Frequently we discover a medical practice that is attempting to run a marketing program without tracking the source of new patients. They might as well be burning their hard-earned currency in a wastebasket. Without a tracking system in play there’s no definitive measure of results or any clear understanding for a medical or dental practice […]
As the semi-fabled story goes, Toby Cosgrove, MD—CEO and President of the Cleveland Clinic—experienced a significant moment of awareness a few years ago. At a speaking engagement at Harvard’s business school, someone in the audience described a candid and personal experience about “empathy” over “outcomes.” The person in the audience told Dr. Cosgrove (a cardiac […]
Here's a news headline that comes as no surprise to marketing savvy healthcare providers: More Americans Are Checking Prices Before Getting Health Care. And, according to a new poll, price is a significant influence for two out of three shoppers. Marketing professionals are acquainted with the pervasive "new normal"—the buyer's concern about the cost of […]
Consider this a brief continuing education exercise. Take a three-minute break from your work today and step into the not-too-distant future. Healthcare and medical marketing professionals…ask yourself, “How would I devise a marketing plan for any of theses five innovations in health?” You may not have heard about these ideas, but The New York Times […]
Our readers, clients and professional colleagues know that one or more of our Healthcare Success “Marketing All Stars” is always traveling. In addition to our consulting work and our continuing Advanced Healthcare Marketing Strategies Seminar series, we’re frequently invited to speak at professional meetings and events across the nation. No doubt your schedule is just […]
This is an installment in the Healthcare Success series about how the significant changes in Google Search impact healthcare marketing and advertising, and what medical practices and hospitals need to know as the online search giant changes the rules. Think of it as "Facebook Friends" for Google...only much bigger and more important. Google, the undisputed […]
The general public, the news media and hundreds of primary care and pediatric medical practices are sifting through the Consumer Reports ratings that were widely circulated this month in Massachusetts. From a healthcare marketing perspective, the Boston Business Journal was quick to point out that some of the numbers aren’t flattering. Reading between the lines, we […]
Here's how to produce amazing results from tiny territory and precision creative. By Lonnie Hirsch Postcards–the unpretentious little urchins of the direct mail game–can be a heavy hitter in your marketing mix. But for as unassuming as a postcard may appear, there are a lot of significant rules to this game that can make the […]
We’ve been watching a bit of a brouhaha in the media recently about dental therapists. We’d like to hear from our readers—practicing dentists in particular—about dental therapists and if there’s a place in dentistry for a mid-level provider. There is a wide range of dental procedures that a dental therapist can perform as determined by […]
Arrrgggh! There’s a staff position in your medical practice that needs to be filled pronto. It doesn’t matter if the vacant chair is for a medical assistant, practice representative, healthcare marketing assistant, Physician Assistant or for clerical/reception duties...there’s a big difference between “hiring” and “talent acquisition.” In our experience, the former is usually a bit […]
In this guest post, Phil Sharp fondly remembers his math teacher and finds an insightful and practical lesson for medical practice marketing. It’s all about smashing boring routine with a highly memorable patient experience. I know you’re a busy doctor, but if you let me tell you a quick story about my former trigonometry teacher, […]
Picture the concentric rings on a paper target. The “bull’s-eye” center is primary, but "hits" within the other circles contribute to the total score. In medical practice marketing, it’s easy to overlook the fact that for each “ideal new patient,” there are several others around him or her. For accuracy (and marketing effectiveness) the complete […]
Lessons Learned: Falling into marketing is fine-just don't fall off a one-trick pony. Sometimes clients seem to back into marketing, nearly by accident or perhaps good fortune. And that's OK... we don't care how you get there...just get there. To see what we mean, here are a couple snapshot case histories about professional practitioners who […]
Massachusetts primary care physician groups—some 500 of them—are the focus of a first-in-the-nation comparison from Consumer Reports. As we see it, medical providers, practices, and healthcare and medical practice marketing professionals in the other 49 states will want to take note for several key reasons: 1. Ratings primarily reflect the “patient experience”—and are marketing significant. […]
It’s amazingly easy to overlook the usefulness and convenience of a single-source and up-to-date CONTACT page. No doubt you have a “contact” page on your website, but putting it all together as a page or post on your blog also does double-duty. First, it lets the world know who you are, where you are, and—conveniently—it […]
Exactly when is it a sound business decision to outsource all or part of your healthcare or dental marketing or advertising?
