There’s no battle royale here. Contrary to some heated discussions I’ve heard, direct response and brand or name-recognition marketing are both valuable tools in any healthcare marketing plan. It’s not an all-or-nothing proposition. That said, direct response advertising—where immediate customer action is measurable—is really challenging, and success depends on creating effective advertising that works. Be it […]
Just last month a guest post by Paul Rosen, MD, observed how some progressive-thinking health systems are reaching out to non-healthcare businesses for lessons in problem solving. “Health systems that want to deliver the best in terms of patient safety, quality and experience,” he wrote, “should consider looking outside their own industry for benchmarking.” Benchmarking: […]
[Leadership Podcast Series] In this conversation with Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, Dr. James Merlino, president and chief medical officer of the strategic consulting division at Press Ganey provides an insightful perspective on healthcare’s evolving landscape, significant leadership issues and the state of patient experience. Prior to joining Press Ganey, Dr. James Merlino—also a practicing surgeon—was […]
A professional colleague shared this slightly aggravating-but-true story with us recently. Not to sound like a second-hand rant, but this experience spotlights a big marketing lesson about those pesky little online directory listings. In the end, fortunately, things worked out for the better. This tale begins with a patient (our colleague) being referred from a […]
Change isn’t coming; it’s an ever-present consideration. Simply keeping pace is the challenge for physicians, medical practice administrators and hospital leadership. Telehealth—and its various facets—continues to emerge as an important and strong change agent. And two recent, in-depth reports provide guidance for doctors, industry executives and forward-looking marketing professionals. As a component of health transformation, […]
Just about everyone in healthcare marketing would love to have a slice of social media effort or content to “go viral.” But, as you probably know, the chances of your post, video link, Facebook or Twitter post hitting the digital super-big-time are slim. The “viral bonanza” seems desirable. But in social media for health care, […]
It’s human nature, I suppose, to make quick judgments based on appearance. You know, the “first impressions” thing. Does an upscale restaurant serve a better meal than the “Corner Deli” place? Is the guy wearing a Brooks Brothers suit (and $200 necktie) better at being an attorney or financial advisor? Will a sleek and slim […]
[Part of a continuing series.] The Internet has dramatically reinvented how prospective patients find their way to the front door of your medical practice. “Traditional” healthcare marketing options—newspaper or magazine ads, radio/broadcast, PR, outdoor advertising—all continue to have an important place and useful purpose in your marketing plan. But in many situations, the mix of […]
Outdoor advertising—billboards in particular—seem to be more popular than ever in many hospital marketing and advertising plans. You don’t have to drive far to survey the crop of ads for hospitals (brand and ED wait times), service lines (specialists and clinics), and individual doctors or groups with hospital-connected practices. Admittedly, billboard advertising is a creative […]
Paul Rosen, MD A year ago, I had a chance meeting with OperaDelaware’s General Manager, Brendan Cooke. OperaDelaware is the 11th oldest opera company in the country, with offices just three miles from our front door at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE. Before long, Brendan and I were talking about the […]
[Part of a Series] Many medical practices are unaware of their own potential in evangelism marketing. Virtually every day, doctors and hospitals deliver a form of happiness and satisfaction to their patients. These are people who appreciate the health care solution that has resolved their medical concern. Unfortunately, this sense of patient gratitude is largely […]
Quite often, we see outdoor advertising for hospitals that is giant-sized evidence of a marketing department’s silent scream. Internal politics—more than any clear business purpose—dictated that the billboards prominently display a doctor’s picture. Or we see a stunning portrait of the hospital’s shiny “light speed” CT hardware. (Maybe both.) Yes, doctors are the soul of […]
As the little quote reminds us, sometimes “Good things come in small packages.” To demonstrate the concept, here are three little, clever and marketing-smart ideas that you can easily adopt as your own, use today, and maybe showcase your talent a little bit. I’ll keep this brief. The marketing quick-test mnemonic: “ID buyer. Find desire. […]
[First in a series.] American business author, entrepreneur and keynote speaker Guy Kawasaki has a fascinating, marketing-centered biography. In 1984 he was an Apple employee responsible for marketing Macintosh computers…becoming the Chief Evangelist of Apple. (History suggests it worked.) A Chief Evangelist (or Brand Evangelist) is, among other things, an ambassador for your product, service […]
It would be difficult for the general public to miss the daily torrent of news media coverage about the run-up to the next presidential election. But hospital administrators and healthcare communications professionals are focused on Health and Human Services' increasing emphasis on “quality-based payments,” “patient-centered systems” and “delivery system reforms.” There’s far less mainstream news […]
You might be surprised to learn how often we get questions about social media. Medical practices—and sometimes larger healthcare providers—want our help to “fix their social media.” The problem isn't the call; that's a lot of what we do for professionals. The core issue is that social media (SM) isn't the bad guy, and not the […]
