In a completely unscientific estimate, roughly nine out of 10 doctors would probably say they hate “selling” in healthcare. At a minimum, it’s not what doctors are trained to do. And, more critically, they believe that sales is a sleazy, manipulative and difficult process intended to strong-arm people into paying for something they don’t need or […]
Art and science have a special meeting point in social media. And with the proper blend of each, social media has the power to reach, recruit and retain private pay and elective care patients. For the most part, the “science part” is often the easier side of the equation. The major social media platforms—Facebook, Twitter, […]
Many doctors still have a gaping hole in their social media plan and Internet presence. For many, “too busy” is a quick and convenient excuse. It seems that everyone has a million other priorities, plus the compensation questions, and then there are all those pesky HIPAA sensitivities. For whatever reason, many physicians and medical practices […]
Healthcare is not short of controversy these days. Transformational change is disrupting every corner of the industry. One of the questions facing many physicians is how did I get here? Remembering back to medical school, we were passionate, committed, empathic individuals choosing to serve a higher calling. We took out loans to pay for medical […]
[Article Series: An excerpt from a forthcoming book by Mark Tager, MD, and Stewart Gandolf, MBA, for private practice physicians and healthcare administrators about reaching, recruiting and retaining private pay and elective care patients.] Each of the primary social media tools has a distinct personality. If Facebook is the family SUV, and Twitter is a […]
At the risk of sounding like a minor rant…here’s a quick story with an important marketing lesson. I HATE calling doctors’ offices. I suspect that a lot of people feel the same way. Please let me know if you can relate to my brief-but-irritating experience. The other day I discovered that I needed a new […]
With upwards of 80 million active monthly visitors in the US, Twitter is second only to Facebook, and it’s about the only microblogging site you need in your social media plan. Surprisingly, there are dozens of other similar platforms—better than 100 around the globe—but few people can name more than one or two. As a […]
You’re busy. I’m busy. So here’s the point: People have become so used to instant gratification that they expect everything now. Right now. You can either embrace society’s instamatic mindset or rapidly be swept to the bottom of the marketing and competitive lineup. Convenience is the new currency. Across the board in products, services and […]
ICD-10 is here, and the sound business advice for the foreseeable futures is: “Conserve cash. And boost your marketing efforts for fee-for-service options.” For the next few months, medical practices are going to be wrestling with more than a few problems during the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. Although there’s been a long run up, […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] This podcast previews the SHSMD15 presentation of Don Stanziano, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Scripps Health: Empowering a Strong Brand: Scripps Health Integrates CRM into its Marketing Mix. There’s a new way to integrate digital and traditional healthcare marketing. By using customer relationship management (CRM) tools, healthcare companies are able to […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] This podcast previews the SHSMD15 presentation of Deb Pappas, Senior Director of Marketing, and Kevin Pawl, Director of Patient Access, at Boston Children’s Hospital. Healthcare Success Business Development Director Lauren Henss talks with Deb and Kevin about their topic: High Touch, High Tech: Aligning Internal Workflows and Systems for Referral Growth. Physician […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present our continuing series of conversations with healthcare industry and marketing thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. This conversation is with Marcia Jackson, Director of Business Development, Temecula […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present this continuing series of conversations with industry thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. Among the challenges of a maturing physician relations program is bringing hospital leadership more […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present our continuing series of conversations with healthcare industry and marketing thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. Strategic media planning and measurement are significant keys to optimizing value […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present our continuing series of conversations with healthcare industry and marketing thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. In this podcast, Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf talks with the […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present our continuing series of conversations with industry thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. Healthcare delivery is changing rapidly, and with a dynamic backdrop as the stage, Kaiser […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Again this year, Healthcare Success is pleased to present this series of conversations with industry thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. One of the insightful presentations at SHSMD 15 will be a case […]
[SHSMD15 Podcast Series] Healthcare Success is pleased to present our continuing series of conversations with healthcare industry and marketing thought leaders who will be speaking at the 2015 Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association, #SHSMD15. In today’s podcast, Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf talks with Lee […]