If the word “gamification” is new to your medical marketing vocabulary, you might want to take note. Admittedly it’s an invented word, and an umbrella term for many aspects of games and game playing. But many authoritative thought leaders see the use of educational and online games as a significant influence in society that’s fast […]
Most medical device sales and marketing people tell us the #1 objection they fear most is... "But how do I make money with this?" When you look at things from the doctor's point of view, that's a very good question.
The business partnership between a medical advertising agency and a healthcare client should be an enduring, win-win relationship. But the reality is that most would-be associations are non-starters, while some strategic alliances last for decades. Admittedly, there are a lot of moving parts in any client-agency "marriage." The client wants to tap into the "ideal" […]
Most of Seth Godin’s business books are little. He’s written more than a dozen best sellers that are tight and tiny, easy-to-read packages of advice for entrepreneurs and business. Although his observations are not particularly about medical practice marketing, sometimes he hits a homerun in our ballpark. Incidentally, we have no business connection with Seth […]
We don’t want this post to sound like a rant…so we’ll keep our criticism to constructive tips (and only vent a little). It’s about marketing-smart healthcare practice and medical facility names…and by extension, their exterior signage (or lack of it). To be blunt, eight out of 10 times it’s wrong. The root of our two-fold […]
Curiously, there’s a physician marketing idea tucked into the baseball film Moneyball. It’s about dealing with change. Just about everyone in the nation’s healthcare delivery system is struggling—to a greater of lesser degree—with the dynamics of change. Doctors who have been building a private practice for decades, for example, have been challenged with options such as […]
Hospital based plastic surgery, for many facilities, is experiencing something of a new-business rejuvenation. But what is surprising is that it’s not just the 30-something crowd that’s considering cosmetic procedures. There’s a strong and growing interest among senior citizens who want a more youthful appearance. The marketing insight for physicians, administrators and hospital marketing professionals […]
Everything you need to know about healthcare marketing jingles but were too busy singing to ask. Healthcare marketing and advertising gets a boost in effectiveness and greater response using broadcast commercials that include musical jingles. And they're more affordable than in the past. Here are the four basic components and six ways to use healthcare […]
Physicians are well acquainted with social media. As a group, doctors use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and similar platforms even more actively than the public at large. But for doctors, “social media” is primarily confined to a professional circle of connections that—with few exceptions—largely excludes doctor-patient communications. Physicians are connecting with professional colleagues, tapping into information […]
To hitchhike on a brilliant concept by Stephen Covey: information flows at the speed of trust.* For physician-patient communications and healthcare marketing there’s a powerful payoff in getting the communications cycle right—beginning with the basics. Four of the benefits that flow at the speed of trust are compliance, engagement, improved outcomes and a prospectively positive […]
We frequently address professional audiences around the nation, and this month is no exception. HSS Founding Partner Stewart Gandolf will speak at the 2012 American Association of Orthopaedic Executives (AAOE) Annual Conference in New Orleans. Calendar Note: Stewart’s presentation, Importance of Marketing in Building a Physician Referral Network, will be on Tuesday, May 22nd, beginning […]
Medical practice and hospital marketing professionals have an extremely challenging job on the forward facing frontline of healthcare communications. Suffice to say that it’s a complex task to effectively “speak healthcare” to the public. But it’s helpful to know that effective medical messaging—from patient conversations to mass media—will nearly always relate to a short list […]
How to take advantage of online social media The explosion of social and community centered websites is an Internet evolution that seems to be everywhere. But approach with care. These are upper-level marketing tools for some healthcare organizations, group and individual practices, hospitals and businesses. This is the second in a series of articles about […]
The search engine giant Google made its fortune by finding things online. Google dominates the world of Internet search in a way that "dominate" doesn't seem like a strong enough description. In reality, if Google doesn't find and list your website on the first page or two of search results, you are destined to be […]
Just when you thought (perhaps hoping) the various “daily deal” sites had reached their peak, it turns out they are continuing to grow in popularity with consumers. The trouble is, results for hospital or medical practice advertising can be spotty. Hidden behind the glitz and glamour of worldwide growth, industry observers and studies caution that […]
From airline frequent flyers to auto parts bonus buys, American consumers are consumed by loyal-customer incentive schemes. Purchases earn points, miles, discounts, and even cash rewards…all to inspire buyers to buy again and buy more. (How many little “advantage” scan cards are in your pocket?) It works in retail. And not surprisingly, this proliferation of […]
The virtual environment of social media is growing in importance as a vital connecting point. Social media is the online environment where consumers (prospective patients) evaluate healthcare providers, and make decisions about their health, medication and hospitals. A new Health Industries Group/PwC study declares “Social media is changing the nature of healthcare interaction, and health […]
