Healthcare Marketing

Healthcare Marketing: Eight Rules for Crisis Management

Healthcare Marketers Can Learn Valuable Lessons from the Penn State Scandal.

Every organization fears it. A crisis of public confidence and perception.   Hopefully as a healthcare marketer, you won’t be faced with a major one.  But most likely, sometime in your career you will.  Maybe more than once.  And during a crisis is no time to be learning on the fly.  It’s much better to first learn from others and then you will be prepared if and when your crisis comes.

Anne Hancock Toomey and Joe Tye wrote an article for Hospital and Health Networks titled “Cardinal Rules for Crisis Response” and examined how Penn State handled their recent crisis.  Though I’m hesitant to criticize how anyone handles a crisis, because it’s so much easier to do so from a rear view mirror than in the middle of the crisis.  Afterwards you can examine results and reactions, which are not available when the crisis is occurring.   But one can certainly look at what happened and why it happened so the same mistakes aren’t repeated.  Based on that hindsight Toomey and Tye offer eight extremely important rules to follow when a crisis occurs.  Here are those rules with abbreviated comments for each:

  • Develop a crisis communication plan. Any organization can fall victim to a public relations crisis, often without warning. Those who have prepared for the possibility and have developed a communication plan beforehand can emerge with an enhanced reputation for integrity.
  • Know when to apologize. The practice of apologizing for medical errors was pioneered by the Lexington VA Medical Center in Kentucky 20 years ago and since has been demonstrated to prevent PR problems and, actually, to reduce malpractice costs. Sincerely apologizing to and, when appropriate, compensating an aggrieved party can save a world of unwanted trouble, expense and exposure.
  • Stay true to your values. Every organization should have a set of values that guide behavior and decision-making. The commitment to integrity should be a guiding beacon at all times — never more so than in a time of crisis.
  • Tell it first. A wait-and-see approach will almost always keep you in a reactive mode. Reluctance to speak first can destroy trust you’ve worked hard to build with the stakeholders who matter to you.
  • Tell it all. Convincing yourself that you can keep a problem secret is dangerous and naive.
  • Tell it yourself. People trust other people, not a faceless institution. Your doctors, employees and patients want to hear from you. Not from a lawyer. Not from a PR person. Not from a nameless statement. In times of crisis, they want to hear from the leaders responsible for addressing the issue
  • Get others to tell it. Internal stakeholders — physicians, employees and even patients — can be strong advocates for an organization if they are informed, inspired and asked to help.
  • Communication doesn’t stop when the crisis has passed. A reputation can be destroyed in one day, but it takes years to rebuild, if it can be salvaged at all. Communication — internally and externally — should be ongoing following a crisis.

A crisis is never good.  But the future of an organization is often not determined by the crisis but by how it’s managed.  If handled properly, a crisis can even enhance a brand.  But for that to be possible, healthcare marketers must learn from the mistakes and successes of others and be prepared.  To do so would be very wise indeed.

Anne Hancock Toomey is a partner with Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock Inc., a health care public affairs firm with offices in Nashville and Chicago. Joe Tye, M.H.A., M.B.A., is the CEO of Values Coach Inc., a health care consulting and training firm in Solon, Iowa. He is also a member of Speakers Express.

Healthcare Marketing: Younger Population Does Read Newspaper – Online

To fully reach the print audience, healthcare marketers must include an online component. Though not as easy as one might think.

Sixty-one percent of adults under 30 who read newspapers read it online.  Compared to just 39% who read a printed version.  Additionally the average income for those who read it online is 20% higher than those who read the printed version.   More astonishing is that adults under 30 who earn more than $100,000 annually are 82% more likely to read digital news content than print.

According to a survey of 5,034 households conducted by Pulse Research, online readers of newspapers are younger, more affluent and better educated.  The survey showed the average age of print readers is 51 compared to digital readers at 44.

Digital readers are 22% more likely to have a college education.  Additionally 48% of the digital readers have children at home compared to 32% of print readers.

While circulation of daily newspapers continues to decline, the print and online audience is substantial and desirable.   To penetrate the younger, more affluent, better-educated audience with print we must adopt an online strategy.

The chief problem with this for healthcare marketers is the options online are not nearly as attractive as those provided by newspaper print versions.  Traditional print offers good real estate, which can create impact and allow a brand to develop and tell a story.  Online options provide very little more than name recognition and a brand statement.  Until newspapers decide to offer significant space in their online content, newspaper advertising will continue to be less and less attractive.

Many marketers are shifting money away from newspapers because a significant portion of their audience is going online for the content, but offer limited advertising options for digital marketing.  Newspapers will have to address this issue as they provide little more than billboard advertising but with a much smaller reach and frequency.

