Every contemporary textbook about hospital and healthcare marketing deserves a robust chapter about the art of storytelling. Nearly everything that professional communicators do involves telling a compelling story, usually with the goal of engaging an audience and inspiring an action. From a one-to-one conversation between doctor and patient, to the focused interests of a social […]
Marketing-savvy hospital administrators—and their tuned-in communications teams—are writing new rules for success in reaching, attracting and retaining patients. As the nation’s healthcare delivery system has become an ever-changing playing field, many of the “old rules” of marketing are less important—including more than a few that are now passé. Among the well-known influence factors that continue to […]
Perhaps the most powerful tool in your hospital marketing plan is video. The creative and production costs are often low, and there are usually several options for placement where viewer interest is high. Moreover, video is a flexible and multitalented communications tool. Above and beyond the task of attracting new patients, video has the versatility of […]
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 […]
[Series Installment: How to Win More Patients for Your Most Profitable Service Lines; Step Four – Creating an Effective Plan. A free White Paper from the Healthcare Success Educational Library.] A constant undercurrent in the turbulent transformation of the nation’s healthcare delivery system is competition. A better term is “hyper competition.” In many market areas, […]
The “Rule of Three” is a fun and easy-to-use “universal truth.” It can give your writing more impact, make your marketing more effective, and your advertising more persuasive. And for healthcare marketers and advertisers there’s a study out that validates the notion that three is the optimal number of claims in consumer messages.
By this time in the planning process, you’ve nailed all the big picture items for 2014. All your major building blocks—marketing plan, campaigns, goals and budget—are stacked, and the countdown to the New Year is ticking. What’s next we’ll call “adding icing to the cake.” Here’s a roundup of ideas that don’t qualify as major […]
The overwhelming deluge of information spewing from the Internet—on any and every imaginable topic—implies that “more is better.” For proof, look no further than the most innocuous Google search. Type “doctor” and the world’s biggest search engine coughs up 248-million results in less than half a second. There’s value hidden somewhere in that digital torrent. […]
[Podcast Series] In our continuing hospital leadership series, Healthcare Success Co-Founder Lonnie Hirsch talks with Lisa Ryan, Executive Director of National Advertising for Kaiser Permanente. The Kaiser Permanente organization has some distinct advantages. In their words, “The way we deliver health care is different. We are the caregiver, the hospital, the laboratory, and the pharmacy. […]
All too often, we’re just too busy…and we confuse activity with productivity. I’m guilty of this. I know doctors and hospital executives who admit to the problem. Likely, you can also relate. Non-stop multi-tasking blurs our perception of what’s important and what’s actually getting done. And that’s the moment when we need Indiana Jones. I […]
For years, doctors and hospitals throughout the US have talked to us about a familiar and reoccurring theme in healthcare. That is, there is a common perception that people leave home and head off to the big city for medical services that are available in their own local community. Prospective patients are either unaware that […]
[Healthcare Success Podcast] Hospital marketing professionals are not immune to a form of “white coat syndrome.” It’s the somewhat common phenomenon where patients exhibit elevated blood pressure in a clinical visit—but not in other settings—due to anxiety of being face-to-face with the doctor. Similarly in healthcare marketing, communications professionals can be nervous talking with physicians […]
[What Stewart’s Reading Series] I was reminded recently that FEAR is one of the most powerful emotions at play in marketing and advertising. On one hand, fear can encourage a purchase decision. Consider the amusing television advertisement where a klutzy neighbor saws off a giant tree limb and it crushes the adjoining homeowner’s car. It’s […]
Three community-minded ideas that your hospital might want to “borrow.” Plus an enjoyable, and completely unique, billboard concept that you probably won’t be able to steal. The Affordable Care Act rollout continues to inspire ideas that promote wellness and healthy living. Hospitals, medical centers—and in some instances group medical practices—are increasingly open to various ways […]
[SHSMD13 Podcast Series] In a few months, 2014 will be the tipping point--when the most significant components of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) take effect...with strategic implications for hospitals and healthcare providers. In another in our continuing series of healthcare industry podcasts, Marc Sauve, Senior Healthcare Strategist with Gresham, Smith and Partners, talked with Healthcare Success […]
About the time the Affordable Care Act (often labeled Obamacare) was enacted a few years ago, the trend in hospital physician hiring took a distinct upswing. Various data sources that track the whereabouts of doctors generally agree that we’ve passed a tipping point. About 50 to 60 percent of physicians now work for a hospital-owned […]
One of the most powerful concepts we know and teach is the Pareto Principle (aka The 80-20 Rule). In1906, Italian economist and avid gardener Vilfredo Pareto established that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. While gardening he later observed that 20% of the peapods in his garden yielded […]
[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.
