These two little questions, which seem perilously close to being disrespectful, can save you from wasting precious healthcare advertising dollars. In fact, they can help lead you to a higher Return-on-Investment (ROI). Let’s say you or your staff is planning a new advertisement. Use these questions as the first challenge to the prospective advertising message. […]
Be honest...does your boss think that “marketing” is an evil word? Or maybe it’s just a “necessary evil” that has to be tolerated because they still need the business. From time to time we discover a negative undercurrent about marketing in all sorts of healthcare organizations. We work with physician groups, hospitals and individual practices […]
Although healthcare marketing is actively embracing social media, we’re looking for examples of genuine, beyond-the-basics innovation. If you’re using online and social media tools in ways that are truly new and different, we want to hear from you. We’ll help tell your story. Here’s a bit of background and some inspiring examples… Someday, with the […]
To the surprise of hardly anyone, the number of non-surgical facial procedures spiked dramatically last year. The data, according to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), says that 75 percent of the procedures performed by Academy surgeons in 2010 were non-surgical. Moreover, the number of nonsurgical procedures has grown by 16 […]
Take a quiet two minutes for a demographic reality check. Trust me, this isn’t an academic exercise. Private practices, physician groups, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and virtually all healthcare organizations should take note. Census data reveals some disruptive trends at work in the US population, researchers say. And, we would observe, if your healthcare marketing plan […]
by Steve Smith, Healthcare Success Senior Consultant Scholarly articles about retail customer service tell you that continuing success in business is not about making an individual sale, it’s about creating a relationship that wins a customer. It’s a principle that applies in healthcare delivery, and with every patient (the customer) interaction. And these winning […]
Existing treatment options and marketing approaches for obstructive sleep apnea and loud snoring may be changing with a new, pacemaker-like medical device. Sleep centers, hospitals, otolaryngologists and other providers will want to follow the introduction of an airway stimulation therapy approach. The new medical device has been approved for sale in Europe and for clinical […]
Editor’s Note: This is an informal round up of iPad healthcare deployment applications that we’ve seen since the product was introduced less than a year ago. Many of the uses listed can be adapted to various professions, specialties and healthcare delivery situations. Most importantly, please help us expand this list. Comment below or send us […]
An oral surgeon called us not long ago. He had been referred to us by a friend, another oral maxillofacial surgeon who knows us well. The caller (now a client) told us that he had just fired his in-house marketing person. He was calling for guidance about not making another wrong hire for his oral […]
Healthcare providers and marketing professionals who deal with wrinkle removal, and skin care in general, will want to watch the promotional roll-out of a new home skin treatment. It’s already a crowded marketplace, but there are a couple “firsts” here that make this device a bit of a breakthrough. This month, device manufacturer Palomar Medical […]
The AMA’s American Medical News carried an excellent article recently titled: Hospitals' new specialist: Social media manager. It told the tale of how various hospitals—such as Swedish Medical Center (Seattle) and Mayo Clinic—are hiring staff members dedicated exclusively to social and interactive media. What's more, other hospitals, health systems, and medical practices either have someone […]
Does this sound familiar? A prominent doctor with tons of experience picks up a magazine and sees an ad for a competitive practice. The other practice has significantly less experience, but they do have a half page, full color ad. And to the public they look like the biggest game in town.