There’s no mistaking this picture. Ryan is one happy kid. Ryan—the son of Niki Kaylor, our Director of Client Services—just received his first college acceptance letter. The envelope alone leaves no doubt about the University of South Carolina (USC) notification to Ryan, his family and friends. Niki—who happened to be at home with Ryan when […]
As the nation’s political season heats up every four years or so, we’re all bombarded with news coverage that’s all about candidates and their campaigns. Right up front, I want you to know that this article isn’t for or against a particular political perspective. But as an independent observer I want to spotlight an important […]
When opportunity knocks, you’ve got five minutes or less to answer the door or the game’s over. Consider this: The most wasteful expense in inbound marketing occurs when you fail to respond quickly…or at all. Healthcare providers, hospitals and medical practices pump big bucks into content-driven, inbound marketing efforts that engage and entice prospective patients […]
My son needed some new fishing gear so I took him to our local Cabela’s store. We had our dogs with us in the back seat. I planned to leave them in the car while we ran in for 10 minutes to pick up a couple of items quickly. However, I saw another customer walk […]
In healthcare, successful “patient reactivation” cannot be a “dialing-for-dollars” quest for additional business from previous patients. As the following (true) story illustrates, expressing a genuine, person-to-person connection is an essential ingredient for success. Our Digital Advertising Director, Raheim Bundle, shared his experience with a local, family-oriented sports club where he has been a dues-paying member. […]
GUEST POST by Joel Cordle Acquiring new patients is a continuing challenge for doctors and healthcare providers, but perhaps the greater challenge—with longer-term rewards—is the ongoing effort to build trust and loyalty with existing patients. Here are several strategies to engage healthcare consumers and increase patient loyalty. Build your brand Branding is not just about […]
Competition in healthcare has never been more intense. Although we speak and write about this topic frequently, we continue to discover—with alarming frequency—that providers, group practices and even some hospitals continue to “duck-and-cover,” underestimate or ignore the competition. All too often we hear head-in-the-sand anti-strategy expressed in various ways: “We don’t have competition…” “Doctors are too […]
The basics of the story are sadly similar. A medical office will contact us about their website. It’s new, colorful and brimming with whiz-bang graphics. Custom-built by the designer guy down the hall, it definitely looks pretty—everyone in the office says so. But by any measure, the medical website just isn’t delivering new business. Diagnosis […]
Early on, more than a few medical practices, providers and hospitals jumped onboard the nearest social media bandwagon because it was the trendy “thing to do.” Besides, we all know that “social media is free.” Right? It turns out, of course, that social media can be relatively low in cost, but overall, it isn’t completely […]
Even the most carefully constructed 37-page Curriculum Vitae is a sure-cure for insomnia. Other than the doctor who compiled the CV, it’s common for heads to droop after the first few pages. A detailed and current CV is a useful tool in professional circles, but the document is not at all the same as a physician’s […]
If today’s patient--now an informed consumer--isn’t at the center of your branding universe, you don’t have an effective brand. In the rarified world of physics and mathematics, “singularity” is a point at which a function takes an infinite value. Sci-fi readers find the term applied to “space-time when matter is infinitely dense, as at the […]
Our regular readers appreciate that we have a positive bias toward healthcare marketing and advertising that produces measurable, near-term results. Direct Response Marketing isn’t the only option, but for hospitals and medical practices—facing tough competition with a lean, cost-effective budget—it offers advantages over brand-based methods. Experienced writers will devote half (or more) of their creative […]
Hundreds of hospital and healthcare provider websites in the US simply aren’t doing their job. Some are broken…others are simply broken-hearted. If your website was a valued employee—but not performing to a reasonable standard—you would, at the least, provide counseling, coaching and encouragement. It’s no stretch to consider your online presence—primarily your website—to be a valuable […]
With very little encouragement, a professional colleague of ours will enthusiastically explain why her personal physician is an outstanding provider. As it happens, her hero-physician is highly skilled, credentialed and experienced. But one of the top reasons that she will recommend her physician is that the practice actively uses text messages and patient-physician email to […]
The concept of “free publicity” appeals to medical practices and providers because it appears to be...well, free. It turns out that that "free" is something of a misnomer. In healthcare—for that matter, in any industry—communications professionals recognize that the process that results in positive publicity is time intensive and rarely easy. Ultimately, the story that appears […]
[A GUEST POST by Paul Rosen, MD] Millennial medical students are starting their third year clerkships in hospitals around the country and are asking: Where is the cutting age technology I am used to? Where are the seamless communication systems? Where is the user experience? The students are evaluating the care systems they are asked […]
Mastery of the many dynamics of personal interaction in healthcare is, in the kindest of terms, a continuous challenge. But successful individual doctors, hospitals and sprawling health systems have a semi-secret formula for success. The curious thing about this six-point recipe is that it has helpful applications to nearly every type of communications and person-to-person […]
