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The Classic Dilemma: Equipment Expense or Marketing Investment?

So…there I was chatting with a physician-client who had budgeted a five-figure allowance for a piece of new equipment. He was rather excited about the sophisticated medical gear, much like some people look forward to the next-gen iPad or next year’s flashy sports car. He was equally excited about the new Marketing Plan that I […]

Budget Basics: Big Enough to Matter

Two different practitioners called us recently. Let’s just describe them as smart and experienced dentists, in different parts of the country, and on different ends of the promotional spectrum. They both were experiencing “aha moments” of personal insight and needed help pronto. They didn't know how to get started with budget planning. Both are real situations, […]

16 Reasons: The Short List of Why Healthcare Providers Market

The medical marketing environment is constantly changing but the core reasons are the same for most. Priorities and situations will vary widely as healthcare reform reshapes the competitive environment, but providers—including hospitals, medical groups, and others—market for only a few reasons. Nearly everyone can relate to one or more of this short list. You'd think […]

Flat Tire and Exceeding Expectations: How Empowerment Paves the Road of Patient Satisfaction

by Steve Smith, Healthcare Success Senior Consultant Recently, I told you about the negative impact of five cents worth of coffee. That story was really about how a missed opportunity can be costly. Today, I am pleased to tell you about the opposite, about how a few cents worth of product and labor can make […]

Are the Really Nice People Who Answer Your Phone Secretly Killing Your Business?

A physician called us last week for advice. It was urgent. His concern was about a slump in new patient appointments. After talking things through, it turns out that this large group practice was answering tough competition in the marketplace with a solid marketing plan. (A good thing.) In fact, the phone was ringing. (Also […]

Patients Want Online Appointment Scheduling, but Few Medical Providers Claim this Marketing Differentiation

Providing patients with online appointment scheduling appears to be growing in some healthcare sectors, but it’s not an option for most patients. People want it. They use online scheduling in other areas of their daily living. There are business advantages for the provider. BUT—online appointments are a convenience that not many providers offer to patients. […]

A Clever Twitter Tip You Can Use to Focus Your Social Media Marketing Message

Here’s a marketing-smart little idea to wring greater value from your Twitter messages. Since micro-blogging in 140 characters or less is precious little space to get acquainted with your followers, consider thanking a new follower and providing a link to a short “getting to know you” online survey. We haven’t seen this often, but it’s […]

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The One and Only Reason People Buy Healthcare. (What Are You Selling?)

Every day we see a sign for “Oral Surgery” or read a healthcare advertising headline that is mainly the physician’s or hospital’s name. Unfortunately for the marketing budget, it’s not advertising…it’s a failure to communicate. Whatever the intent, the medical marketing message missed its mark. The fundamental truth here is that no one goes shopping […]

Increasing Case Acceptance: Five Bridges Doctors Need to Cross

How to get comfortable with the process of helping people benefit from what you do. Case acceptance is a process of identifying and solving people's problems -- helping someone discover value in what you can provide for them. By another name, that's sales.

How to Improve Patient Satisfaction and Win Patient Referrals

What's important to patients and three easy ways to measure approval. Sometimes the flow of patients seems...well, over-flowing. But if you're continually running behind schedule, this could be a danger signal that your quality of care and patient satisfaction are not where you want them to be. Professional and personal fulfillment, for both doctor and […]

Technology Cancels the Sound of Dentist’s Drill: Wide-Open Dental Marketing Appeal to Phobic and Anxious Patients

It appears that the chaps over at King’s College London’s Dental Institute—the largest academic dental center in Europe—think they have something that will appeal to both dentists and dental phobic patients alike. It seems that Professor Brian Millar and associates have developed an “adaptive filtering” technology that erases the universally disliked sound of the dentist’s […]

Fast (or Free) Urgent Care: “Beat the Clock” Emergency Room Guarantees

Prompt service is the essence of urgent care, and “faster is better” has become a marketing linchpin. In fact, some providers are willing to guarantee it. It’s practically old-school these days as many hospitals, urgent care centers and other healthcare providers have been racing to post their Emergency Room waiting times on their website, digital […]

Fight, Flight or Listen: 3 Ways to Deal with Physician Reviews & Negative Patient Comments

Perhaps you’ve followed the Taco Bell ("Of Course We Use Real Beef") PR brouhaha, or you recall the PR catastrophe for BP regarding last year’s gulf oil spill. Admittedly these are big business issues at the tip of the PR disaster sword. The media has a field day, and it’s a spectator sport for the […]

