Someone who knows that I work in marketing passed along this little idea. As it happens, it comes from a retail small business, but with minor modification, it would play well in healthcare. Let’s call it: A Poor Man’s Reputation Management Idea. And, large office or small, it’s an effective idea that you’re welcome to […]
At a routine medical appointment yesterday, a friend of mine was greeted with a chilling: “Please sign in, and take a seat.” No warm hello. No friendly smile. And no way to treat a regular member of the internal audience of this practice. Here's why: The math is simple and straightforward. It costs at least five […]
Anyone who has been in need of medical care knows it can be a deeply personal and emotional experience. For friend, family or individual--from walking in the door to the time of discharge, people want to feel safe, respected and understood. Many hospitals and doctors promote themselves as the compassionate, caring choice that you can trust. So, as a provider, […]
With increasing frequency we are finding practices and hospitals that are paying for “phantom” Search Engine Optimization services. Call it “Grand Theft SEO.” They’re being charged for the services, but they don’t even have the most basic of SEO techniques in place. Search Engine Optimization is a broad term relating to technical services that the […]
If nobody’s aware that your patients are satisfied, does it even matter? Related: 9 Essential Steps to Improve Doctor Ratings Online Yes, of course it matters — but it isn’t helping your marketing. Word-of-mouth and online review websites are the dominant resources patients use to select their doctors. Which means that in 2017, taking charge […]
A lot, actually. As you might expect, many doctors and hospitals want to target upscale patients. Sometimes it is a matter of insurance coverage, other times doctors want to attract more fulfilling cases, and still other times clients simply want to improve reimbursements. Two weeks ago at our Orlando seminar, someone asked the familiar question […]
If your schedule permits a quiet moment, look at the competitive landscape. Group practice marketing is constantly challenged to keep up with mergers, rollups and acquisitions. Know it or not, business conditions in your service area have changed in the past few months. It could be that the territory has shifted. And, like it or […]
Not long ago, The Des Moines Register published an interesting opinion piece about hospitals that advertise. We’d like to know what you think about their coverage titled: Hospitals spend millions luring patients away from each other. Please take a minute to review their editorial handiwork and register your own opinion in the space below. Curiously, […]
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the fine-tuning process intended to maximizing the number of visitors who come to your website or landing page. Appealing to Google and the other search engines is a constant challenge. The goal is for online searches to have your web address on the first page of search results. But the […]
Every industry has it’s own, unique vocabulary. These are the specialized terms, buzz words, phrases and jargon that is peculiar to a particular business. I wouldn’t attempt the work-a-day words that a doctor-to-doctor conversation might include. There’s a strong prospect that I’d be lost (quickly) in a forest of multisyllabic medical terminology. The word-world of […]
Anyone who knows me personally or professionally would likely agree that I’m sort of a high-energy guy. Nevertheless, we would also agree, that heavy-handed swear words are not in my usual nature or vocabulary. But -- there’s an important lesson for others in this tale, so I’ll confess to this recent, embarrassing exception. The story goes […]
Just the other day, an out-of-town guest sat in on a company-wide meeting in our office. To my surprise, he was super-impressed with what, to us, was a regular Monday morning “standup.” This is the starter session for our business week. It brings together everyone in the office, plus two or three people who attend […]
In a quiet moment, every doctor will admit that some people simply make better patients than other people. On a good-to-bad scale, the “bad news” people sink to the bottom slice of chart. They represent a (hopefully) small percentage of your patient-population. For one reason or another, they are uncooperative, unpleasant and/or difficult. It seems […]
While Facebook and Instagram are among our favorite social media channels to generate patients, Twitter can play a supporting role in your healthcare marketing. There are a lot of ways to leverage Twitter, but let’s focus on five easy things you can do today that have the potential to impact your business tomorrow. Twitter: Communicate, […]
If your aim is to build an engaging, relevant brand there is one thing you must avoid: complacency. Brands unwilling or hesitant to embrace change, innovation, or advancements in technology quickly become irrelevant. Do you remember Kodak? It was a very popular photography company that sold cameras and roll film. It was built on a […]
I recently heard an on-hold message that was so creative, memorable and powerful that I texted my editor with the message, “Hey, you HAVE to listen to this on-hold message...” I'll share the story behind my cryptic message in a moment, but first I want to address why you should even care about on-hold messages. […]
Editor’s Note: In this guest post, Neil H. Baum, MD, presents doctor-to-doctor ideas founded in his 30-plus years of real-world experience as a practicing urologist in New Orleans. Want more patients? How about more patients without a big-budget investment? Can you attract more patients who won’t stress your staff? Want more patients who you can […]
In today’s increasingly tech-savvy world, it’s easy to get lost in the complex jargon of the on arena. Don’t give up — we’re here to break it down for you. Whether you’re looking to brush up on your marketing knowledge or starting from scratch, the ABCs of Marketing will help you understand some of the most important terms that you need to know today.
