a few months ago, I somehow stumbled on Periscope, the social video app that enables live streaming broadcasts--from you to the world. There’s a bubble of hype and hoopla connected with the launch of Periscope, so I was a bit skeptical. It turned out to be fascinating. Periscope is a free app […]
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 […]
Among Benjamin Franklin’s considerable list of achievements in life is—along with physician and surgeon Thomas Bond—establishing the first hospital in what later became the United States. Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia continues today as the oldest hospital in America. In the tradition of Franklin and Bond, many doctors have much to brag about...if they wanted to […]
When you look up from your smartphone for a couple nano-seconds, it’s obvious that social media is ubiquitous in the culture…and pervasive enough to have crossed over to other media. There are at least a dozen major media television programs based primarily on social media. And nearly every major network drama, professional sports broadcast and […]
In a completely unscientific estimate, roughly nine out of 10 doctors would probably say they hate “selling” in healthcare. At a minimum, it’s not what doctors are trained to do. And, more critically, they believe that sales is a sleazy, manipulative and difficult process intended to strong-arm people into paying for something they don’t need or […]
Art and science have a special meeting point in social media. And with the proper blend of each, social media has the power to reach, recruit and retain private pay and elective care patients. For the most part, the “science part” is often the easier side of the equation. The major social media platforms—Facebook, Twitter, […]
Many doctors still have a gaping hole in their social media plan and Internet presence. For many, “too busy” is a quick and convenient excuse. It seems that everyone has a million other priorities, plus the compensation questions, and then there are all those pesky HIPAA sensitivities. For whatever reason, many physicians and medical practices […]
Healthcare is not short of controversy these days. Transformational change is disrupting every corner of the industry. One of the questions facing many physicians is how did I get here? Remembering back to medical school, we were passionate, committed, empathic individuals choosing to serve a higher calling. We took out loans to pay for medical […]
[Article Series: An excerpt from a forthcoming book by Mark Tager, MD, and Stewart Gandolf, MBA, for private practice physicians and healthcare administrators about reaching, recruiting and retaining private pay and elective care patients.] Each of the primary social media tools has a distinct personality. If Facebook is the family SUV, and Twitter is a […]
At the risk of sounding like a minor rant…here’s a quick story with an important marketing lesson. I HATE calling doctors’ offices. I suspect that a lot of people feel the same way. Please let me know if you can relate to my brief-but-irritating experience. The other day I discovered that I needed a new […]
With upwards of 80 million active monthly visitors in the US, Twitter is second only to Facebook, and it’s about the only microblogging site you need in your social media plan. Surprisingly, there are dozens of other similar platforms—better than 100 around the globe—but few people can name more than one or two. As a […]
You’re busy. I’m busy. So here’s the point: People have become so used to instant gratification that they expect everything now. Right now. You can either embrace society’s instamatic mindset or rapidly be swept to the bottom of the marketing and competitive lineup. Convenience is the new currency. Across the board in products, services and […]
ICD-10 is here, and the sound business advice for the foreseeable futures is: “Conserve cash. And boost your marketing efforts for fee-for-service options.” For the next few months, medical practices are going to be wrestling with more than a few problems during the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. Although there’s been a long run up, […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] This podcast previews the SHSMD15 presentation of Don Stanziano, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Scripps Health: Empowering a Strong Brand: Scripps Health Integrates CRM into its Marketing Mix. There’s a new way to integrate digital and traditional healthcare marketing. By using customer relationship management (CRM) tools, healthcare companies are able to […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] This podcast previews the SHSMD15 presentation of Deb Pappas, Senior Director of Marketing, and Kevin Pawl, Director of Patient Access, at Boston Children’s Hospital. Healthcare Success Business Development Director Lauren Henss talks with Deb and Kevin about their topic: High Touch, High Tech: Aligning Internal Workflows and Systems for Referral Growth. Physician […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present our continuing series of conversations with healthcare industry and marketing thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. This conversation is with Marcia Jackson, Director of Business Development, Temecula […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present this continuing series of conversations with industry thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. Among the challenges of a maturing physician relations program is bringing hospital leadership more […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present our continuing series of conversations with healthcare industry and marketing thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. Strategic media planning and measurement are significant keys to optimizing value […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present our continuing series of conversations with healthcare industry and marketing thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. In this podcast, Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf talks with the […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present our continuing series of conversations with industry thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. Healthcare delivery is changing rapidly, and with a dynamic backdrop as the stage, Kaiser […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Again this year, Healthcare Success is pleased to present this series of conversations with industry thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. One of the insightful presentations at SHSMD 15 will be a case […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present our continuing series of conversations with healthcare industry and marketing thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. In today’s podcast, Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf talks with Lee […]
