Last November, Facebook announced that that they were cracking down on businesses with overly promotional page posts, and that offenders would suffer a decrease in organic reach. Organic reach is the number of unique individuals who saw your content. Paid reach is the number of unique people who saw an ad or Sponsored Story that […]
Whether we know it or not—and whether we like it or not—nearly everyone is influenced by the human phenomenon of “social proof.” The term was coined long before the Internet arrived on your desktop and popularized social media. We can all thank psychology Professor Robert Cialdini for the label—he didn’t invent social proof, it seems […]
One of the things we commonly hear from colleagues and clients in healthcare marketing is: “Tell me more about social media.” They may be using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other platforms, but the challenge to be effective is the same. Even professional marketing and communications folks want to know more, and some will admit that […]
Pediatric Rheumatologist and thought leader Dr. Paul Rosen—a regular contributor to our blog—talks doctor-to-doctor about why pediatricians and other providers should care about, and connect with, the “mommy bloggers.” Who are the mommy bloggers? Every pediatrician across the country—as well as family physicians and other specialists—should be asking themselves this question…and consider the benefits of […]
The popular buzz-phrase in contemporary healthcare—price transparency—is a relatively new dynamic in the competitive equation for providers and marketing professionals. And it cuts in two directions. On one hand, price transparency—and knowing the cost of medical procedures in advance—is a major plus for public awareness. On the other hand, price is not the only consideration for truly […]
On the surface, Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising—sometimes known as cost-per-click—seems friendly enough. Advertisers only pay for the advertising space when someone clicks on the ad. One analogy, however, says that PPC can be like high-stakes gambling. The casino will never turn you away, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s really easy to lose […]
Of course, everyone in healthcare has a command of “communications skills.” Doctors, nurses, medical staff, administrators and office employees…everyone “communicates” with patients and co-workers. The trouble is…sometimes ya ain’t so good at it. Good or bad, interpersonal communications can be verbal or non-verbal, express subtle or obvious ideas, and/or be filled with medical jargon. Although […]
Think of it as a “spring cleaning.” Or “time for a tune-up.” Or even a “wellness checkup.” You're probably overdue. If you haven’t given your healthcare website much thought lately, there’s an excellent chance that the digital front door to your practice or hospital is not operating at peak performance...and not ready for prime time. […]
Future-thinkers who imagined “healthcare reform” as a move toward socialized medicine in the US may not have anticipated the weight of response from (previously) non-healthcare capitalists. The well-established chain of Whole Foods Markets has long been a grassroots evangelist for natural and healthy foods. And they may be another enterprise entry in the increasingly competitive healthcare […]
Search Engine Optimization Manager Steven Jacobs talks with Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf about avoiding classic SEO mistakes. This video is another in our Marketing Minute series with insightful ideas and tips for marketing your medical practice or hospital. Everyone with a healthcare website knows that Search Engine Optimization is vitally important to being found […]
You don’t have to look far to find a chorus of concerns about the HCAHPS survey tools. But you need look no further than the enormously popular Facebook for real-people feedback. In a quest for a uniform means of comparison for the informed patient/consumer, hospital administrators and managers continue to be challenged by the ways and […]
Is this a healthcare or hospital promotional idea here that you can use? Techno-Baby Example One: Somewhere between human-interest “blessed event” and worldwide “product promotion,” Samsung scored worldwide publicity for its Gear VR (virtual reality) headset, with headlines like: World’s first live-streamed, virtual reality birth and Father attends birth of his son from 4,000 km […]
A dermatologist and I were talking the other day about online search and Google search results in particular. His pragmatic view is that Google has become the new phone book. It’s where consumers—prospective patients—turn first to search for and to find a “dermatologist in [community]." What’s more, he feels that if a medical practice isn’t […]
In the 50-plus years since David Ogilvy published the 20 most persuasive words used in advertising, his insightful vocabulary list remains amazingly appropriate and enduring today. Admittedly what you write for healthcare requires a more conservative approach than the hyperbole and open-field running that's allowed in the retail world. But these words can be engaging, […]
Perhaps the most revealing thing about email marketing is evidenced by the smartphone that you have in your hand right now. Smartphones now account for 80 percent of the mobile phone market, and IDC Research says that 80 percent of those folks--likely both you and I--checked email before their first cup of morning coffee—or anything else […]
The advance billing for the Apple watch was typically Apple-superlative. Fueled by the enthusiasm of legions of brand evangelists, the initial buzz anticipated something “revolutionary,” “life-changing” and/or “breakthrough” for health and healthcare. Well… It turns out that the “innovative” health-and-fitness Apple Watch is more “fitness” than “health.” Version 1.0 is an admittedly stylish gadget that […]
The idiom, “Don’t put the cart before the horse,” might have originated a couple thousand years ago. And roughly 500 years ago, the expression was a common figure of speech during the Renaissance. But as recently as last week, the age-old problem of putting things in the wrong order is, quite unfortunately, still alive and well...and […]