by Steve Smith, Healthcare Success Senior Consultant Those of us in healthcare often suffer from diminished peripheral vision. We tend to believe that we work in a vacuum, and that despite whatever else is happening in other professions or businesses, healthcare is governed by a separate, special set of rules. In many ways, of […]
Twitter is one of the four best known social media tools—YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. And if you look at Ed Bennett’s accounting of 890 US hospitals using social networking tools, almost 75 percent have Twitter accounts. (That’s a close second to hospitals with Facebook pages at nearly 80 percent.) But name recognition isn’t as […]
If you’re a member of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD) you got the same email that we did about their new Principles and Practices for Marketing Communications in Hospitals and Health Systems. It’s another example of the SHSMD and American Hospital Association’s thought leadership, and we recommend downloading their advisory. It’s […]
We’re hopeful about the promise of positive things to come, but we’re also realistic. Orthopedic Surgery gives us clues about healthcare marketing, and it’s a perspective that, we predict, will apply to many others as well. There’s no doubt that things are changing in marketing, advertising and public relations for hospitals, medical groups, pharmaceutical companies, […]
Like so many of the healthcare provider channels in medicine today, occupational medicine is changing. And there are marketing lessons in occupational medicine marketing for many other professions, medical practices, hospitals, clinics and healthcare organizations. The key to success in occupational medicine is good sales acumen. The clinic, urgent care center or medical facility that […]
We predict that you’ll be reading a lot of New Year predictions this week. One such crystal ball report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) uses pretty dramatic language. Within six top health industry issues, PwC expects an “extreme strategy makeover." And each of the six issues contain healthcare marketing, advertising and public relations implications for medical providers, […]
Editor's Note: This is the third article in our three-part series about how to get your hospital or healthcare practice website found by potential patients. The Internet is a powerful tool for marketing. But simply having a web site does not mean that patients will find you. The first two articles in this series presented the […]
Here’s a useful technique that publicity savvy professionals, hospitals and healthcare organizations are using to grab a bit of the national news halo. Here’s how it works… When you can link developments in your specialty or professional field to timely news headlines—especially national news—call the news media and offer a local angle or spin that’s […]
by Steve Smith, Healthcare Success Senior Consultant My 18-year-old son is a freshman in college. For the past four years he has held a part-time job at a local hardware store. Some days he is a cashier, but most days he helps customers on the sales floor. And in the past he has been mystery […]
Hospital marketing is increasingly using hospitality to differentiate their brand. News reports say hospitals are looking more like luxury hotels. And we’ve posted articles about facilities throughout the nation that have linked their hospital marketing, advertising and public relations messages to exceptional “patient experience.” These nonclinical patient benefits include spa-like women’s centers, family-friendly patient rooms, […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that almost half of the American population lives with at least one chronic condition such as diabetes, asthma, COPD or heart disease. The numbers spike in older age categories, with more than ninety percent of Americans age 65 or older living with some form of chronic […]
Marketing to physicians is always a communications challenge. There are gatekeepers, drawbridges, barriers and the never-ending constraints of a busy physician’s packed schedule. Everyone wants a slice of time for physician relations, medical device sales, hospital marketing and PR, and pharmaceutical detailing, to name just a few. There’s no magic answer. But a recent survey […]
Kissing, wearing cosmetics and jewelry, tattoos and piercings, and even your cell phone could bring on serious allergic reactions. And allergists are learning how to look for and treat reactions to “Life’s Pleasures.” Allergists, allergist marketing professionals and the news media attending the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Meeting earlier this […]
by Steve Smith, Healthcare Success Senior Consultant True story: The patient has a terminal illness. She arrived at the metropolitan hospital on time for an appointment with her radiation oncologist and was sitting in the waiting room when the doctor emerged with another patient, walking him to the door to say goodbye.
17 Things Savvy Healthcare Providers Can Do To Keep Their Organizations Healthy Despite A Very Sick Economy There's no doubt that the nation's economic news is serious and troubling. Your own experience tells you that people—pretty much all of us—are justifiably concerned, from Wall Street to Main Street. While everyone's situation is different, you've likely […]
Keeping the roof over your head when it looks like the sky is falling. A solid plan for healthcare marketing is a fundamental business tool for coping and succeeding in the face of healthcare reform and other changes. Competition has increased ...the roll-up trend created more groups...and economic pressures push down on reimbursement and elective […]
Mistakenly, we thought the eleventh month was November. But an idea born over a few beers in Melbourne, Australia in 2003 has designated this as MOVEMBER in the interest of men’s health. It’s now an international healthcare PR effort for cancer awareness, and something hospitals and healthcare public relations efforts might want to support. If […]
If you haven’t seen the FDA’s proposed graphic new health warnings for cigarette packages and advertisements, here's your first look. You'll likely see a lot more of them. But BE ADVISED that these graphics are well beyond the current, words-only advisory, and there’s nothing subtle about them. The FDA proposed a total of 36 warning […]
