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Greetings from Park City, UT. I’m taking a vacation for a week to hit the slopes, catch movies at the Sundance Film Festival, relax in the hot tub, and maybe even rub elbows with some of Hollywood celeb’s if I run into any.
I’m fascinated at the increasing number of ways that Sundance and the participating filmmakers market their films here at this year’s Festival. Social media, including Facebook and Twitter, are becoming a bigger part of the mix. Whether a filmmaker is trying to win a competition or get a distributor to buy their film, being part of the Park City “street buzz” is critical if you’re going to stand out from the competition. These same techniques can be used to create “street buzz” for your practice so that your patients can help you spread the word to others they know.
Sundance is making it easier for their audiences to get information on the hundreds of films that are participating this year and spread the word to others about their favorites. This year, mobile tools have brought the Festival to your fingertips. This includes an iPhone app to navigate the live event, Twitter feeds with film alerts and tweets from invited guests, and Facebook SMS to create street buzz (SMS stands for “short message service” which is a chat system integrated into Facebook to talk to your friends who are also online). Sundance has a Facebook fan page with access to video clips, as do many of the films participating in the Festival.
The lesson to be learned here is that every medical and healthcare practice
needs to communicate in the ways that their patients prefer, if they are
going to stand out from their competition and get their patients to spread
the word to others they know so they can become your patients. Electronic
media, including social media will become more and more important. I suggest
you begin by getting the email address from each of your patients and
provide them useful information (such as an eNewsletter or eBrochure) that
they can easily forward to someone they know. Additional strategies include
creating a Facebook fan page for your practice, providing regular tweets to
your patients that follow you through Twitter, doing live webinars that
include videos of your procedures, and archiving those videos on your web
site so your patients (and their friends) can view them at their
convenience.
If you want to create “street buzz” about your practice in your community,
make it easy for your patients to communicate with you and spread the word
by hopping on the social media bandwagon. If you need help or would like
more information about marketing your practice, contact me to assistance. If
you’d like updates from Sundance this week, follow me on Facebook and
Twitter.
Proven Strategies for a Strong, Profitable Practice!
Rich Hachenburg
Founder of Competitive Edge Healthcare Marketing
P.S. Let’s connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo.
The lesson to be learned here is that every medical and healthcare practice
needs to communicate in the ways that their patients prefer, if they are
going to stand out from their competition and get their patients to spread
the word to others they know so they can become your patients. Electronic
media, including social media will become more and more important. I suggest
you begin by getting the email address from each of your patients and
provide them useful information (such as an eNewsletter or eBrochure) that
they can easily forward to someone they know. Additional strategies include
creating a Facebook fan page for your practice, providing regular tweets to
your patients that follow you through Twitter, doing live webinars that
include videos of your procedures, and archiving those videos on your web
site so your patients (and their friends) can view them at their
convenience.
If you want to create "street buzz" about your practice in your community,
make it easy for your patients to communicate with you and spread the word
by hopping on the social media bandwagon. If you need help or would like
more information about marketing your practice, contact me to assistance. If
you'd like updates from Sundance this week, follow me on Facebook and
Twitter.
I’m asked frequently how important Branding is to a healthcare practice. My answer is “it’s critical”. Every potential patient (and referring physician) is asking themselves a critical question that your marketing message has to answer “Why you?”. Branding helps you differentiate your practice from your competition and provides the answer(s) to the question “Why You?”.
I’m also asked what type of marketing is more important, building your brand or getting new patients to come to your office quickly and cost-effectively. This type of marketing is called “direct response” marketing. I believe that both are important factors in the success of your marketing campaign.
Branding is a form of marketing where a consumer (your prospective patient) sees or hears your message through any medium (web site, email, TV, print ad, radio, direct mail, etc.) and hopefully remembers who you are, what you do, and why they should consider you if/when they need or want your services. Most of the time, the action isn’t immediate (i.e. “direct response”).
The marketer has to hope that once the consumer sees/hears the message they remember it. Advertising studies show that the average consumer needs to see a message 5-7 times before it becomes familiar to them. You must hope that the consumer has enough name recognition from your previous marketing that when they do need/want your services, they think of you first and don’t get distracted by your competitors’ marketing messages. This can happen often if the prospect goes to the Yellow Pages or Google and then sees your competition.
In “Direct response marketing”, there is generally a strong message with a compelling offer or “call-to-action”. You’re giving your prospective patient a reason to contact you NOW. You’re directing the consumer where to go next (i.e. “Click here now” or “Call today”) and you’re giving them a reason to do so now. A big benefit to “direct response” is that it’s easier to measure results. You can look at metrics like response rates, open rates, click through rates, and conversion rates. You can directly calculate your ROI (return on investment), which helps you offset any advertising costs from the profits you generate.