There’s a famous line in the movie Jaws that you might recall. When Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) first comes face-to-face with the killer shark they’re hunting, he realizes: “You’re going to need a bigger boat.” It’s much like that in the real world when we hear about all the problems that doctors and hospitals […]
Hospital advertising is in the spotlight, and we wonder how your facility would stand-up to the challenging ideas we found in the news recently. The first is about price transparency and publishing cost information in ads for patients. The second notion proposes that hospital websites should be labeled as advertising—with the implication that if it’s […]
Editor Note: Veteran media supervisor Charlie DeNatale provides this case study about the dramatic role that television advertising has in an effective media plan. We’ve masked the client information, but for hospital and other healthcare advertisers this study illustrates the return from a balanced media mix of television with search and Pay-per-Click advertising. I’m reminded […]
The Godzilla of search engines—Google—has published a warning that, beginning in April, websites that are not “mobile-friendly” will rank lower in search results. We can test that and evaluate your website for you, but here’s why being mobile-friendly is especially important to hospital and healthcare websites. Most people who look online for health information, […]
[Marketing Minute Video Series] Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf interviews Senior Account Manager Janet Bowden. Marketing Minute from Healthcare Success features tips for marketing your medical practice or hospital. It’s a classic problem in a busy medical practice. Advertising gets the phone to ring. A new patient prospect is calling. And nobody told the front […]
In this Guest Post, thought leader and Pediatric Rheumatologist Dr. Paul Rosen envisions the disruptive transformations—mostly for the better—when healthcare inevitably embraces the transparency and data-sharing that have transformed other industries. In their new book Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate, Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries describe the […]
Shortened Name Highlight’s Agency’s Record of Growing Healthcare Businesses Irvine, CA – March, 2015 – As the world of healthcare is ever-changing, Healthcare Success is changing with it and announcing its new name: Healthcare Success, a slightly shortened name that is emblematic of the company’s achievements in growing medical businesses. “Shortening our name just made sense. Our […]
Regular publishing—producing content for a website, blog, social media and other digital platforms—creates an online presence. But your effectiveness quotient jumps into overdrive when readers share your material with others. Not everything hits the gold standard of “going viral,” but experienced hospital and healthcare marketers appreciate the value of shared digital content. High quality and […]
Sadly, this tale is true. Hopefully, there’s a lesson to be learned and doctors and healthcare marketing professionals can be on guard. Here’s the story (and how to avoid being fleeced by a sleazy “marketing person.”) We’ve disguised the particulars, but this real-world case vividly illustrates the definition of “fleeced,” which is: “to obtain a […]
Online marketing is a primary tool for doctors, medical practices and hospitals to reach new patients. And the pervasive availability of the Internet has propelled healthcare consumers—patients, prospective patients, friends and family—to a new level of awareness and empowerment. The thing is…Internet marketing has become increasingly competitive and technically challenging. A simple website, with a […]
The Internet has become healthcare’s front door. And your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and medical content had better be first class because Google is shuffling the results deck. Google took notice of the big connection between online searches and health, and you’ll soon find medical content in Knowledge Graph enhanced search results. (If the label’s […]
Healthcare’s harsh business reality is that no one can afford to underestimate or ignore the competition today. Download this free report: How to Win Patients Despite Intense Competition. With the upheavals of healthcare reform, the once-upon-a-time” story of quiet camaraderie among provider practices has become an unprecedented competitive revolution. The lingering legacy, however, is that many […]
[Marketing Minute Video Series] Healthcare Success Marketing Communications Manager Stephen Gregg, MBA, talks with CEO and Creative Director Stewart Gandolf. Introducing a new doctor in the practice by way of a notice to the media? Medical practices, groups and hospitals love to spotlight their doctors. But they often miss the boat with a “news release” […]
Here’s a brief but important staff training lesson: Don’t let office efficiency overpower patient experience. Without considerable care, the negative consequences can have an enduring—and unwanted—downside. We encounter this often as we work with doctor’s offices around the country. On the surface the office appears to be well managed and highly efficient. The office manager […]
[Video Interview] In our continuing series of conversations with industry leaders, Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf talks with Mark Tager, MD who is the CEO of San Diego-based ChangeWell, Inc. Dr. Tager is the author of Total Engagement: The Healthcare Practitioner’s Guide to Heal Yourself, Your Patients and Your Practice. “One of the problems that […]
Editor Note: Geographic Information Systems—a data visualization and analysis tool—is finding useful applications in hospital and health system planning and marketing. Here's how GIS, along with predictive analytics and other data tools, is helping to shape near- and long-term marketing plans and strategies. As we move into the future of healthcare marketing, a number of […]
