Insights on Healthcare Marketing

We’re all familiar with the traditional physician bio – medical school, internship, residency and fellowship.  Some are written in prose, some the usual CV format. Either way, the problem is that even with stellar credentials and training, they all start to look the same.  It used to be completing a fellowship made you stand out.  Now it is the standard.  Your potential patients and referring physicians really want to know who you are and what makes you different.  So tell them.  Share your story.  Why did you go into medicine?  Why did you choose your specialty?  What do you enjoy most about it?  What inspires you?  What do you do outside of work that is interesting? How do you give back to the community?

What do your practice pictures and head shots say about you?  Current and cutting-edge  or outdated and old fashioned?  Amateur or professional?  Take the time to update your photos every few years, and hire a professional photographer to do so.  Once again, this may seem like a low priority item or unnecessary expense given all of the pressing needs on your current “to-do” list, but like your office décor, your photos are a part of your brand and convey a message.  Make sure yours communicate the right message. And once you have new photos, be sure to use them.  Update your Web site and any printed marketing materials.  In many cases, these photos are your “first impression” with patients or referral sources.  Make it a good one.

1. Incorporate art.  It doesn’t have to be expensive or even original.  Just choose items that will surround your patients with beauty or nature to help them mentally escape their worries and medical concerns – at least temporarily.  One physician I worked with was an amateur photographer and decorated his patient rooms with bright, lively photos he had taken on his various travels.  Not only did this help to enhance the warmth of his exam rooms, it really added a personal touch and forged conversation and connections as patients often asked about the photos. 2. Use color.  Nothing is more sterile or boring than a white wall.  Choose colors that are warm and inviting. 3.

When we’re worried, stressed and don’t feel well, we all yearn for the comforts of home.    Unfortunately, for too long, medical practices and institutions have ignored this basic need.  In recent years, there has been a ton of research on creating “healing environments,” and I’m happy to see that this is starting to trickle down to medical practices as well, causing a shift in the approach to medical office décor. It is becoming much more patient centric as it should. So what does décor’ have to do with marketing?  Everything!!! Your décor and the impression and feelings it gives your patients when they walk in your doors is all a part of their experience and thus, your brand.

Behind every great physician is a motivated, appreciated and empowered staff. Noted marketing guru and change-agent Seth Godin calls them “Linchpins” (which is also the title of his latest book if you are looking for a good read).  Here are a few tips on keeping your team in tip-top shape. 

Here are six things referring physicians want: 1. To feel as if they’re part of the team.  Report to them promptly and send their patients back to them. 2. To be kept informed.  Send a thorough response – a detailed, diagnostic report – for every referral.  Include an executive summary at the beginning of the report. 3. To be able to reach you.  Be available to referring doctors.  Have a dedicated phone line for them and set aside a specific time each day to return calls.  When appropriate, provide them your cell phone number as well. 4. To get their patients in to see you in a prompt manner.  Schedule referred patients as quickly as possible.  Set aside a block of time in your schedule each day for these referred patients – and let referrers know about it. 5.

While the ideas listed below are nothing new, in our time-crunched world, they too often go ignored.  

1. Build a Web site that represents your practice in a patient-useful manner. 

If you don’t know where you’re going, you won’t know how to get there.  Sounds simple enough, but all too often, I have seen healthcare organizations journey into marketing without their map:  a well-thought-out strategic plan. 

Just like you would never walk into a job interview without researching your prospective employer or perform a surgery without reviewing the chart, don’t jump into healthcare marketing without first doing a little homework. Find out who your target audiences are, what they want and how they perceive your practice.   Look Inside.

1. Evaluate your own data.  Who are your patients?  Where do they live?  How did they hear about you?  Who is referring to you most/least?  What are their specialties?  Where are they located?
2. Survey your patients and referral sources to determine what they think about your practice.  What do they like most?  What do they want to see changed?

Look Outside.