The single most financially dangerous line item in a healthcare marketing plan is usually labeled Media Planning and Buying. An otherwise sound medical advertising plan can become a major waste of resources. When hospitals or doctors who own a practice fail to understand how media buying works, they either spend more money than they need […]
The many and various social media platforms seem to have their own “personality” of sorts. One might imagine Twitter as a Corvette…a fast little sports car. It’s nice to look at, but it’s quick to disappear down the road. That would make Facebook something like the family station wagon. A casual and universal transport for […]
It doesn’t happen as often these days, but from time to time we find ourselves in a discussion with a practitioner who confidently declares that they have no need for “doctor marketing,” much less any need for a health care advertising agency. The back-story in each conversation varies, but we often discover that their mindset […]
Sometimes it’s doubly curious to discover valuable medical marketing lessons and useful tools in…well, curious places. For example, one of the most articulate business cases we’ve read recently originated in Vienna, Austria, and it’s not about healthcare. Remarkably, author Dan Taylor offers a business-smart discussion of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and the value of analytics—without […]
With increasing frequency, we hear from someone who believes that creating a logo is the primary consideration in creating a brand or branding message. In fact, a logo is not a brand, but it represents a brand. It's a common question. The ongoing reconfiguration of the nation's healthcare delivery system has many medical practices and […]
At first glance, this looks like another one of those instances of a “surprising secret” article where the subject material is neither too surprising nor too secret. It turns out that the recent WSJ/SmartMoney article about the work of physician liaisons and practice representatives is good info for patients, but it isn’t startling news to […]
Keeping the roof over your head when it looks like the sky is falling. Healthcare organizations that stick to their marketing plan during a recession maintain and grow while the competition is hiding. And studies show they also enjoy a bigger up-side when the economy improves. We've published several articles about healthcare marketing in a […]
If you don't already have a "visual marketing strategy," your healthcare branding message could be quickly slipping behind the power curve. This is more than an exercise in graphics; some see it as an important trend for healthcare marketing. Healthcare providers, hospital marketing executives and medical advertising pros need to leverage the new emphasis on […]
The following quote is at least 50 years old, but dentists, doctors and healthcare providers can put this classic insight to the task of winning new patients immediately. Marketing guru and Harvard Business School Professor Theodore Levitt often told his students: "People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!" The […]
Hospitals want to constantly build rapport with their referring physicians. And, if you are a specialist (medical, physical therapy or dental), chances are you are heavily dependent upon referrals from other doctors. If you are currently looking to win more of those professional referrals, experience shows that one of the most productive and successful marketing […]
Our recent post titled, Meet Two Virtual Nurses Now Working in Medical Marketing, attracted a lot of reader interest and feedback. These two examples of technology interacting with patients for patient discharge and infection control are also marketing opportunities on at least two fronts.They do an important job at a cost-saving rate, and they spotlight a […]
How to organize the tasks and responsibilities that will get you where you want to go. A marketing or business goal is not clearly defined without establishing what's needed to achieve it. Organizing the broad concepts and specific action steps that support the goal are the fundamental tools necessary to success in healthcare marketing. Here's […]
Fundamentals That Keep Your Medical Provider Marketing in the Safe Zone First in a Series: Ethical and professional advertising messages steer physician and healthcare provider advertising away from legal problems. We talk with a healthcare attorney about the proper handling of basic legal problem areas. A legal mistake in healthcare advertising can ruin your life.
The future is impossible to predict with precision, but it’s helpful to keep your eyes on the road ahead. Here are a few key things we see just over the horizon that have implications for healthcare marketing…soon, or someday soon. Facebook will challenge Google in search, and Google will challenge Facebook in social. Both are […]
Puppy dogs (and kittens) are cuddly cute. Babies (and kids) are scene-stealers. But in healthcare marketing, there's nothing more convincing-and downright effective-than an excellent testimonial. Sorry canine cuteness, but testimonials have been called "the single most powerful marketing tool." They are a close relative to word-of-mouth advertising, and they are effective in "closing the sale" […]
There's a five-step process that makes for best practice success. Healthcare marketing is very much like drilling for oil. Success requires a proven system not a shovel. Here's an analogy that I presented to a client recently. Suppose you want to drill for oil. You can begin making random holes in your backyard, or you […]
If you don’t have a mobile strategy for your healthcare marketing, your online presence may have disappeared from view. The critical question is: Is your medical, dental or hospital ready for the “small screen?” Just when you thought your healthcare marketing website was completely functional, along comes an overpowering wave of smartphones and mobile devices. […]
