Heart and Vascular Services Top Hospital Marketing Priorities for 2014

By Stewart Gandolf, Chief Executive Officer

It was nearly unanimous.

Hospital marketing executives and administrators ranked marketing for various service lines as “extremely important” (65.5%) or “very important (24.1%), among respondents to the recent Healthcare Success (HSS) survey.

Although service lines have generally commanded an important position in the marketing mix, Heart & Vascular Services ranked as the clear leader. It’s likely that the promotional emphasis during coming months will shakeout with the following priority, according to survey takers:

Having High Priority:

Heart & Vascular Services (65.5%)
Orthopedics (51.7%)
Cancer Care (50.0%)
Women’s Health (46.3%)

Having Low Priority:

Sleep Disorders (53.5%)
Geriatrics (48.1%)
Digestive Disorders (32.1%)
Children’s Health (29.6%)

Rate your most successful marketing channels for service lines.

When it comes to getting the message out, hospital marketing efforts routinely employ a wide range of communications tools. When asked to rank those that are among the “most successful,” respondents told us:

Physician Liaison marketing (43.3%)
Publicity (32.2%)
Community Events (29.0%)
Print advertising (19.3%)
TV advertising (16.1%)
Organic online ranking via hospital SEO (12.9%)
Radio advertising (12.9%)
Internet paid search advertising/remarketing (12.9%)
Direct mail (9.6%)
Social Media (6.4%)
Online directory sites (3.2%)
Online display advertising on other sites (3.2%)
Outdoor advertising (0%)

And an alarming stat about tracking…

Regular Healthcare Success followers and readers know the importance of tracking response from external and online advertising efforts. We were a little taken back by the fact that many survey respondents confessed that they didn’t track. When asked “how do you track response,” the answers were:

Tracking referrals from physicians (40.0%)
We don’t track (36.6%)
Website contact form submissions (36.6%)
Call tracking phone numbers (26.6%)
Call center reporting (13.3%)

Lonnie Hirsch

The Healthcare Success 2013 Survey was launched at the AHA’s Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD) Fall Conference in Chicago among physicians, thought leaders, marketing executives and hospital administrators. Subsequent to the SHSMD event, the survey was also maintained online for invited readers and subscribers to participate.