Email: A Stand-out Marketing Opportunity

Healthcare practices and hospitals have been slow to adopt email as a standard communications tool with patients-most of whom would welcome the connectivity. Bringing email into the mainstream of your office, even for non-clinical matters, is a powerful way to differentiate your business from the competition, increase satisfaction and patient retention...and boost office efficiency. Recently, […]

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The “So What?" and "Who Cares?” Challenge: A Universal Test for Healthcare Advertising

These two little questions, which seem perilously close to being disrespectful, can save you from wasting precious healthcare advertising dollars. In fact, they can help lead you to a higher Return-on-Investment (ROI). Let’s say you or your staff is planning a new advertisement. Use these questions as the first challenge to the prospective advertising message. […]

Principles of Evidence-Based Marketing™ To Grow Your Practice Profits

Follow the Principles of Evidence-Based Marketing™ to Grow your Practice Profits with Virtually No Risk As in clinical care, once-in-a-lifetime anecdotes about marketing success are useless. You must learn from the outcomes of thousands of healthcare marketing campaigns. Based upon our combined 30 years of real-world experience, we recommend the following evidence-based methodology: Learn from […]

Remarkable Article: Physician’s 2002 Marketing Advice to Fellow Doctors Still Excellent

Just recently we were reading an online article, authored by a doctor, titled: “You Should See My Doctor”: Cost-Effective Marketing Ideas for Your Practice. There were several remarkable things about the content. First, this was advice about healthcare marketing from a doctor to other doctors. Medical schools provide scant training in business, marketing or advertising, […]

Demystifying Web Analytics

There's no such thing as a “set-and-forget” Web site. We have yet to find a successful practice Web site that performs well on neglect. We've written several articles that challenge the “If-I-build-it-they-will-come” fantasy of early practice Web sites — and provided practical direction about what to do instead. But if your practice Web site is […]

Computer and Mobile Technology that Improves Revenue and Productivity

Keeping your patients connected and your schedule full automatically. Using computer and mobile technology to communicate with busy patients, give back time to the busy office staff, keep the appointment calendar filled, and boost productivity is a win-win-win proposition. Here's a new way to automate a time-intensive task-using a "patient's choice" that keeps them connected […]

A Rose by Any Other Name: What to do When Healthcare Marketing is a Thorny Label

Be honest...does your boss think that “marketing” is an evil word? Or maybe it’s just a “necessary evil” that has to be tolerated because they still need the business. From time to time we discover a negative undercurrent about marketing in all sorts of healthcare organizations. We work with physician groups, hospitals and individual practices […]

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WANTED: Beyond-the-Basics Healthcare Social Media Examples Like These

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 […]

Non-Surgical Facial Procedures: Hot Market for Plastic Surgeons Also Heats-Up Professional Competition

To the surprise of hardly anyone, the number of non-surgical facial procedures spiked dramatically last year. The data, according to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), says that 75 percent of the procedures performed by Academy surgeons in 2010 were non-surgical. Moreover, the number of nonsurgical procedures has grown by 16 […]

8 Public Speaking Tips for Maximum Marketing Mileage

How to succeed at public speaking, enhance your reputation and produce new revenue Successful public speaking can be easier than you think. Natural anxiety aside, speaking is a useful and effective marketing tool for a meaningful connection with professional peers and prospective patients in the community. Attracting new patients and professional referrals is more about […]

The Silver Tsunami and Five Other Disruptive Trends Impacting Medical Marketing

Take a quiet two minutes for a demographic reality check. Trust me, this isn’t an academic exercise. Private practices, physician groups, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and virtually all healthcare organizations should take note. Census data reveals some disruptive trends at work in the US population, researchers say. And, we would observe, if your healthcare marketing plan […]

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Online Video House Calls? Tune-in and Watch This Trend Line.