If there is one dominant factor that quickly erodes the patient-physician relationship, it is lack of respect—particularly a feeling of disrespect for the patient’s time. Patients have a limited ability to judge a physician’s clinical competence, but they do have a sense of personal self-worth that says: “My time is just as valuable as your […]
There’s no need to remind motion picture fans—which is nearly everyone—that the 2016 Academy Awards nominations will be announced next week…or that the annual glitz-and-glamour event is next month. (February 28, 2016; Dolby Theatre, Hollywood; ABC) But I did anyway. Hollywood, and the heart of the film industry, is just up the road from our […]
[Podcast: Part of continuing series.] Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf talks with Rob Klein, founder and CEO of healthcare marketing research firm, Klein & Partners, about why patients are now consumers, and how being a doctor “that people like” is no longer sufficient to remain competitive in business. In contemporary healthcare, passive patients have become […]
Doctors don’t always wear the title of CEO for their practice, but if it’s your business, you’ve got the top job. And along with it, you hold the ultimate hire-fire responsibility for the organization. Command, as the saying goes, is a lonely place. Personnel matters are often tough. Employees can be liked, but perform marginally. And even […]
At this time of year, some healthcare professionals are tempted to feel that their online marketing plans are “all set” for 2016. Hopefully that’s true. But don’t let “quiet comfort” become painful “complacency.” If you’re not vigilant to constant change—even during the holiday season—your Internet presence can quickly and quietly shift off target. Did you know, for […]
One day you’re a skilled and experienced healthcare professional and the next day the doctor asks you to create content; writing for the medical practice website, blog and/or social media. It’s a sudden and challenging new assignment, and not everyone is up to the task. Certainly it’s important to maintain fresh and interesting content for […]
In the beloved 1983 holiday classic, A Christmas Story, you’ll recall that hapless Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) wants two things: A Red Ryder BB gun, and to avoid the hassles of schoolyard bully, Scut Farkus (Zack Ward). The Jean Shepherd tale is retold each holiday season, and will be broadcast again this year on Christmas […]
Your brain “reads” images faster than words alone. And for hospital and healthcare storytelling, it’s a powerful way to communicate compelling and more memorable ideas in branding, marketing and advertising. Show before you tell. As you and I spin through the blaze of thousands of marketing messages that assault our brains each day, the ones […]
While languishing in a medical practice reception area, more than a few patients have fantasized about financial revenge, thinking: “I should send a bill to this doctor for making me wait so long.” That’s not a fanciful idea. “In 2010, people in America spent 1.1 billion hours seeking health care for themselves or for loved […]
The highly competitive, new-patient battleground among healthcare providers—doctors, hospitals and health systems—is online via your Internet presence. Prospective patients (including family and friends) shop for healthcare services and providers online before making their purchase decisions. In the retail world, nearly 90 percent of consumers do their online homework. The numbers are nearly the same for […]
A Guest Post by Paul Rosen, MD After reading Stewart Gandolf’s recent post, Patients Feel Healthcare Is Stuck in the Digital Dark Ages, I felt compelled to piggyback a few thoughts onto his astute observations. Stewart referenced the survey from Nielsen Strategic Health Perspectives, which demonstrates that healthcare is lacking in its ability to leverage […]
Is Google Plus too big to fail? On more than one occasion, since its launch in 2011, social media observers have predicted the network’s imminent demise. And on more than one occasion, parent company Google Inc. has refined and revamped the social networking service. A couple weeks ago, the company unveiled another re-do. The new, […]
After 20-some years in the business of healthcare marketing, I’m still a bit surprised to find medical practices that have written their own advertising copy. The complaint that they bring to us is that “it didn’t work.” And when I see it, I have to wonder if they realize how much this misguided effort cost […]
Every 12 months we turn the page on the calendar and observe the start of a New Year with grand ceremony. Admittedly, it’s a milestone celebration…a memory marker to help sort out “what was” from “what’s new.” Generally, ushering in a New Year can be a lot of fun, but the actual dividing lines are […]
[HS Leadership Podcast Series] David Dirks, Assistant Vice President of Healthcare Transformation for Intermountain Healthcare, and Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf discuss “shared accountability,” Intermountain’s overarching term for their transformation efforts in patient population health and healthcare delivery. Many hospitals, health systems and providers throughout the United States face the future proactively, bringing a new […]
Incorporating some sort of video content in your mix of healthcare marketing material seems like a no-brainer for doctors and hospitals. Producing and posting online video is relatively inexpensive and potentially highly effective—if it’s done properly. The enormous audience and the compelling impact of video storytelling is a powerful one-two punch for marketing planners. Recognizing […]
The diverse faces of telehealth—from virtual doctor consultations to remotely monitored patients—are continuing on a solid growth path. One assessment, by IHS Technology, says that doctors’ virtual consults with patients will double in less than five years, reports Forbes. Marketing strategies for hospitals, doctors and health systems will continue to adjust to keep up with […]