This is the second of a two-part guest article contributed by Pediatric Rheumatologist and healthcare thought leader Paul Rosen, MD, a regular contributor to our blog. Dr. Rosen looks at some of the key drivers in healthcare transformation, which might be seen as a field of landmines or opportunities. Part one is titled: The Disruption […]
Far and away, Facebook is the most popular social media site on the planet. For healthcare marketing, that makes it a first class opportunity to communicate with patients and prospective patients. The stats are growing constantly, but better than 70 percent of adult Internet users (or nearly 60 percent of the entire adult population) are […]
The first of a two-part guest article contributed by Pediatric Rheumatologist and healthcare thought leader Paul Rosen, MD, a regular contributor to our blog. Dr. Rosen identifies some of the key drivers in healthcare transformation, which might be seen as a field of landmines or opportunities. I was planning to write a piece on the […]
By the time you finish reading this paragraph the staggering number of social media (SM) channels, and the number of active users they have, will have increased. Although most of us would be hard pressed to name a dozen, there are several hundreds of online social sites. In addition to countless personal and professional blogs, […]
Has there been a dramatic up-tick in the number of marketing mistakes lately? Perhaps there’s some sort of business-blooper epidemic; a bug of sorts, making the rounds. I raise this mostly rhetorical question because there seems to be a bumper crop of published articles that offer much the same advice. Roughly translated they admonish readers: […]
In the retail world, about one in three customers will use social networks to discover or research new products or services, typically this is an early step on their purchase-decision path. In healthcare, the influence of the Internet and social media—where upwards of eight out of ten people look online for health information—is an even […]
Advances in applied medical technology are rapidly outdistancing the ability for doctors, hospitals and healthcare communicators to explain “what’s new” to the typical patient. This is more than health apps, consumer gadgets and wearable devices. The ongoing challenges for medical communicators include: Being well versed about tech advances as they emerge Recognizing and communicating the […]
Technology makes the Internet pervasive in American society, and social media is practically a national pastime. Easy to use smartphones and tablets empower the individual—people of every age group—anywhere, anytime. “Mobile” is the watchword of Internet marketing and the primary platform for SM users. Physicians and other healthcare providers have been quick to adopt techno-tools […]
One of the oldest and most familiar brand names in the mattress industry—Sealy—owes much of its success to an advertising executive. He invented the slogan: “Sleeping on a Sealy is like sleeping on a cloud.” This goes back to the early 1900’s when Earl Edwards, a successful ad-executive-turned-entrepreneur purchased patents and bought into the bedding business. […]
Much like applied medical science, the art of social media mastery begins with asking the right questions. Right up front, the question isn’t “IF you should be using social media” in your health care marketing mix. The better question is: “WHICH of the dozens of social media platforms are the best tools for my plan?” […]
In our previous post about the strangest form of Analysis Paralysis, we wrote about doctors and others who seem to enjoy being a healthcare marketing spectator…but they never venture off the sidelines and actually get into the game. From time to time we encounter a similar sort of marketing malady where a physician or administrator […]
It’s that time of the year when savvy healthcare marketing minds are thinking about budgets. Prudent fiscal management sets budgets annually, but reviews and adjusts monthly. If you’ve been faithful to that routine, you have a head start on planning and shaping your hospital or doctor marketing budget for the year ahead. But it’s not […]
Among the trending buzzwords in healthcare marketing are labels related to the “consumer decision journey,” patient journey,” or even “purchasing funnel.” The orderly process steps in selecting a healthcare provider begins online with research, awareness and other steps that lead to a provider selection and a new patient appointment. But don’t kid yourself; patients don’t […]
The non-verbal side of communications is so easily overlooked that…well, it’s often seen but ignored. It doesn’t communicate or it miscommunicates. In the simple routine of a doctor-patient encounter, the physician’s ability to diagnose and treat a medical condition is a major communications exchange. And body language—the gestures, postures, expressions that communicate physical, mental or emotional […]
Here’s a slightly obscure—but marketing-useful—tidbit of healthcare history that many doctors don’t know. You can amaze your friends with the story of Caduceus vs. Asclepius…but they probably don't belong in your healthcare branding. Stick with me on this. Amid the dynamic changes in healthcare, hospitals and medical practices throughout the US often find themselves in need […]
Nearly everyone agrees with the well-intended ideal of an informed healthcare consumer. But if your hospital is listed among the major national “hospital ranking” systems, you may need to offer some guidance and interpretation. From a 50-thousand foot altitude, providing patients and/or prospective patients with comparative insight about the good (and the not-so-good) performance of […]