We see in the news that Dr. Gregory Smith is making “house calls” via Skype. What’s more, he has between 350-500 appointments each year. A lone report may not signal an explosive trend, but the lesson for healthcare and doctor/physician marketing is that the enabling technology is now mainstream, and medical provider innovators and early […]

Two-Cents Worth of Coffee Leaves a Bad Impression. How Customer Service is Won or Lost in Seconds, Pennies and Drops.

by Steve Smith, Healthcare Success Senior Consultant Scholarly articles about retail customer service tell you that continuing success in business is not about making an individual sale, it’s about creating a relationship that wins a customer. It’s a principle that applies in healthcare delivery, and with every patient (the customer) interaction. And these winning […]

Pacemaker-Like Device for Sleep Apnea on the Horizon

Existing treatment options and marketing approaches for obstructive sleep apnea and loud snoring may be changing with a new, pacemaker-like medical device. Sleep centers, hospitals, otolaryngologists and other providers will want to follow the introduction of an airway stimulation therapy approach. The new medical device has been approved for sale in Europe and for clinical […]

6 Proven Ways to Market Any Healthcare Organization

The New Normal for Medical Marketing, Healthcare Marketing, and Hospital Marketing in Challenging Socioeconomic Times Healthcare Marketing and advertising can appear to be complex, confusing and daunting. But the first steps on the road to success are grounded in only six fundamental building blocks. We think of it as an "ah-ha moment." It's that highly […]

When Referral Sources Die, Defect, Retire—What Are You Going to Do Now?

Professional referrals—typically from generalist to specialist or to hospital admitting—are the financial lifeblood of many specialty practices, hospitals and other medical and dental providers. However, once rock-solid referral sources have eroded or evaporated with the dynamics that are reshaping healthcare delivery systems. It’s an increasingly urgent problem for hospital and healthcare marketing in general, and […]

27 iPad Uses in Medical Marketing, Point of Care and Pharma/Device Sales

Editor’s Note: This is an informal round up of iPad healthcare deployment applications that we’ve seen since the product was introduced less than a year ago. Many of the uses listed can be adapted to various professions, specialties and healthcare delivery situations. Most importantly, please help us expand this list. Comment below or send us […]

Oral Surgery Marketing Mistake: A Cautionary Tale for All

An oral surgeon called us not long ago. He had been referred to us by a friend, another oral maxillofacial surgeon who knows us well. The caller (now a client) told us that he had just fired his in-house marketing person. He was calling for guidance about not making another wrong hire for his oral […]

Tricks You Can Use From the Urgent Care Marketing Handbook

Everyone in healthcare marketing has something to learn from the pages of the Urgent Care Marketing Handbook. Even if your point on the spectrum is as a physician provider, hospital, medical center or other healthcare entity, there’s much to be learned from walk-in clinics and ambulatory care facilities. Consider this: You don’t have to wander […]

Will the First Home-Use Laser Device Put a Wrinkle in Plastic Surgery or MediSpa Marketing?

Healthcare providers and marketing professionals who deal with wrinkle removal, and skin care in general, will want to watch the promotional roll-out of a new home skin treatment. It’s already a crowded marketplace, but there are a couple “firsts” here that make this device a bit of a breakthrough. This month, device manufacturer Palomar Medical […]

4 Things You Need Before You Hire a Full-Time Social Media Manager

The AMA’s American Medical News carried an excellent article recently titled: Hospitals' new specialist: Social media manager. It told the tale of how various hospitals—such as Swedish Medical Center (Seattle) and Mayo Clinic—are hiring staff members dedicated exclusively to social and interactive media. What's more, other hospitals, health systems, and medical practices either have someone […]

Troubling Reasons Why Healthcare Providers Must Be Motivational Communicators

Tips for provider and staff who talk with reluctant patients scared by economic tough times. Effective physician-patient communication skills are increasingly critical in the clinical setting. Here's why the "new normal" in healthcare now demands a team approach that applies these basic ingredients. It's a page from every successful sales executive's playbook. Some physician stories […]

The Big-Ad-But-No-Experience Frustration. Answer the Competition or Forfeit the Marketing Advantage in Silence.

Does this sound familiar? A prominent doctor with tons of experience picks up a magazine and sees an ad for a competitive practice. The other practice has significantly less experience, but they do have a half page, full color ad. And to the public they look like the biggest game in town.

Primary Care Physicians and Specialists Referral Gap Means Marketing Problems

The numbers are an eye-opener: Two-thirds of primary care physicians say they regularly send patient referral information to specialists, but only one-third of specialists report receiving it. Clearly there’s a communications disconnect, according to a national study published this month in Archives of Internal Medicine. The study did not directly address the marketing implications of […]

Success Skills: Recognizing Buying Signals Improves Case Acceptance

How to practice your "empathetic listening" for better patient communications Professionals need to be effective communicators, particularly when offering elective care options. Exceptional patient communications begin with careful listening skills that can be cultivated with daily practice.