Although branding is not as accurate to measure and your efforts can take time, you have to develop your brand to help overall conversions in your direct response marketing. Ideally, your marketing message should answer both these questions: “Why You?” and “Why Now?”. This is why Branding and Direct Response are both extremely important.
If you need help developing a more compelling message to build your brand or you need a better direct response rate to improve your ROI, contact me to assistance.
Proven Strategies for a Strong, Profitable Practice!
Rich Hachenburg
Founder of Competitive Edge Healthcare Marketing
P.S. Let’s connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo.
Happy New Year! If you’ve resolved to take your practice to the next level this year, I suggest that a more effective web site be at the top of your priorities. The web has become the top method for prospective patients to gather information before they make a healthcare decision. Although most practices now have web sites, many of them don’t have what it takes to convince a prospective patient to contact YOU (instead of your competitors).
In addition, most sites don’t make it easy for current patients to continue to do business with you and continually come back to your site for ongoing information they may look for elsewhere. In 2010, you need more than just a web site, you need a web strategy.
Here are 6 things every practice web site should have to maximize effectiveness:
- Why you? & Why Now? : Give prospective patients valuable reasons to contact you and do it right away. First, make sure you communicate what sets you apart from competition. Be sure to build your brand by differentiating your practice from your competitors. Then, provide a strong “call-to-action” by making an offer to provide them with additional information or to contact you to schedule an appointment. Offers such as “The 10 commandments for successful cataract surgery” or “Free cosmetic consultation” are examples of powerful reasons to contact you NOW.
- Patient education library: Content is King. Provide a comprehensive library of content on the conditions you treat and the procedures you provide. If you have comprehensive information, your current patients will look to your web site as the resource for more information. If you don’t have time to write all of this (most practices don’t), then lease the content from a company that has already written this content for your specialty. Contact me for more information on how you can add these libraries to your site.
- New patient forms: Make it easy for new patients to complete their new patient information (intake) forms. If you have an Electronic Medical Records system, provide an interactive form they can complete online and submit directly into your EMR. If you don’t have an EMR, enable them to download the forms to complete before they arrive for their appointment. This will save you time and staff labor costs.
- “Request for appointment” and “Prescription refill” features: Make it easier for patients to contact you by providing features that will allow them to request an appointment and refill a prescription. Doing this online will be more convenient for your patients and save you considerable staff expense and tying up phone lines if patients call for these requests.
- Email capture: Give web site visitors a reason to give you their email address by offering information they feel is valuable. Blogs, “White Papers”, eNewsletters and eBrochures can provide this information and keep you in the forefront of their minds so when they are ready to decide to make an appointment, they think of you first.
- Email to a friend feature: This feature allows them to email a page or other information on your web site directly to a friend they want to see it. This is especially valuable for satisfied patients that want to encourage others they know to come to your practice. Your “raving fans” are more than willing to spread the word and become “ambassadors” of your practice. Make it easy for them to do this.
If you need to upgrade your web site, add any of these suggestions, or if you would like a free web site evaluation of your current site, contact me for assistance. I wish all of you a successful and profitable new year!
Proven Strategies for a Strong, Profitable Practice!
Rich Hachenburg
Founder of Competitive Edge Healthcare Marketing
P.S. Let’s connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo.
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Many people make their New Year’s resolutions this time of year. What will YOU do differently next year? If your practice is not where you want it to be, you may want to make a list of things you’ll do differently to market your practice next year. Remember that you can’t do the same things over and over again, and expect different results. This is certainly true when you’re marketing your practice.
I’ve had the privilege of working with thousands of practices during my healthcare marketing career. I’ve learned that there are a few important things that all successful practices do that make them successful. As you plan your marketing efforts for next year, let me help you by providing a list of similarities that most successful practices have. If you’re not doing these already, they should be on your list of New Year’s resolutions.
- Establish clear and measurable goals – Every successful practice has clear goals and objectives. Determine where you want your practice to be a year from now, as well as in the long-term. Then develop a plan to get there.
- Have a sufficient budget – Successful practices know that they have to spend money in order to make money. The key is establishing the right budget so you don’t spend too much or too little.
- Develop a marketing system – Successful practices have a marketing plan, they implement their plan, and they measure results. If you do this effectively, you can make adjustments to your plan if you need to. “Spaghetti marketing”, which are random, inconsistent marketing activities, simply don’t work.
- Commitment – To be successful, you’ll need to have commitment to marketing your practice. Effective marketing is not done occasionally, it’s done consistently. Peaks and valleys can wreak havoc on your profits. Growing a practice profitably is best done through manageable growth.