Somewhere in the US—we wouldn’t disclose exactly where—there’s a large medical practice that has, until recently, been in a relationship with a local advertising agency. What’s troubling about this relationship is that, over many years, the agency never talked about results, data or Return-on-Investment. The medical practice likes the people they were working with, and […]
Recently I was looking for a new school for one of my daughters. In that process, I phoned one of the prospective organizations—a modern school with a good reputation and a progressive-sounding name. The individual who answered the phone was immediately helpful; even on the phone her obviously winning personality and positive demeanor came through […]
Here’s a totally unscientific marketing experiment: Look up from your smartphone (just for a moment) and scan the people at any Starbucks—or any airline departure lounge—or any street corner. It’s become a social caricature: People of all ages have their heads down with a deeply-connected gaze into the mobile, tablet or laptop device in front of […]
Google—perhaps the most valuable brand in the world—recently announced a corporate restructuring with the holding company name of Alphabet. The new structure, strategy and operating details are complex and widely reported in business media and on Google’s own site. But a corporate powerhouse like Google-now-Alphabet will, according to many observers, have a major influence in […]
By some estimates, hospitals have been behind the social media adoption curve. Unlike retail and service businesses, health systems and hospitals have had to navigate HIPAA considerations, find solid ground in healthcare’s changing landscape, and struggle with ever-present limitations of time and budget. Fortunately, that’s changing. Organizations recognize the considerable benefits of social media and […]
If there’s one—close-to-perfect and always effective—secret to engaging doctors and others, this is it: Sharing timely, useful and interesting information--directly and personally. This makes an unforgettable and lasting impression that grows relationships with physicians and professional colleagues. If you prefer, think of this as an old fashioned, personalized and “analog” take on the benefits of social media […]
Email marketing is a powerful healthcare marketing tool because it is relatively low cost, it’s quick and immediate, and nearly everyone uses it. That’s the easy part. The trouble is that it is increasingly difficult to do it right. The perfect email—one that is opened, read, acted upon and shared—is elusive. Frankly, devising an effective […]
Your office door bursts open and a shiny-suit sales person launches his well-worn spiel about the latest-and-greatest advertising opportunity that’s certain to make you and overnight success. Maybe it’s not quite that dramatic, but every medical office has encountered someone selling something…from pens with your name on them to a (supposedly) full service ad agency. And […]
The crowd sourcing, user-review site Yelp has emerged as a regular reference check for people looking for hospitals, doctors, urgent care, dentists and other health and medical businesses. Notwithstanding that Yelp is a mash-up of all types of local business listings—from auto repair to yogurt stores—prospective patients frequently tap into the social networking reviews, comments […]
“Stop already,” you say…you’ve heard them all before. Some (hopefully, only a few) patients gripe and complain about all the usual stuff. We’re not talking about the assorted medical or health complaint. It’s those issues—large or small, serious or trivial, real or imaginary—that bubble up in the course of dozens of patient visits to a […]
Medical practices—especially specialty practices that need to be assertive in their marketing efforts—generally have three resource options for marketing talent. Depending on the complexity and goals of the marketing effort, the size of the practice and budget, and other considerations, a medical practice will need to draw upon all three options: Healthcare Advertising Agency – […]
A truly excellent crystal ball—with the ability to accurately foretell the future of hospital branding—is practically nonexistent. While hindsight is 20/20, looking beyond the horizon and trend spotting in marketing are clouded by the near-constant change in healthcare. But, motivated by intense competition—and the dynamics of change—many of the best minds in hospital leadership are […]
All too often, the love-hate attitude about online physician rating sites comes down to a strong desire by doctors to simply ignore them. Related: 9 Essential Steps to Improve Doctor Ratings Online After all, doctors are too busy to attend to the largely imperfect and unreliable noise and chatter of patient comments. Even the “positive” […]
Cyber attacks on patient healthcare records and medical information are hot-news headlines—and an increasingly realistic prospect for health systems, hospitals and medical practices. Is your PR or Communications Plan ready for this digital broadside? Large-scale criminal data breaches, such as the reports regarding the UCLA Health System (affecting over 4 million people), are high profile […]
I met a doctor recently who appeared to be an advocate of physician marketing. From outward appearances, he seemed to be the kind of marketing-smart champion of ethically and effectively attracting new business to his practice. He said he appreciates, and avidly reads, our Healthcare Success Marketing Insight Newsletter, as well as our blog and […]
Great business minds will remind us that procrastination is a thief. It robs us of time, opportunity, and in some situations, it steals cold, hard cash. “To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.” ~ Eva Young Simple neglect or forgetfulness can undermine the best intentions and solid returns of a […]
