Healthcare Success

The dues you pay to become a doctor are high. After investing ump-teen grueling years in education and training—not to mention a fortune in expense—one would hope that the average young physician would be happy with their chosen profession. But it doesn’t look like that’s the case. And the provider business model and physician marketing […]

Two snippets of recent healthcare news look like they are likely to collide with the next patient-physician encounter in your office. What’s more, they are loaded with potential physician marketing and communications challenges. We’d like to hear about your experience and what you think about these two conflicting issues: Google’s Symptom Search: aka “Doctor Google.” […]

As we write this, several million people (and counting) have already seen the compelling and compassionate video on YouTube. The larger story here is that this is also a case example and healthcare marketing and public relations lesson for a range of healthcare providers. Watch the video and let us know what you think.

Like the sound of fingernails scraping a chalkboard, bad hospital advertising drives us a little crazy. In our line of work, we see a lot of external hospital ads—in magazines, billboards and TV/video work. And frankly, much of it probably does a decent job—in fact, some of it is inspired. But then there are the clunkers and […]

The people you see on the nightly TV news make appearing on camera look easy. Study them for a few minutes. The anchor desk types—the particularly good ones—are calm, collected and confident. And, with years of training and experience, they deliver a sense of authority, sincerity and believability. So there you have it. As a […]

It seems that at least some dental practices in the United States are doing OK, business-wise, in spite of the down economy. We’d like to hear if you agree with this market assessment. In the numbers-filled environment of research publisher IBIS World, the Dentists Industry—in the collective perspective—“performed well during the economic recession and is […]

There aren’t many healthcare providers who are unaffected or unaware of challenges all around them. The parade includes reform requirements, the “soft economy” with rising costs and shrinking margins, shifting medical marketing goals and demographics…and the overarching stretch of resources to maintain and improve quality of patient care. “Innovation is the ability to see change […]

Editor's Note: Nationally recognized physician, speaker and author Neil Baum, MD, talks doctor-to-doctor about successfully generating income from ancillary services in a doctor's office, beginning with internal marketing.

File this one under “doctor/physician competition.” It’s no surprise that, for most providers, the competitive landscape has shifted. But what’s unusual here is the emerging trend of online medical advice—live, immediate and direct from doctor—for a fee. This relatively new healthcare delivery channel has not only taken root, but it’s likely to continue to grow […]

As of today, only a few hospitals in the United States have ventured into “the new frontier for health ads,”—using Facebook or Google online ads to attract new patients. (By one estimate, a lonely few of 150 hospitals out of 6,000 have ventured out to this digital edge.) With 97.5 percent of the nation’s hospitals […]

Aggressive vs. complacent. Decisive vs. Timid. Your bottom line is likely to reflect how you treat—or neglect—your healthcare organization’s branding message.

An unintentional byproduct of healthcare reform is the increasing number of physician practices that have the wrong branding message. Or worse, they have no branding at all. Consider this example: Mysteriously, the well-considered branding message and competitive edge of a physician practice was somehow "disconnected." In our consultations, the doctors and staff believed that the […]

Here’s a bit of a shocker. Among ordinary citizens, healthcare news doesn't have the awareness factor that you might think. Better than half of the general public is unaware of, or misinformed about, the recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) regarding the Affordable Care Act. After weeks of intense, major-media […]

You might have the impression that "content marketing" buzzed its way into popular use a digital minute ago. In the "buzz-vocabulary" of healthcare marketing it's a timely (but not-so-new) topic. Content marketing is a natural fit for many hospitals and healthcare providers. It's a means to speak to people and provide them with useful and […]

HARO—the Help a Reporter Out online service—can be a useful tactic for hospital marketing. But it usually takes a bit of perseverance and creativity to get to the pay-off. The concept is great…sort of a speed dating approach to research and background info for reporters. HARO is a free (or tiered fee), crowdsourcing platform where […]

We want to spotlight two great hospital marketing and public relations examples that we noticed in the news recently. For administrators and communications professionals, these are hospital case examples with lessons worth emulating. Both Scripps Health (San Diego) and Cleveland Clinic (uh…in Cleveland) offered textbook performances just days ahead of the US Supreme Court’s decision […]

This is definitely not good news for the 40-plus crowd. As the population ages, the number of Americans with eye disease has increased dramatically. (USA Today says it’s “skyrocketing.”) By whatever label, these are alarming trends, and a signal to ophthalmologists, optometrists, healthcare providers and vision care marketing professionals to communicate a stronger message for […]

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 […]