Until recently, the concept of “brand” or “brand building” has not been too important for physician practices, medical groups or hospitals. Only a few healthcare entities took branding seriously in their marketing plans…and fewer still were able to carry it off effectively. Almost overnight, or so it seems, all that changed. To listen to some people in […]
[SHSMD14 Speaker Podcast Series] Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success talks with Sharp HealthCare Multicultural Community Relations Specialist Jessica Lopez, and John Cihomsky, Vice President, PR & Communications. Jessica and John will be speaking at the 2014 SHSMD Connections Conference on the topic: Building Credibility With the Hispanic Community. The concept of “Show Me. Don’t Tell […]
[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 […]
For the sake of a convenient label, let’s call it the Nordstrom Syndrome. Doctors of various professional disciplines come to me, with some regularity, exhibiting symptoms of this (marketing) condition, and they want my business advice. It’s the first of two valuable marketing lessons that doctors can learn from retail stalwart Nordstrom. Lesson One… Physicians […]
Physicians, as a rule, tend to be risk adverse. The science base of healthcare, combined with training, continuing education, and experience in practice, can make medical risk manageable. Doctors—who are also owners, entrepreneurs, and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)—tend to be especially risk adverse on the business side of healthcare. Success in marketing and advertising, […]
[SHSMD14 Speaker Podcast Series] Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success talks with Cleveland Clinic’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Paul G. Matsen. Mr. Matsen will be speaking at the 2014 SHSMD Connections Conference on the topic: Building a Global Healthcare Brand Through Multichannel Marketing. In today’s podcast, Stewart Gandolf and Paul Matsen discuss how the world-renowned […]
A little good-natured kidding comes up around the office about how much traveling I do. Of course, that’s only when I’m actually in the office and not on the road visiting clients throughout the nation. (Well…every state except for one.) With the non-stop changes that are happening in healthcare, I love being shoulder-to-shoulder with clients, […]
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, […]
Baby pictures have a nearly universal “human touch” appeal. On the social media scale of cuteness, engagement and share-ability, babies, kids and grandkids are right up there in popularity with images of “grumpy cat,” playful puppy dogs, and ice bucket videos. But evidently “cute” has its limits when baby pictures are publically posted—as they commonly […]
"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 […]
It never fails. Whenever I’m talking with a physician or medical marketing professional the frustrating topic of healthcare “competition” inevitably raises its ugly head. It’s inevitable because competition among providers, group practices and hospitals is increasing in intensity and healthcare reform has brought it to everyone’s doorstep. What’s more, it’s frustrating for several reasons. One […]
Sadly, clinical trial studies are often stalled before they begin. One of the fundamental challenges faced by hospitals, medical practices and healthcare research organizations that are engaged in clinical trials is the recruitment and retention of volunteer participants. In the study of the safety and efficacy of new medical drugs and devices, the solutions to […]
Doctors and patients have adopted new roles for themselves in the healthcare delivery system in the wake of healthcare reform. The “new normal” for patients includes a stronger and more proactive participation in personal health matters. More than ever, the role of the patient is that of an informed consumer. And as patient-centered care has become the […]
The playful adage is painfully true: The best place to hide a dead body is on page two of Google’s search results. Here’s why doctors need to be concerned about local search and their ability to attract new patients. The front door of your medical practice moved online some time ago. The “traditional” paths for […]
What Separates Powerful Doctor Marketing Materials From Everything Else? As present-day healthcare delivery has reinvented itself, nearly every doctor and medical practice has—in one form or another—a stash of marketing materials. There’s too much competition among providers and institutions to be without “something” that (hopefully) gets results. Clarity of Purpose… Physician groups, imaging centers, and […]
It’s a pop culture mash-up between a "double-dog dare" and a selfie with a cause. Throughout the US, healthcare marketing professionals (and their supervisors) are marveling at this summer’s continuing success of the ALS Association’s Ice Bucket Challenge (IBC). Hospital foundations, medical research associations and the like are amazed and envious of the social media […]