“SoLoMo.” Say it slowly a couple of times. It’s one of those recently minted, goofy-sounding marketing terms that someone invented. But SoLoMo belongs in your hospital marketing vocabulary. It’s a convenient contrivance to remind marketing planners to leverage the significant SOCIAL, LOCAL and MOBILE trends. Dissecting SoLoMo: What it means and why it’s important…
The traditional textbook for hospital design and décor is a quick read. Historically, the hallmark of doctors’ offices and medical facilities—from reception areas to exam rooms—has been stark, sterile functionality…usually with a non-descript monochrome paint job. Fast forward to today. Who says clean facilities require a sterile look? Significant advances in printing technology have met […]
One of the most common medical advertising mistakes that doctors and hospitals make every day—one of many that we discover all too frequently—is using the wrong advertising channels. Physicians, hospital executives and other healthcare marketing decision-makers are distracted by a hundred other daily demands on their time, and they fail to fully evaluate their media […]
Our podcast today is another in our series for the Physician Strategies Summit. In today’s interview, Healthcare Success Founding Partner Lonnie Hirsch talks with Jennifer Close, Vice President of Operations at Dean Clinic in Madison, WI. Consistently delivering value in our healthcare delivery system is a multi-faceted effort. In our interview with Jennifer Close, she […]
[Hospital Advertising Success Story: Part Two] Texas Health Resources has been successfully using humor in their hospital advertising. The first part of this article [available here] looked at why humor in advertising is both difficult and dangerous. In this concluding part, we find that it can also be rewarding…but only when it’s done right. Many […]
[Hospital Advertising Success Story: Part One] Using humor in advertising—especially healthcare ads—is both difficult and dangerous. It’s difficult to find the precise balance between being funny (which makes it memorable), and communicating a product or service message (which makes it effective). What’s more, many health issues are no laughing matter. Potentially, it can backfire.
[Podcast Interview] It’s a widely held—but decidedly incorrect—attitude that a hospital or provider “marketing person” is a “Jack-of-all-trades,” capable of anything and everything that drops on their desk. But veteran healthcare marketing executives know from experience that the “universal man or woman” perception is often fueled by limited resources and burgeoning tasks. The real world […]
In many respects, St. Louis, MO, in the heartland of America, is a typical hospital marketplace and serves as an example of the national trend in hospital advertising of proliferation. Competition is increasing, and in this metro area, hospital marketing and advertising reaches out to the consumer public frequently and constantly. But it isn't without […]
The month of December often triggers a bit of personal and professional reflection and self-evaluation for most of us. And generally, that's a good thing. Perhaps we appreciate the achievements and milestones of the year ending. And we look ahead at the New Year with visions of opportunity and progress. From a medical marketing perspective, […]
Three reasons why digital signage should be part of your healthcare marketing and PR planning Printed posters and static signs have evolved to a digital format that's attention getting and versatile. And digital signage is an affordable and cost effective marketing tool that should not be overlooked. It's a significant lost opportunity for many medical […]
Our Managing Editor at Healthcare Success is normally an easy-going person who doesn’t get upset easily. After all, he easily handles the daily high-strung environment of publishing deadlines and life in the medical advertising agency fast lane. But now and then some things cross his desk that make him cringe, “This is dumb." Moments like […]
Those of us who know (or know of) Ed Bennett have to applaud his pioneering work in creating and maintaining the Hospital Social Network List. His work during the past few years resulting in the highly informative list—a giant scoreboard really—of hospital social media resources around the nation. For professionals in hospital marketing and communications, […]
Bill Oakes, Chief Development Officer for Johnson Memorial Hospital, recently spoke with us about why he and his executive team decided to collaborate with one of their hospital's major competitors. In this audio interview, Bill gives us a preview to his SHSMD Connections 2012 speech, and shares some of the positive results they have seen […]
We’re always watching for new healthcare and doctor marketing tools. But only a few “new, online startup” companies get the necessary business traction to be successful. That said, we spotted something unique from Clear Health in Minneapolis called Clear.MD. [That’s clear-dot-md, not dot-com.] It’s a startup—presently in online Beta testing—but Clear.MD shows some genuine promise […]
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 […]
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 […]
Do you need to apologize for marketing your healthcare services? We’d like to hear from you about the controversial questions raised in last week’s USA Today article about some of the marketing methods used in healthcare. (The primary focus of this piece is hospital marketing, but the implications extend to private practices, health systems and providers […]