About 90 percent of practices and healthcare organizations lose new business opportunity, and money when they answer the phone. That makes the front desk the second most critical job in any doctor’s office. Of course, the top job under your roof is that of the provider or providers. But the front desk is the vital […]
One of the most important things you can do as a business is to build trust with your clients. A business without trust is like a car without gas. It looks good but doesn’t go anywhere. The same bridge needs to exist in healthcare; building a trusting relationship between provider and patient. There are three […]
There’s a trap waiting for you in the world of marketing. And the more capable you are as a doctor, the more likely you’ll spring it. Why patients don't care… You’re a talented, personable and board-certified surgeon with a beautiful office in a great location. You have an exceptional team of nurses and staff. You […]
Before we get to the benefits of video for your business, let’s clarify one thing. While professional--studio quality--video production is often required, there may be some informal exceptions. You can sometimes get away with simple, DIY videos from your smartphone. Impromptu videos of your health fair booth, for example, posted on your practice Facebook page. Video […]
Here's why you need a guide to Millennials. Not long ago, it was the Baby Boomers that dominated the healthcare demographic landscape—one of the top audience targets of opportunity. The post-war crowd still represents a substantial slice of the American population. But boomer-babies are no longer the largest cohort. Millennials (age 18-34) are now the […]
Marketing-smart doctors want advertising results that are profitable—with an efficient Return-on-Investment (ROI), and a reasonable cost per lead. Whew…those are welcomed challenges in most marketplaces. These days, competition is first-team tough and sophisticated. In some markets, healthcare providers can’t compete without television advertising doing the heavy lifting. The fact is, TV delivers a positive difference […]
Does the "About Us" page on your website clearly identify what your company, practice or hospital does? Does it explain why your readers need you, your products or services? No? Then you are losing business. Getting your About Us page right is important because, if you check your stats, you’ll see it is one of […]
Successful practices and businesses are built from great service, good leadership and rock-solid strategies. A good marketing plan is important so you know whom to target. But before you get to the planning stage, you need to determine what you want to accomplish in the next 12 months. You may already have a strategy […]
Primary care practices don’t need to look far to find new patients. Two surveys found that 20 percent of consumers are willing to jump to a video-enabled provider. Here’s why the convenience of telehealth is driving a consumer trend in primary and chronic care. To set the stage, a friend talks about technically-backwards medical offices. None of […]
It was only a year or two ago that the trendy marketing watchword was "personalization." It seems like everyone was using the P-word in email marketing. Everyone’s ambition was to take email (and other content) to the high-impact, “next level.” Internet and computer sophistication provides the ability to deliver relevant content to the right reader. […]
Customer testimonials offer great benefits to your marketing and business health for very little cost and effort. In the dictionary, marketing is defined as the action or business of promoting and selling products or services. That’s as simple as it gets; too simple, really. Marketing is communication for a particular goal or set of goals, […]
All too often a healthcare practice will wait to ask for my help until the “eleventh hour.” That was the case when a medical group (belatedly) discovered their growth curve had become a flat line. It turned out that their once-robust stream of professional referrals was vanishing. A rival practice was attracting this group’s lifeblood of […]
A confounding notion in our industry is that medicine is a profession, but healthcare is a business. Think of these as opposite sides of the same business coin. The medicine/profession side leaves little time for the healthcare/business side. But, it turns out that a marketing outsource strategy can achieve critical objectives for both. Most of the time, a […]
One of the unique dynamics and challenges in devising a healthcare marketing plan is to properly anticipate why people buy. A health and medical services plan considers the future needs of an ever-present audience. As the familiar expression reminds us, the challenge is to engage consumers today for solutions they may need tomorrow. […]
The only constant in today’s healthcare marketplace is rapid change. Competition is increasingly intense. Group practices are the product of mergers, rollups and acquisitions. And prospective patients are confused without a strong brand message. When dynamics scramble the consumer message, consider these branding tips to differentiate your group practice. One white coat looks the same as […]
There’s a connection between busy practices and doctors who embrace selling. Marketing savvy doctors understand how healthcare marketing builds their business. The breakthrough business doctors understand how salesmanship is a key to success. The dreaded “S-word” isn’t in the vocabulary of many doctors. Sales gets relabeled as business development or case acceptance. In many practices, cost factors […]