A curious thing about professional referrals is that nobody pays much attention until they disappear. Sometimes, what doctors don’t know about professional referrals is alarming. The analogy of a “life blood” source of business is appropriate, particularly for specialty medical practices that rely on the flow of new patients. Although referrals from other providers is central to […]
OK, I realize that professional football’s Super Bowl is behind us, and baseball's spring training remains a distant vision of warmer weather. But here’s a useful bit of insight about competition that applies to winning in healthcare marketing. Faithful followers of the Great American Pastime will recognize the term “Defensive Indifference.” It’s a slightly obscure tactic […]
People don’t associate the All-American image of Columbus, Ohio, with marketing controversy. It’s just too wholesome for that sort of thing. Right? Having completed my undergraduate studies at Ohio State University, I’m practically a native. The public impression of this heartland state capital includes visions of fresh corn-on-the-cob at the Ohio State Fair, or live […]
Are you pretending that your professional referral stream is “business as usual?” Let me tell you about an experience that just might be an abrupt wakeup call. At an oncology conference recently, I spoke with a Healthcare Success client who attended one of my keynote presentations. The topic, of course, was about effective marketing in […]
[Guest Post] Adrienne Erin is a freelance writer, designer, and subscriber to the Healthcare Success blog. Let’s face it. Some patients are more likely to post negative comments in online forums than positive ones. Additionally, negative comments can have more influence than positive comments do. These are some of the reasons that it’s imperative to […]
It's not the gadgetry, it's the data. The annual International Consumer Electronics Show—billed as the global stage for innovation—is always a big deal. The showcase has three main convention venues along the famed Las Vegas strip, several thousand exhibitors, and well over 150,000 attendees. Scanning the innovative horizon for healthcare delivery and medical marketing, CES2015 was a […]
As you might suspect, my work frequently brings me face-to-face with doctors and other healthcare professionals who want to market a medical practice. One thing I’ve observed is that, regardless of gender, successful physicians, surgeons and top-line staff invariably dress for success. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to visit with practitioners in hospitals, group […]
Editor Note: [Conclusion of a two-part article] Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, authored this article for print and online publication by Strategic Health Care Marketing. It is presented here with permission. Part One-- New Marketing: Improving Service Line Profitability -- is available here. [Part Two] In the constantly changing world of healthcare marketing, success—and […]
About the only thing that’s certain in healthcare delivery is that constant change will continue. And that, unfortunately, makes everyone’s marketing assumptions suspect. Keeping pace with a shifting landscape makes it more challenging to market a medical practice. Here are a few important-but-independent observations, factoids and tips that crossed our radar. Consider how each item—maybe all of […]
Dr. Paul Rosen thinks a lot about empathy in healthcare delivery. In his insightful and inspiring TEDx presentation, Dr. Rosen observed: “In 1915, Henry Ford took a tour of the brand new Henry Ford Hospital. When he finished his tour, he turned to the hospital administrator and said, ‘Well, I see you’ve designed the hospital […]
Editor Note: [First of a two-part article] Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, authored this article for print and online publication by Strategic Health Care Marketing. It is presented here with permission. Clinical service department profitability is a constant challenge for hospitals. What’s changed, however, is just about everything else. Boosting service line profitability requires […]
There’s nothing more satisfying in medical practice marketing than a program that produces measurable results. Attracting new patients or cases is usually the intent of external marketing, but the true, quantifiable pay-back is where Return-on-Investment (ROI) is calculated in “dollars in” divided by “dollars out.” This elementary concept is frequently overlooked or neglected. It’s frustrating […]
Most hospitals and medical practices recognize that email plays an important role in nearly every marketing plan. For some, it’s a “heavy lifter” tactic that is used in support of many goals. In other situations, email supports larger strategies. We know from experience that—done correctly—email is a powerful marketing and advertising tool. Unfortunately, some plans […]
As a business owner who completed his undergraduate work at OSU—the Ohio State CFP Championship win was an inspiration to me. College football can be exciting, but Ohio State’s underdog victory over the Oregon Ducks (42-20) illustrated some important principles about success for doctors and business owners. Even if you’re a fan of Oregon, Wisconsin, […]
At an altitude of 30,000 feet, the healthcare reform objectives that link financial incentives to performance shine brightly. There are no protesting voices calling for poor outcomes, more medical errors or higher costs. Taking a playbook page from the corporate world, financial incentives and penalties are intended to drive performance improvements in healthcare delivery. But […]
Social media in general—and Facebook in particular—can be a double-edged sword. If you don’t have your finger on the pulse of any given platform or media, what’s really hot today can turn cold overnight—and vice versa. Here’s a quick update about recent Facebook changes that can sharpen your healthcare marketing plan and make wiser use […]
I recently bumped into a specialty practice that did not have a website. The Internet has become such a significant “front door” for healthcare providers and hospitals that having no online presence—nada, zip—was surprising. For this specialty practice, attracting new, self-referred patients was not a priority. “We’re already busy,” they told us. “Our appointments are […]