“Almost every culture has its own metaphor about what happens to people who are judged by their peers to be overreaching,” according to an article in the Harvard Business Review. “In Australia, it’s tall poppies—the tallest one gets its head whacked off. In Japan, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” There’s a delicate […]
It seems like some people consult their smartphone almost constantly. For young adults, stats says that would be 60 times a day. Although research tells us that consumers spend more than 23 percent of their daily media consumption time with mobile, marketers allocate less than 1 percent of their overall budgets to mobile. This is one […]
True story. This sort of road hazard doesn’t happen too often anymore, but it illustrates when outsourcing doctor marketing services would have been the much wiser course. A few years ago a physician friend arrived at his normally efficient office to find a first class mess. With a goal of attracting new patients, two part-timers […]
A Healthcare Success Special Report: A rugged survival guide for medical specialists who want to remain independent. Nobody likes to be the messenger of bad news, but here it is… Independent medical practices in the United States that want to remain independent have only two choices. They must—repeat, must—become an indispensable medical resource in […]
If Healthcare Success has an “Action Central” news desk, it’s my office. Client success stories pop-up regularly from around the country, and each narrative that comes our way makes a valuable contribution to our 20-plus year experience in marketing to patients. We like that. The “good-news stories” are wonderful insight. We keep on top of […]
There’s a troublesome disconnect between how the nation’s medical system defines the quality of healthcare providers and how patients and prospective patients judge a “good doctor.” “Doctors who listen are important, but ‘some of the nicest doctors are the least competent,’ cautioned Dr. Elliott Fisher of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice” […]
You can probably guess from this Facebook picture, our daughter Natalie couldn’t be more excited about “jumping up” to the Junior High ministry at our church. Her enthusiasm is genuine, but I admire the highly effective ways the church uses social media to interact with students and their parents. Right up front I want you […]
The American public has been conditioned to think that they get medical appointments “quickly,” but, more often than not, it’s not true. In many areas the average wait time for new patients is a matter of weeks and sometimes months. It’s an uncomfortable healthcare trend. For some people, a long wait for a doctor appointment […]
Only five years ago, what doctors recognized as the business of “being in practice,” is quite different from how things are today. For nearly everyone in the spectrum of care, healthcare delivery is, and will continue to change. Marketing decisions will be shaped in a new way. Patients are informed and empowered; wearable technology is […]
Cute puppies, zany cats and sensational sunsets are universally appealing on social media because they touch viewers’ emotions. Posting something that’s factual (on Twitter, for example) may be interesting, but include a photo (on Facebook), or a video clip (on YouTube), and you’re more likely to make a more memorable—and shareable—impact with the audience. […]
I’d like to tell you a story about two insightful, and mirror opposite, conversations that I had with doctors. These two informal chats revealed how basic attitudes can quickly define success or failure in healthcare marketing. In the first of my true stories, a mutual friend asked me to provide some "pro bono" advice to […]
Some observers predict that Verizon’s new platform for virtual doctor visits will be a game-changer. Like it or not, with the global communications giant jumping into interactive telehealth, the big splash will advance the evolution of healthcare delivery...and impact your future marketing plans. Recently, the company unveiled Verizon Virtual Visits, aimed at adoption by […]
As inspirational fuel for your medical marketing idea book, here’s a brief roundup of interesting items that popped up on our radar recently. Each has a “take-away” concept that a professional practice, hospital or medical group might adapt for local use. And please tell us about the creative ideas or success stories from your marketing, […]
Barbershops for health screenings? An unlikely venue for hypertension testing? Surprisingly, medical practices and hospitals around the country have discovered an effective marketing gateway for reaching African-American men, a demographic group that is particularly at risk for high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. It’s no secret that, in medical marketing, women are a prime demographic […]
For most medical doctors, the typical workweek is somewhere north of 50 hours. And that doesn’t include the time thinking about the marketing part of the business. Professionally trained, experienced and licensed in the healing arts, a practitioner spends a day mostly applying clinical skills. It hardly seems like there is any time to spare, […]