Everyone in healthcare and hospital marketing likes business performance metrics. (Well, nearly everyone.) The benchmark or progress numbers that quantify exactly how we’re doing. It’s how marketing people (and the boss) keep score. Metrics tell us if a project is meeting its goals, or if an advertising campaign is producing results, and sometimes how we […]
It’s no wonder that many physicians are frustrated with a lack of patient compliance and continued unhealthy lifestyles. Healthcare providers now have to contend with an “action gap,” and we’d like to hear your suggestions. How can healthcare marketing and advertising close the “action gap?” Here’s the problem. There's another survey out that confirms that […]
What’s the worst holiday gift idea that you've ever seen given to a doctor’s office? What’s the best? We’d like to hear from you on this one. Right about now, medical practice administrators, physician liaison people, practice ambassadors, physicians and hospital marketing executives are ramping up for the annual ritual of holiday gift giving. And there’s no […]
As we continue to read about the growing trend in large scale hospital layoffs, it’s tough to think of the big picture as merely a period of “reduced economic activity.” Virtually every hospital marketing communications, advertising and public relations team in the nation knows about tighter budgets, scarce resources and fewer people. And they are […]
Hospital Marketing is Changing >In the 21st Century, hospital marketers have been exploring a new sales approach for today’s consumer/patient. There has been an explosion of product choices and digital channels, coupled with the emergence of an increasingly discerning, well-informed patient, forcing all hospitals to navigate a much more complicated marketing, advertising and sales environment. […]
The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics notes that as many as 50 percent of all businesses do not have a marketing plan. And from the same source: Over 90 percent of all businesses without a marketing plan fail within their second year. A correlation? Of course there is! The old adage: Businesses that fail to […]
How can your hospital marketing and advertising efforts communicate quality care when your patients may not fully understand your health information, advertising, letters, brochures, and social network messages? As America increasingly becomes a myriad of cultures, it’s a growing challenge to include a range of languages, cultures and customs. To compound that headache, according to […]
Healthcare delivery isn’t exactly like Gene Roddenberry envisioned it on the Star Trek television series nearly a half-century ago. Or is it? Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy was armed with futuristic devices like medical tricorders, hyposprays for needle-free injections, and vital signs monitors in Sick Bay. So are any of the science fiction devices similar to what […]
A quick survey of 4 communications cornerstones and 24 basic ideas that might belong in your marketing plan. This is a "forest-for-the-trees" kind of thing. Or maybe it's a "nose-on-your-face" deal. In any event, overlooking an obvious opportunity is definitely common, and even somewhat understandable. Hospitals, practices and healthcare organizations are busy places and marketing […]
Here’s a roundup of four interesting and informative healthcare and hospital marketing vignettes from the past few weeks. There are insights and observations in each, and we’d like to hear your comments.
What’s your hospital marketing, advertising and public relations strategy going to be with Goliath in your back yard? Here’s the picture… St. John Medical Center in Westlake, Ohio, is less than eight miles (and under 15 minutes) from Fairview Hospital, a Cleveland Clinic facility. If Cleveland Clinic isn’t a Goliath in the hospital world, it’s […]
For some time now, we have championed the benefits of video content as a powerful, and often underutilized, tool in healthcare marketing. No pun intended, but here are two cutting-edge video examples of surgery—direct and graphic from the OR. Viewer Discretion Advised. These video examples of actual surgery include graphic content. Online video broadcasts (and […]
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and a few others are the recognizable names in the social media phenomenon. Frankly we’ve lost count of the online social media tools that have emerged, and disappeared, recently. There are dozens of wanna-be, also-ran social sites, all chasing the few popularity pacesetters. But the big names get bigger. The “public awareness” […]
Two Central Illinois hospitals are pulling out the stops in a hospital marketing and advertising tug-of-war. Springfield’s St. John’s Hospital and cross-town rival Memorial Medical Center see the emergency department as the new front door of their hospitals. Perhaps that's not entirely new, but emergency care is a primary access point for patients needing immediate […]
Although healthcare marketing is actively embracing social media, we’re looking for examples of genuine, beyond-the-basics innovation. If you’re using online and social media tools in ways that are truly new and different, we want to hear from you. We’ll help tell your story. Here’s a bit of background and some inspiring examples… Someday, with the […]