 

 

 

 

 

Healthcare Marketing: 20% of Time Spent Online is with Social Networks

Social media sites reach 82% of the online population and Facebook reaches over ½ of the world’s population.

Social media continues to show amazing growth.  In “It’s A Social World”, ComScore has issued a report concerning the growth and impact of social media.  Without a doubt social media has become the most popular online activity.  In 2007 social media represented only 6% of online activity but that has now increased to 20%. Over 1.2 billion people globally use social media sites.

The report verified that women spend more than 30% more time online than men.  Social networking is no longer a young person’s activity as the participation now spans all age groups.   And Facebook now reaches 55 billion people, which is more than half of the world’s population.   Despite the hype for mobile access and marketing, it still captures just a fraction of the fixed-line connection.

The study just proves again the impact of social media.  The extensiveness of social networking.  But it does not answer, for healthcare marketers, the question of how to take full advantage of this massive audience.  Savvy healthcare marketers have experimented with some success.  But there are so many unanswered questions. We continue to learn and hopefully grow smarter.  But with limited resources and some of the limitations of healthcare marketing, it’s still a learning process.   There is still much to be explored as we attempt new tactics and new ideas.  Stay tuned….there will be much to come.

 

Healthcare Marketing: More Than Ever, Women Are In Charge

Traditional married couple households are no longer the norm.

The typical family, a man married with kids, now represents only 20% of households in America.   The 2010 US Census indicates that households with married couples make up only 48% of households and married with children are only one in five.  In contrast 45 million women are heads of households, which is double the number in 1980.

Women are more in control in American households than ever before.  Women are heads of households and women earn much more money than just a few years ago.   In 37% of married households, the woman makes more money than the man.  In the last 30 years female’s income has risen 59% while men’s income has increased only 4%.  One reason for this increase is only 14% of women had a college degree in 1980 compared to over 30% today.

And also contributing to these numbers of women who are heads of household is that as the population ages, women who live longer than men, will become an even larger majority of all adults.

To hospital marketers, women have always been the primary targeted audience.  With these rapidly changing numbers the importance of targeting women is even greater.   Women are heads of more households, they make more money than ever before and they make healthcare decisions.  Therefore it’s imperative we understand women, what motivates them and how they make healthcare decisions.

It’s also important that as women take on a more active and stronger role in American households we must tailor our healthcare services to meet their needs.  We must deliver healthcare in ways, places and times that fit their needs.  And we must market in mediums that effectively reach this influential market.

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Healthcare Marketing: 10 Steps to Survive a Social Media Blunder

Social media snafus happen.  It’s what you do when they happen that matters.

You read about them almost everyday.  Somebody makes a mistake and posts something that’s inappropriate or is potentially damaging to the brand.  From the Red Cross, Chrysler and Southwest Airlines companies face uncomfortable situations.  Some handle it well and some don’t.  More damaging than the original blunder is when a company doesn’t address the issue or doesn’t handle it well.

Michelle Ponto with News10 in Sacramento  wrote a story quoting Josh Morgan of Edelman Digital  and Lori Bertelli of Augustine Ideas about steps to take to help minimize the damage if you are faced with a social media nightmare.  The steps are very applicable to healthcare marketers who face such critical issues.

1. Before you say anything on social media, take into account everyone who could be in your audience, not just the people you know for sure are in your audience. Remember, not everybody thinks exactly the same way you do.

2. Before you open up any type of social media forum, have a policy in place that lets people know that certain types of speech aren’t going to be tolerated and that the platform is being moderated.

3. If you find yourself getting emotionally involved in something online, take a step back. Don’t let commentators get you riled up as you could end up saying something that you regret.

4. Think about who is doing your social media postings. An intern may be comfortable using Facebook and Twitter, but are they the right person to be representing your brand online? It is easier to teach someone who knows your brand/business about social media than it is to teach someone who only knows social media about your company.

5. Set up multiple administrators on all social media accounts just in case you can’t get in touch with someone when you need to – or they leave the company.

6. Make it easy to do the right thing when you are setting up your policies.

7. Own a mistake and do it quickly. Don’t try to hide from it. It’s not going away.

8. Have a friend or an editor check things out. It might seem funny to you, but it may not be to everyone.

9. Understand that you can’t control social media. Instead, be ready to react and take ownership when something does happen.

10. Don’t be insulting or come off defensive. All it takes is one bad post to create a social media nightmare.

Very sound advice.  Advice that could be very helpful if your hospital or healthcare organization faces social media missteps.

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Hospital Marketing: To QR or Not to QR?

QR Codes are becoming more and more popular but they aren’t appropriate for every use.

QR codes are everywhere.  And aren’t they cool?  They are great at providing additional information and for engaging consumers.  Brands like Starbucks and Lady Gaga are using QR codes very effectively to build loyalty and many retail brands are using QR codes to provide additional product information.