When a compelling offer catches your attention – such as the astoundingly low cost of only a dollar – it’s hard to resist. And when it’s only available for a limited time – in this case for one day only – serious buyers have to act immediately or lose the opportunity. The 1 Dollar-1 Day […]
This qualifies as one of the best short videos for doctors who may be wondering if social media fits their medical practice marketing and advertising plan. It’s a short (3 minute) doctor-to-doctor conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Benabio, a San Diego dermatologist. He talks about why physicians – dermatologists or other medical specialties – would want […]
Did you know that Target Corporation has its own MD Medical Director? And well they should since about $6 billion of Target’s annual revenue comes from healthcare related products and services. The retail giant has made “health and wellness a key pillar of our company,” according to Dr. Josh Riff, medical director for Target Corporation. […]
Please permit this short-but-passionate message of concern about medical practices that SAY they are cutting-edge, yet their websites are crummy. Their claim is simply not credible. It’s a pitfall that medical practice marketing needs to avoid. It’s amazing how often we discover medical practices that have no website at all – or they have a […]
This little saga – based on a true story – is about an ophthalmologist, but we routinely hear the same tale of opportunity lost in nearly every healthcare profession. (Insert if you like: group practice, hospital physician, cardiologist, urologist, rheumatologist, dermatologist, or any–ologist.) The lesson for doctor/physician marketing is that being good – even great […]
A virtual office visit. Consult with the doctor online. Send a brief note. Request or cancel medical appointments, medication refills, or a referral. Physicians and patients in the upstate, Albany NY area are connecting in new ways with the introduction myCareDOT patient portal. Community Care Physicians (CCP) – a multispecialty medical group of 200 providers […]
Last week The Orange County Register carried a great feature article about a Newport Beach family physician’s remarkable second career as a musician. It's titled From Doc Star to Rock Star…Really, and you couldn’t ask for a better example of healthcare public relations – a compelling and well-written PR splash discovered just beyond the doctor’s […]
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. […]
The results of a research study reported in the Journal Neurology suggest that adults who walk six to nine miles each week may benefit from improved memory and brain function in late adulthood. We could see physical activity programs emerge in neurology marketing. The study involved about 300 people in Pittsburgh who tracked their weekly […]
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.
You may be able to fund your marketing plan without spending another dime, simply by slashing waste Good intentions and charitable good deeds are not the same as effective marketing. Giving is good and marketing is business-keep those objectives separate to discover savings that produce results. It was a case of mistaken identity. The catch-all […]
It's safe to think of Doc Gurley as web-and-tech-savvy. She's the only Harvard-trained and Board-certified practicing Internist that we know of who has a website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, blog...and a column at sfgate.com. That's not your every-doc CV, so we thought this was a well-qualified observer who posted an exceptional (and detailed) recap of […]
Since we don’t have a Dancing With the Stars heading, let’s give this creative music video a home in the healthcare public relations & PR category. It’s about hand washing in hospitals, clinics, and similar healthcare locations, with an entertaining and educational message for your internal audiences; physicians, nurses, technicians, etc. The title and description […]
The availability of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) is an open opportunity for differentiation in medical practice marketing and advertising. The good news and the bad news is that almost no one is using EMR, according to a Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll. And patients are in the dark about its availability to them. On the plus side, […]
(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 […]
When it comes to marketing strategies for a practice, one of the most important decisions to make is deciding between external and internal marketing. This according to a recent article, What's on first: internal or external marketing?, authored by Stewart Gandolf, co-founder of Healthcare Success. According to Gandolf, the question is imperative to answer for […]
If this is a trend, we like it. Bringing Skype—or other video chat—into the hospital delivery room is a hospital public relations opportunity that’s likely to win friends and goodwill in the community. The “internet birth” news that caught our attention last week told the story of a baby being born at the Signature Healthcare […]
Here’s a worthwhile idea that we can all get behind. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released its National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy. It’s aimed at making health information and services easier to understand and use. The plan calls for improving the jargon-filled language, dense writing, and complex explanations that […]
It’s my impression that everyone in the nation has at least one mobile phone. But mobile phones are handling more text messages than phone calls. And the folks at The Pew Internet & American Life Project who keep track of such things say that’s correct…for both adults and adolescents. On average, adults make and receive […]
“The Medical groups that perform heart bypass surgery are now being rated alongside cars and toaster ovens in Consumer Reports,” quipped the New York Times article. Personally, a toaster oven seems preferable to cardiothoracic surgery, but anyone who handles group practice marketing will want to watch this idea unfold. It’s seems to be inspiring lively […]