- Get support to help you – The most successful practices understand their strengths and their weaknesses. For most doctors, marketing is not their strength. They don’t know what to do or how to do it, nor can they develop the necessary communication tools on their own. If you’ve created your own web site and wondered why it didn’t show up on a Google search for the most common key words, then you need professional help. Hire a professional so you can concentrate on what you do best – treating patients. You wouldn’t go to a graphic designer for surgery, would you?
If you need guidance on how to market your practice effectively or developing professional marketing communications tools so you can present the proper image to stand apart from your competition, contact me for assistance. I wish all of you a successful and profitable new year!
Proven Strategies for a Strong, Profitable Practice!
Rich Hachenburg
Founder of Competitive Edge Healthcare Marketing
P.S. Let’s connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo.
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There's only so much marketing that you can do a shoestring budget.
Happy Holidays! I hope you get all of the presents you want, or at least those that you deserve. If having the perfect practice is on your wish list, unfortunately this is not something any of your friends or relatives can get you for the holidays. So you’d better get busy planning your marketing for next year.
Every practice should have a marketing plan. A written plan is best if you really want to achieve your goals and build that perfect practice. If you’ve never had a written plan, or you want to make sure you’ve considered all of the most important elements, here’s a list of the items every practice owner should consider in their plan.
- Clear goals – Make sure your goals are measurable. Do you want to increase by 10% or 100%? If you want to expand, how many offices would you like to have before the end of next year? If it’s not measurable, you won’t know if you’ve achieved your goals.
- A realistic budget – Every practice needs a realistic budget. There’s only so much marketing that you can do on a shoestring budget. Your budget should be based on your growth goals and what the appropriate percentage of revenue typically budgeted for marketing in your sub-specialty. A plastic surgeon typically needs a higher percentage than a cardiologist.
- Develop systems – Effective marketing is about working smarter, not harder. Therefore, you need systems in place for you and your staff to be as efficient as possible. Have systems for handling inbound telephone inquiries, tracking the sources of your marketing efforts, and the proper call cycle for medical referral marketing, to name a few.
- Don’t ignore your patients – Have a plan to continuously market to existing patients so they know all of the various services you provide. You want your patients to self-refer back for additional services, as well as refer their friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. Marketing to existing patients can be very cost-effective and is typically underutilized.
- Build your brand – Don’t be the best kept secret in your community. Be sure that each and every marketing message you deliver communicates not only what you do, but also what sets you apart from your competition. The most compelling messages are typically the most recognized brands.
If you’d like help developing an effective marketing plan or need guidance on how to make yours more successful, contact me for assistance. I wish all of you the best during the holidays and hope you all build the practice of your dreams.
Proven Strategies for a Strong, Profitable Practice!
Rich Hachenburg
Founder of Competitive Edge Healthcare Marketing
P.S. Let’s connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo.
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There's only so much marketing that you can do a shoestring budget.
It’s been a difficult year for many practices due to the economic challenges. But if you’ve remained profitable this year (and I hope you have), you’re most likely going to have a tax liability early next year. One way to significantly reduce your practice’s income taxes is to invest in any marketing tools your practice will need before the end of the year. ALL marketing expenditures are 100% tax deductable.
If your practice will need any marketing tools (or staff training) next year to implement an effective marketing plan and take your practice to the next level, you should consider investing in those tools now, before the end of the year. Doing so will allow you to deduct those expenses in the current year and reduce your tax liability.
Here is a checklist of important marketing efforts you should consider investing in before the end of the year:
- Staff training – front desk training to handle inbound calls, training staff to cross-market ancillary services & ask for referrals, and Practice Rep training to build your referral base. Take the opportunity to prepare your staff so they’re ready in 2010 to help you take your practice to the next level.
- Web site updates and search engine optimization – if your web site needs updating or needs more exposure through effective SEO.
- Marketing collaterals – if your brochures don’t reflect the professional image you need to build your brand or you need additional tools to market individual service lines or products.
- On-hold message – develop a recorded message for callers to listen to when placed on hold. Studies show that callers will stay on hold longer and be less likely to abandon the call with a professionally recorded on-hold message.
- Marketing resumes – take your CV to the next level with a “marketing resume”. Every doctor or practitioner should have this tool. Include a professional picture that’s warm and inviting, as well as details about the practitioner’s patient care philosophy to create an emotional connection with new patients (and referral sources) before they even meet you.
- eBrochures – set your practice apart from the competition with the latest state-of-the-art communications tool. An eBrochure can easily be emailed or downloaded from your web site.
If you’d like help determining what’s most important for your practice in 2010 or need help creating any communications tools or training your staff, contact me for assistance.
Proven Strategies for a Strong, Profitable Practice!