There’s an immensely useful and effective technique in creating healthcare content that we see all the time. You might recognize it as a “cliffhanger” or a “page turner.” But by any label, experienced as well as freshman writers can use this suspenseful social media secret to keep their audience connected, interested and reading more. Everyone […]
Recently, it happened again. We discovered one website that published a content match of a competitive website. We see this nearly every day, but this particular incident was extraordinary. The two websites used exactly the same words, content and design. Is this similar or “overlapping” content, or is one of these websites guilty of plagiarism in […]
The super-grand-prize for online healthcare content is when it “goes viral.” Something you created—a video, news clip, photo or whatever—is seen or shared by everyone in the known digital universe and beyond. As a result, your hospital, medical group or provider practice—for one, bright-and-shiny moment—has the compelling content that everyone is talking about. Unfortunately, it […]
More than a few doctors have become marketing warriors among our circle of friends and professional peers. It seems like they recognize that medicine is their profession, but healthcare is a business. They had resolved to become recognized thought leaders in their profession. Hence, swimming against the current of provider competition, they have a business-ninja […]
From a marketing view, Facebook statistics are staggering. Half of the American population uses Facebook at least once a month. Better than 40 percent of small businesses in the US use Facebook. That makes it the undisputed champion. It's an absolute “must have,” for your social media marketing strategy. A FB page is vital to hospitals, […]
To be candid, few people make a bucket of money from being a public speaker. Still, developing your presentation skills definitely belongs in your doctor marketing plan. Healthcare practitioners who take to the stage find a significant—usually indirect—payback for their invested time and effort. Countless venues, both large and small, are commonly available. It’s easy to find […]
It turns out that “missed appointments” aren't the core problem for specialty practices. At first glance, it seems like it would top the list. Almost every office has some “no shows.” But what cripples business the most is when a doctor referral never happens at all. Therefore consider the net effect of these three shocking […]
Throughout his campaign, president-elect Donald Trump promised an early demise of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). Today, “repealing and replacing” Obamacare remains a priority. However, details remain elusive. Consequently what that means for healthcare marketing plans, strategy, and tactics in coming months isn't clear. In fact, surveys reveal that segments of the general public didn't understand the […]
Medical practices, groups and provider organizations often invite me to be a “mystery shopper.” That’s where the principals of the business ask Healthcare Success to call the practice posing as a prospective patient. The technique is most effective when a healthcare marketing agency provides an independent—and unbiased—third-party assessment of the quality of service. Recently, we discovered a […]
The inspiration for this article came from my favorite grocery store, Publix. I was raised in the southeast, and developed a strong attachment for the chain. If you haven’t visited a Publix before, it’s hard to image what makes this grocery store different from others. Every time I walk in, I feel a sense of […]
A marketing website doesn’t have an end-date or use-by date. Instead, the effectiveness quietly fades away. Without an obvious signal, how do you know that it’s time for a new design? Here’s a healthcare website checklist of the things that top ranked sites have in common. Healthcare Website Checklist: Characteristics Most of all, if you miss the mark […]
The annual Google Partner Summit is a pretty big deal in the agency business. Visiting the “Googleplex” headquarters in Mountain View is an experience. Plus, this is one of several continuing education sessions that Healthcare Success attends throughout the year. Moreover, attending a Summit session is an educational pathway for a healthcare advertising agency to improve […]
[Series installment.] Hospital marketing professionals tend to think about content delivery as information sharing. That's good, but to be effective, the process goes deeper. The most useful creative secret in hospital marketing however, is the ability to tap emotional storytelling. Author and marketing professor Jonah Berger frames the idea this way: “People don't think in terms of information," he […]
Can you tell me—exactly—how much you are really spending on marketing? It seems like many medical groups and healthcare institutions are not aware that their budgets are out of control. Often, it takes an independent marketing audit and plan to expose the problem. First of all, these healthcare providers simply do not know how much they are […]
The most enduring and successful client-agency relationships work as a partnership. The trouble is, a solid working relationship isn’t easy to achieve. Selecting a healthcare marketing agency for a hospital or group practice shouldn't be "easier-said-than-done." Here are some important issues to consider. Performance is a specific measure of results, not the portfolio. Every agency has a gallery […]
Doctors aren’t the only people concerned about their online reputation. It is every brand, business and service provider with an Internet presence. But there are higher standards of quality with healthcare reputation management. Health care delivery in America is more intimate than an Amazon shopping experience. Consequently, patient experience has become a significant driver of success. Among […]