In fact, worldwide usage of QR codes is growing at more than 20% annually and barcode usage in North America is growing at a 42% clip.

But despite this rapid growth and the usefulness of QR codes there are some uses, which make no sense at all.  B.L. Ochman writing for Ad Age  gave some examples of some poor uses of QR codes.

1.   QR codes on billboards, too high ad too far away to get a clear scan.

2.   QR codes in subways and places where there is no cellphone reception.

3.   Barcodes in TV spots when by the time you can grab your phone and find the scanner the spot is over.

4.   QR codes with no instructions.  Not everyone knows how to use a QR code. 

5.   Using a proprietary code so you need a specific type of QR reader.  Most people will not bother to download a scanner just to read one particular scan.

There are many other bad uses of QR codes.  Some that don’t make sense at all.  You probably have seen some yourself.

So the point for hospital marketers is that QR codes can be very useful. But it is not something to use just because everyone’s doing it.  Not just because it’s a new fad. Its use should be strategic and it should be easy and useful.   Clear instructions and the benefits of accessing the scan are imperative.

QR codes is a technology that should be used and can be extremely useful in healthcare advertising.  Perhaps in more than any other industry, within the healthcare arena, QR codes can be the mechanism to deliver very valuable information that can’t be delivered in an ad or flyer or poster.

Do we use QR codes in hospital advertising?  Of course!  But make sure it makes sense and delivers a true benefit to the user.  Not just because it’s cool.

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Healthcare Marketing: Steve Jobs a Traditionalist?

 Jobs was an innovator but when it came to advertising he was extremely traditional.

As we mourn the death of Steve Jobs, there is much being written about him.  He was a visionary.  He was brilliant.  He was a genius.  He understood people.  And he had a keen understanding and sense of marketing.

Steve Jobs taught us about digital and how it can effect, impact and change our lives.  Jobs was on the forefront of technology.  He was always one step ahead.  Maybe more.

So isn’t it ironic that this visionary who understood how to communicate and connect with people was a huge traditionalist when it came to his approach to advertising?  Look at Apple’s media buying.  With a budget of $420 million in 2010, over 90% was spent in traditional advertising. Television, newspaper, magazines, circulars and outdoor made up the majority of Apple’s media expenditures.   Apple in fact, was in the top 10 in the nation for expenditures in outdoor.  Less than 10% of their advertising was digital.  And what little digital advertising Apple utilized, the majority of it was an extension of their television campaigns.

And equally as ironic, is the man who understood and connected with the consumer had almost no presence on Twitter and Facebook.  Apple only recently established a YouTube channel but has comments turned off.

So what does this say to healthcare marketers?  The principle thing is obvious, traditional media is not dead.  In fact, to build a strong brand traditional can be extremely effective.  This is not to say digital advertising or social media efforts are useless.  But it is to say traditional advertising methods are still workhorses.

Steve Jobs taught us that success consists of simplicity, clarity and a big idea.  Sounds old school doesn’t it?  But the genius of our generation used old school to change our lives and our culture.    When it came to advertising, the man who taught is to go digital went very traditional.

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Healthcare Marketing: 5 Ways to Improve Your Hospital’s Brand

Your hospital will live or die by its brand.  What can help make your brand stronger?  Here are five tips to improve your hospital’s brand.

Here are excerpts from an article from Becker’s Hospital Review by Lindsey Dunn after interviewing Steve Rivkin, founder, Rivkin & Associates, a healthcare branding and communications consultancy, and co-author of Repositioning: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change and Crisis (McGraw-Hill, 2010).

1. Think of your brand as a promise. A hospital’s brand is a promise of what the consumer should expect and how the hospital will perform.  Think about a brand in the same way as a person’s reputation. You earn a good reputation by doing the right thing, doing it well, and doing it consistently. And just like a reputation, a brand is a living entity — it evolves, and it is enriched or undermined by your actions.

2. Understand your strengths, weaknesses. Any hospital’s branding efforts should begin with an understanding of its market share, strengths, weaknesses and consumers’ perception and beliefs about its services. Consumer research should ask community members what they think is important when choosing a hospital, how the hospital is perceived and how it compares to competing facilities.  This research will reveal if the hospital is preferred, and if it isn’t preferred, will give some indication of why it’s not preferred.

Mr. Rivkin notes that consumer perceptions don’t always match reality, but it’s perceptions that influence volume.
It’s action first, communications second.  Eighty-five percent of changing a perception is what you actually do, and only 15 percent is what you say about it.