The Plumber Says Thanks: Customer Service Lessons From Unlikely Sources

by Steve Smith, Healthcare Success Senior Consultant Those of us in healthcare often suffer from diminished peripheral vision. We tend to believe that we work in a vacuum, and that despite whatever else is happening in other professions or businesses, healthcare is governed by a separate, special set of rules. In many ways, of […]

What Groundhog Day and Doctor Referral Marketing Have in Common

[EDITOR'S NOTE: In honor of Groundhog Day, we are re-posting this item from last year just for fun. The advice applies to all referral-reliant provider practices. Enjoy...and hope for an early Spring this year.] It doesn’t seem like 18 19 years since the release of the movie Groundhog Day. There’s an important lesson here for any […]

Twitter Users May Not Match Your Target Audience

Twitter is one of the four best known social media tools—YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. And if you look at Ed Bennett’s accounting of 890 US hospitals using social networking tools, almost 75 percent have Twitter accounts. (That’s a close second to hospitals with Facebook pages at nearly 80 percent.) But name recognition isn’t as […]

SHSMD Offers Marketing Guidance for Hospitals – And Everyone Else, Too

If you’re a member of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD) you got the same email that we did about their new Principles and Practices for Marketing Communications in Hospitals and Health Systems. It’s another example of the SHSMD and American Hospital Association’s thought leadership, and we recommend downloading their advisory. It’s […]

Orthopedic Surgery Reveals Future Healthcare Marketing Trend

We’re hopeful about the promise of positive things to come, but we’re also realistic. Orthopedic Surgery gives us clues about healthcare marketing, and it’s a perspective that, we predict, will apply to many others as well. There’s no doubt that things are changing in marketing, advertising and public relations for hospitals, medical groups, pharmaceutical companies, […]

What You Can Learn from Occupational Medicine Marketing

Like so many of the healthcare provider channels in medicine today, occupational medicine is changing. And there are marketing lessons in occupational medicine marketing for many other professions, medical practices, hospitals, clinics and healthcare organizations. The key to success in occupational medicine is good sales acumen. The clinic, urgent care center or medical facility that […]

What My Grandmother’s Magazines Say to Your Patients About Their Brand Experience

by Kathy Roy Gaughran, Senior Marketing Strategist My travel schedule takes me to the offices of healthcare providers throughout the nation. Each initial visit is a great “first impression” opportunity for me to take the role of a new patient who is seeing the practice with fresh eyes. The “experience” (seeing and feeling what impacts […]

Paging Marcia Brady: Your Outdated Office Décor Gives the Wrong Doctor/Physician Marketing Message

When was the last time you walked into your office through the front door? Take a stroll. Does it look like Marcia Brady is about to walk through at any moment? Most doctors/physicians want to be perceived as progressive and leading edge. They express this in the way they practice medicine and in their doctor/physician […]

Would You Like to Try a Sermo Pulse Survey? A Unique Opportunity for Physician Relations Insight

You’re probably familiar with Sermo, the physicians-only online community with about 116,000 doctor members. We see Sermo—and their Pulse Survey—as an attractive physician relations listening post for hospitals, specialty groups or other healthcare organizations that rely on referrals from physicians.

Re-Thinking Healthcare Advertising Offers

The New Normal for Medical and Hospital Marketing in Tough Economic Times Don't dismiss offer-driven media options automatically. The nation's economic headwinds have produced new, value-sensitive consumer buying patterns and an opportunity to re-consider the way things work in society's "New Normal." The terms "advertising offer" and "healthcare marketing" sometimes seem like misfits. To many, […]

Hospital Community Event: Bike Rodeo and Free Helmets Help Teach Safe Riding Skills - and Keep Kids Out of Florida Hospital

Here’s a civic-minded idea that a hospital, urgent care center and many other healthcare organizations can organize and produce for the benefit of the community…and capture a bit of publicity and public relations in the process. It also illustrates the fact that your budget doesn’t have to do all the heavy lifting if you recruit […]

Extreme Makeover Predicted for Healthcare (Really?) No Surprises for Healthcare Marketing among PwC Top Trends

We predict that you’ll be reading a lot of New Year predictions this week. One such crystal ball report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) uses pretty dramatic language. Within six top health industry issues, PwC expects an “extreme strategy makeover." And each of the six issues contain healthcare marketing, advertising and public relations implications for medical providers, […]

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