The words “social media” and “engagement” seem to be joined at the hip. In healthcare marketing—including outreach from a medical practice, or a hospital—social media (SM) is broadly understood to simply mean your choice of tools. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google Plus are most popular and important. That part is easy. But curiously, the […]
A few years ago, the giant Pittsburgh-based health care system, UPMC, reinvented their public face, unveiling the logo, tag and color, UPMC: Life Changing Medicine. It’s the branding centerpiece to unify “its clinical, insurance and international and commercial services activities with one consistent message.” The healthcare branding challenge was considerable…and so was the budget. The […]
The other day, while waiting in the office of a physician, I realized that his program for internal marketing to his patients was nearly invisible…yet it was highly effective in reaching and retaining patients. Invisible isn't quite the right word. Effortless is a better description. This doctor—"my doctor," an Internist in a multi-disciplinary group—is someone […]
Before you roll your eyes skyward and dismiss the idea of patient email access, there are a couple new ideas that innovative doctors should consider objectively. Please humor me for about two minutes reading time while we touch on new compensation/reimbursement, enhancing patient satisfaction and improving compliance and clinical outcomes. First, both doctors and patients […]
An interesting thing about marketing for healthcare is that useful lessons can be found in unlikely places and unrelated enterprises. With a little imagination and creative thinking, good stories—business success stories—reveal ideas that transfer to a practitioner, group practice or even a hospital. Here’s one such story from the managing editor of Healthcare Success publications. […]
I’ve found that marketing for medical practices and hospitals works best when everyone in the organization is “all in” on the effort. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Within any healthcare organization, regardless of the size, some people can (and often do) have competing attitudes about marketing. Nevertheless, the role of marketing is increasingly vital […]
The primary doorway to health care in the United States is digital. A new patient’s first encounter with a provider almost always begins via the Internet. Perhaps it's not obvious, but your practice website—the cornerstone of an Internet presence—is the essential medical marketing gateway for prospective patients to locate and select doctors and hospitals. Given […]
As I was reviewing some advertising tracking data with a client recently, our client (a physician in a large medical group) observed how the “Internet shopper” category accounted for a high percentage of no-shows and cancellations. His first impression was that Internet shoppers are more fickle or impatient by nature. Could it be that the […]
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 […]
I have the good fortune to travel the country (quite often) and to meet and work with some of the nation’s top doctors. As a group, these physicians and surgeons have much in common. Individually and collectively, they are highly intelligent men and women who excel as healthcare providers. Although the marketing areas they serve […]
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 […]
With over 31,000 health and wellness mobile applications already available, you might think the marketplace is saturated. But wait. Apple—you know, the iPhone folks—just arrived at the techno party. And we’ll bet bagels to bytes that an Error Code will be flashing on your healthcare marketing plan. This week the consumer products icon revealed part […]
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 […]
OK…let’s be frank about this. If they had a magic wand to change their world, perhaps eight out of 10 doctors would rather not be concerned about marketing. Their inner being wants to devote all their professional time and attention to doing what they trained to do… being doctors, practicing medicine, and helping people. But, […]
[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 […]
In the time it takes to read this post, every doctor, administrator and healthcare communications pro will have a mental list of a dozen ways to "explain things" using Adobe’s innovative new iPad app, Voice. It’s an easy to use, “storytelling” tool for creating engaging and informative “explainers” --animated multimedia videos--in minutes. And it just […]
I'd like to share a real-world illustration of social media networking that came to me recently. The cornerstone concept is: Make it easy for people. Strictly speaking, the subject matter isn’t about medical or hospital marketing. Nevertheless, it’s a good model for effective connectivity. In this case the engagement tool was a survey...collecting anonymous data […]
[Conclusion of an article in two parts.] Our previous post, 10 Commandments of Online Reputation Management for Physicians, (Part one of two) emphasized the importance and value of creating and maintaining your online presence. Moreover, reputation is an ever-present ingredient in health care marketing. And who you are online is who you are to most […]