3. Differentiate. After identifying areas of strength and improvement, hospitals should determine what differentiates it from competitors and whether that point of differentiation is important to consumers. Potential differentiators include:

•    The patient experience— for instance, best customer service/patient satisfaction scores in the market;
•    Centers of excellence for specific service lines;
•    Heritage/history in a community;
•    Highest rated physicians;
•    Industry awards received (top hospital lists, Magnet status, etc.);
•    Newest technology/cutting-edge procedures; and
•    Widest range of services in market area.

4. “Sell” the brand to employees first. After determining how a hospital will position itself, hospital leaders should sell that identity or brand first to its employees. “Your workforce is a critical part of a branding program. Everything starts with your own people. Don’t expect to persuade the folks outside about much of anything, unless the people inside believe it first.”

5. Market the brand and connect it to the bottom line. After gaining buy-in from employees, hospitals should take their branding messages to the public through public relations efforts, advertising, direct marketing and other methods. Hospital marketers should be careful to quantify the results of all efforts.  Measuring return on investment will direct hospitals toward the most effective marketing tactics.

Your brand is one of your hospital’s most valuable assets.  Great attention should be given to its care. The stronger the brand the more successful your hospital will be.

 

 

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Healthcare Marketing: The Emergence of Cross Cultural Marketing

A current trend for brands is to communicate a singular message across several demographic and cultural audiences instead of communicating different messages to different social cultures and demographics.    

For years, marketers have watched as America has become more and more culturally diverse.  In response to this diversity, brands have looked at different demos and cultures and developed somewhat different marketing strategies for each.  But as a result of the 2010 census, a new trend is being discussed and is emerging.  It is being called cross-cultural marketing, aimed at a general market that is more of a mosaic than a melting pot.

Stuart Elliot, writing for the New York Times states that “cross cultural marketing is aimed at appealing across demographic groups to appeal to consumer similarities rather than differences.  By contrast, traditional multicultural marketing is directed at specific demographic groups like Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans, women, etc.”

For quite some time now marketers have grouped audiences into segments, which emphasized their differences.    But now researchers and marketers are looking more to being cross-cultural and emphasizing those things the groups have in common.   Advertisers no longer want different messages segmented and targeted to different audiences but fewer messages or maybe even one primary message that seek to appeal to the common traits among differing groups.   It’s more of a mashup of cultures.

This has probably been the primary approach most healthcare marketers have always taken.  Because there is a universal need for the products and services we provide, it’s easier for us to take a cross-cultural approach to marketing.  But we have sometimes segmented markets and tailored our message specifically to these separate markets.  It makes sense to seek those commonalities and similarities across various cultures and communicate a singular message.   It certainly will make our brand stronger.   

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Healthcare Advertising: Consumers Internet Time Now Equals TV Time

Overall, adults spend as much time on the internet as they do watching TV while younger adults spend more time on the web than TV. 

For the first time, the amount of time adults spend on the internet and spend watching TV is equal  –  13 hours each per week.  Forrester recently conducted the survey and published the results.  Brian Morrissey reported in Adweek that research has already indicated younger adults (18-30) already spend more time on the web than watching TV and now it’s true of 31-44 year olds too.

The losers in the survey were radio (down 15%), magazines (down 18%) and newspapers (down 26%). Continuing the trend of the last few years.

So for healthcare marketers, that begs the question if an equal amount of your advertising budget should be allotted to the web as to TV.  Some argue the percentages of ad spend are way out of line and marketers are hanging on to better known traditional media way too much.  And there is a tremendous opportunity for those who align their budgets to actual consumer habits.

Others argue in contrast, that television is still the most effective way to build and sustain a brand and that web advertising does not have the impact of television.

As Morrissey stated, one important factor to remember is that over a third of the hours consumers spend on the web are work related while practically all the time watching TV is for leisure and entertainment.

It is obviously true that adults are spending more time on the web and that time is now equal to the time they spend watching TV.  But I’m not sure it’s time yet to spend as much of our scarce budget on web advertising as television.  Television continues to prove that it is extremely effective building a brand.   And when people watch TV they are truly engaged – and actually watching TV.  But while they are on the internet, they are often at work or may be searching for specific information with restricts their attention to web advertising.  They are more often “on a mission” when they are on the internet than when they are watching TV and thus less likely to notice ads.  Sure, one can rightfully argue that people can leave the room or tune out the TV when there are breaks in programming.  But research indicates that happens much less often than assumed.

For healthcare marketers, it’s important we take advantage of the opportunities available on the web.  And as consumers spend more time on the web, it becomes even more important.  It also seems logical to take some of the budget from mediums that are declining in audience share to accomplish this.  But the time spent watching television has remained stable over the past 5 years and therefore it remains an extremely viable media option.

It’s an argument that will continue and healthcare marketers will continue to experiment to determine the media mix that is most effective.

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