This is the second of a two-part guest article contributed by Pediatric Rheumatologist and healthcare thought leader Paul Rosen, MD, a regular contributor to our blog. Dr. Rosen looks at some of the key drivers in healthcare transformation, which might be seen as a field of landmines or opportunities. Part one is titled: The Disruption […]
Far and away, Facebook is the most popular social media site on the planet. For healthcare marketing, that makes it a first class opportunity to communicate with patients and prospective patients. The stats are growing constantly, but better than 70 percent of adult Internet users (or nearly 60 percent of the entire adult population) are […]
The first of a two-part guest article contributed by Pediatric Rheumatologist and healthcare thought leader Paul Rosen, MD, a regular contributor to our blog. Dr. Rosen identifies some of the key drivers in healthcare transformation, which might be seen as a field of landmines or opportunities. I was planning to write a piece on the […]
By the time you finish reading this paragraph the staggering number of social media (SM) channels, and the number of active users they have, will have increased. Although most of us would be hard pressed to name a dozen, there are several hundreds of online social sites. In addition to countless personal and professional blogs, […]
Has there been a dramatic up-tick in the number of marketing mistakes lately? Perhaps there’s some sort of business-blooper epidemic; a bug of sorts, making the rounds. I raise this mostly rhetorical question because there seems to be a bumper crop of published articles that offer much the same advice. Roughly translated they admonish readers: […]
In the retail world, about one in three customers will use social networks to discover or research new products or services, typically this is an early step on their purchase-decision path. In healthcare, the influence of the Internet and social media—where upwards of eight out of ten people look online for health information—is an even […]
Advances in applied medical technology are rapidly outdistancing the ability for doctors, hospitals and healthcare communicators to explain “what’s new” to the typical patient. This is more than health apps, consumer gadgets and wearable devices. The ongoing challenges for medical communicators include: Being well versed about tech advances as they emerge Recognizing and communicating the […]
Technology makes the Internet pervasive in American society, and social media is practically a national pastime. Easy to use smartphones and tablets empower the individual—people of every age group—anywhere, anytime. “Mobile” is the watchword of Internet marketing and the primary platform for SM users. Physicians and other healthcare providers have been quick to adopt techno-tools […]
One of the oldest and most familiar brand names in the mattress industry—Sealy—owes much of its success to an advertising executive. He invented the slogan: “Sleeping on a Sealy is like sleeping on a cloud.” This goes back to the early 1900’s when Earl Edwards, a successful ad-executive-turned-entrepreneur purchased patents and bought into the bedding business. […]
Much like applied medical science, the art of social media mastery begins with asking the right questions. Right up front, the question isn’t “IF you should be using social media” in your health care marketing mix. The better question is: “WHICH of the dozens of social media platforms are the best tools for my plan?” […]
In our previous post about the strangest form of Analysis Paralysis, we wrote about doctors and others who seem to enjoy being a healthcare marketing spectator…but they never venture off the sidelines and actually get into the game. From time to time we encounter a similar sort of marketing malady where a physician or administrator […]
It’s that time of the year when savvy healthcare marketing minds are thinking about budgets. Prudent fiscal management sets budgets annually, but reviews and adjusts monthly. If you’ve been faithful to that routine, you have a head start on planning and shaping your hospital or doctor marketing budget for the year ahead. But it’s not […]
Among the trending buzzwords in healthcare marketing are labels related to the “consumer decision journey,” patient journey,” or even “purchasing funnel.” The orderly process steps in selecting a healthcare provider begins online with research, awareness and other steps that lead to a provider selection and a new patient appointment. But don’t kid yourself; patients don’t […]
The non-verbal side of communications is so easily overlooked that…well, it’s often seen but ignored. It doesn’t communicate or it miscommunicates. In the simple routine of a doctor-patient encounter, the physician’s ability to diagnose and treat a medical condition is a major communications exchange. And body language—the gestures, postures, expressions that communicate physical, mental or emotional […]
Here’s a slightly obscure—but marketing-useful—tidbit of healthcare history that many doctors don’t know. You can amaze your friends with the story of Caduceus vs. Asclepius…but they probably don't belong in your healthcare branding. Stick with me on this. Amid the dynamic changes in healthcare, hospitals and medical practices throughout the US often find themselves in need […]
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 […]
Somewhere in the US—we wouldn’t disclose exactly where—there’s a large medical practice that has, until recently, been in a relationship with a local advertising agency. What’s troubling about this relationship is that, over many years, the agency never talked about results, data or Return-on-Investment. The medical practice likes the people they were working with, and […]
Recently I was looking for a new school for one of my daughters. In that process, I phoned one of the prospective organizations—a modern school with a good reputation and a progressive-sounding name. The individual who answered the phone was immediately helpful; even on the phone her obviously winning personality and positive demeanor came through […]
Here’s a totally unscientific marketing experiment: Look up from your smartphone (just for a moment) and scan the people at any Starbucks—or any airline departure lounge—or any street corner. It’s become a social caricature: People of all ages have their heads down with a deeply-connected gaze into the mobile, tablet or laptop device in front of […]
