The intersection of healthcare marketing and technology is a busy corner with lots of activity – shiny new toys, much fanfare, and an occasional dash of confusion. BUT – and this is a big “but” for marketing and advertising professionals – BUT traditional communications channels still dominate the search for health information over mobile health. […]
It's one of the oldest tools in advertising in America. The various forms of a coupon and coupon offers are well-established and often-used tools in chiropractic marketing and other healthcare products and services. Over time, they’ve moved from print ads and free standing inserts to also include distribution via email and taking a bit of […]
The trend for hospital marketing and advertising professionals is increasingly: “think mobile.” It's a message that's reinforced with the introduction next week of an online “app store” by the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA). The first-ever mobile application store by and for healthcare professionals—doctors health care executives, nurses and other medical providers—launches in November […]
The vision-health benefits of eating carrots have stronger roots in popular folklore than in pure science. (The surprising origin of the carrots-for-better-vision is revealed below.) But the orange-ish root vegetable remains an enduring icon that pops up from time to time in optometry marketing. Here are two creative examples we happened to see recently.
We liked the clever use of video in a post-SHSMD event follow-up. It's an idea that can be adapted to many healthcare, hospital and medical marketing and advertising situations. A link to the video follows, but here's a bit of background for context. The company, eVariant, demonstrated their CRM and marketing analytics product at last […]
(Editor's Note: This article was adapted from an article in Dental Economics, though the principles apply to all healthcare practitioners.) Let's say a new family moves in a couple of blocks from your office, and the mother holds a gathering for her new neighbors. At the gathering she asks, "I'd like to find a first-rate […]
Although anti-gravity treadmill machines were introduced to the market a few years ago, they are not yet commonplace—and they’re an opportunity for differentiation in physical therapy marketing (for facilities that have one). At the Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital (Indianapolis), according to an IndyStar news item, the treadmill, by AlterG, is helping some patients recover more quickly. […]
How to avoid "conventional wisdom" myths, preserve resources, and boost your ROI Let's put the bottom line right here at the top – Return-on-Investment (ROI) is your primary measuring stick for evaluating marketing efforts. Now, hold that thought. Although ROI is marketing's gold-standard score card, we are often surprised (and a bit disappointed) when we […]
Here’s something you don’t see every day: free heart health examinations for dogs provided by veterinarians and veterinary cardiologists. Pet lovers love the idea. And you might have seen the special mobile exam room at a park, community center or animal shelter, as part of a local special event in locations throughout the country. The […]
Answers that have guided thousands of practices and health care organizations in achieving their growth goals. Our daily work puts us on the receiving-end of a stream of healthcare and medical marketing questions of all kinds. We wouldn't think of saying that we've "heard 'em all," but our collective experience adds up to fielding many […]
How to take advantage of new opportunities to include TV ads in your marketing plan It is possible to control television production and media costs and still deliver a professional-quality message with strong results. TV may not be right for every healthcare marketing plan, but it's no longer out of reach. New media options, friendly […]
How to make your on-premise practice sign recruit new patients One of the best long-term marketing tools for any consumer-direct practice is, unfortunately, often neglected or under-utilized. It's easy to overlook the powerful effectiveness of an on-premise sign. And far and away, it can be the best Return-On-Investment (ROI) for your location. The main reason? […]
Healthcare practitioners ask us about budgeting more than any other single topic In fact, just this morning a dermatologist asked me how much money he should allocate to market his new dermatology / medi spa practice in Florida. It turns out there are three primary methodologies to establish a marketing budget.
What time of year do you think about marketing your healthcare organization? Well, if you are like a lot of doctors, you probably think about marketing mostly during your slow seasons. And the logical knee-jerk reaction would be to go out and run some ads. Makes sense, right? Wrong.
The number of "born losers" in healthcare practice marketing, advertising and promotion is roughly the same as the head-count of ants at a summer picnic-and just as welcome. These include putting your name, logo or ad on or in:
We've marketed many thousands of doctor practices over the years, and our experience clearly shows that nothing wins doctors' hearts (and loyalty) like helping them to increase their bottom line. Beginning April 19, 2002, however, most pharmaceutical companies discontinued virtually all significant efforts to assist doctors with their practices due to the PhRMA Code On […]
Here's a familiar scenario. Someone in a rumpled suit drops by your office without an appointment. He tells your receptionist that he is selling a new and amazing marketing service for only $700. It is guaranteed to "get your name out there." But here's the catch: you've got to make a decision today, because if […]
How to link arms with a kindred healthcare practice for a win-win-win marketing success. Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts—and so it goes with cost-effective cross promotion. With minimum time and expense, two or more healthcare entities can team-up for a healthy Return-on-Investment.
In dental marketing, we’re passionate about knowing the source of new patients. It’s the clarity needed to drive a successful program and keep a bundle of marketing dollars from being wasted. These tracking principles also apply to many other healthcare professions. What troubled us recently in the results we reported from the State of Dental […]
Here are two remarkably easy-and highly effective-ways to encourage patients to refer family, friends and colleagues to your practice. The cost is almost nothing, so your Return On Investment (ROI) is through the roof. This is the closest thing you'll find to guarantee success in internal marketing, and with a little practice and persistence, it's […]
While 98 Percent of Doctors and Dentists Hate the Yellow Pages, the Other 2 Percent Quietly Laugh All the Way to the Bank. It's a Zero-sum Game, and Some Rules. It's like the line attributed to Mark Twain: "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Nearly 100 years later, the same is true […]
Here's How We Develop Hospital Marketing Plans, Medical Marketing Plans and Dental Marketing Plans For Our Clients
How to protect your turf and keep from losing ground to the competition. We'll get right to the point.. If you're not geared up with a new or refreshed marketing plan in the starting blocks NOW for the first week in January, you've just given your competition a giant head start. And that's a fast-blast […]
Skilled practitioners want everyone to appreciate the work they do, and before-and-after photos can work wonders. But, remember that patients are interested in personal benefits, not clinical process. For external marketing materials, use images that illustrate positive outcomes and benefits and save the clinical pictures for colleagues. We are often asked about using "before-and-after" photos […]
Medical marketing efforts that attempt to reach anyone, anywhere-are doomed to produce only a squandered budget. Carefully and precisely identifying the target audience is a critical success factor in brand strategy development. You know whom you want to reach, where they are located, what makes them tick...and how to speak directly to them.
Can you guess what spaghetti marketing is? (A lot of healthcare businesses do it.) Simply spend a lot of marketing dollars randomly, throw a bunch of "spaghetti" against the wall, and see if anything sticks. As you might suspect, we are not big fans of spaghetti marketing. You could throw a lot of spaghetti -- […]