Rich Hachenburg
Founder of Competitive Edge Healthcare Marketing
P.S. Let’s connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo.
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Most practices make an effort to personally thank their referral sources over the holidays for the patients they’ve referred, and the trust they’ve placed with them in doing so. Oftentimes, a gift is given as token of appreciation. The best time to do this is RIGHT NOW. The closer you wait until Christmas, the least impact you’re going to make with your gesture.
Among the many questions I get this time of year about this effort include:
- Who should I acknowledge among all of my referral sources?
- What should I give them as a gift?
- What about their staff?
- Do I have to deliver this personally or could I ship it?
Here are some important factors to consider when acknowledging and thanking your referral sources:
- Focus on your most important sources. Typically the “80/20 rule” applies, where 80% of your referrals come from the top 20% of your sources. These are considered your “A” sources and they should be made the highest priority. Your “B” sources, those that represent the next 15%, should also be recognized and thanked.
- Providing a gift is appropriate but make sure you are within the parameters of any federal Stark laws and state laws within your licensing guidelines. Set a budget for each gift. Instead of the generic food or fruit basket, try to make the gift as personal as you can. Examples include a round of golf if you know the doctor is a golfer or a gift card to their favorite restaurant.
- Consider acknowledging the staff among your “A” sources also. Staff members can also influence where the patient goes for treatment. For multiple staff members, a food basket for the group can be appropriate.
- Gifts should always be delivered personally, whether it’s by the Practice Rep or the Doctor/Practice owner them self. It’s more personal and it gives you the opportunity to thank them verbally for their trust.
- Do it as shortly after Thanksgiving as possible to make the greatest impact. The closer you wait until Christmas, the more you’re competing with every other gift that practice may receive from vendors, pharmaceutical companies and other practices they refer to. Also, don’t wait until after Christmas. Even if you position it as a New Year’s gift, the thought may be that you didn’t take the time earlier to thank them.
If you’d like more insights on how to manage your professional referral marketing effort, contact me for assistance.
Proven Strategies for a Strong, Profitable Practice!
Rich Hachenburg
Founder of Competitive Edge Healthcare Marketing
P.S. Let’s connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo.
Last week was a very difficult week for me and my family. Our Golden Retriever “Lucky” required surgery to remove a mass on the top of her head that had become infected. Surgery was the only option. The procedure was quick and relatively low risk. But Lucky is almost 14 years old and our biggest concern was putting our elderly dog under general anesthesia.
The surgery was successful and Lucky is doing fine. The interesting part of the story is about the entire experience that we went through with the veterinary surgeon and the staff at the animal hospital. I believe every practice owner can learn a lot from our experience that would help in their practice.
There’s a saying that “people judge what they don’t see based on what they do see”. Everyone within your practice is a reflection of your reputation. If a staff member doesn’t provide great service, then your patient will assume that you won’t either. Even the best doctors can be brought down by a poor staff effort.
When I was referred by Lucky’s vet to this surgeon, I already had sense of trust. Lucky’s vet has known her and cared for her most of her life, so if she trusted this surgeon, then why shouldn’t I trust him too? However, I had to be thorough, so I first did some research online and then called the animal hospital to get some more information.
When I called the hospital, the front desk staff was wonderful. They were upbeat, personable, and took the time to answer all of my questions. I felt very comfortable and decided to bring Lucky in for the initial consultation. When we arrived, the staff was not only welcoming, but also prepared. They had already contacted our vet and gotten Lucky’s file faxed over. The surgeon saw us quickly and spent plenty of time discussing the risks of the procedure and answering all of my questions.
The day before the surgery, a nurse called to make sure we understood exactly what we had to do to prepare Lucky for the surgery the next day. She was thorough, as well as very pleasant and comforting. When we arrived on the day of the surgery, the front desk had all of the paperwork prepared so we quickly got Lucky admitted. The nurse sat down with me and thoroughly explained the timetable for the day, what to expect, and how to care for Lucky that night after the surgery. I felt comfortable and confident that our “daughter” was in the best of hands.
It was certainly a relief to get the call that the surgery was successful and Lucky was fine. When I arrived to pick her up that night, the nurse thoroughly explained her post-op care and the surgeon took plenty of time to answer all of my questions again. The entire experience was outstanding. It would not have happened, however, if it hadn’t been a team effort among all of the staff at the animal hospital. Yes, the surgeon was great, but the staff made the experience really exceptional. I was a “Raving Fan”. It was the type of experience that I’d want every patient to have with each of my clients.
Don’t let YOUR staff bring you down. You could be the best doctor in your area, but if your staff doesn’t deliver a great patient experience, it will be a negative reflection on YOU. If your staff needs customer service training or you’d like to make sure your patients have the best possible experience with your practice, contact me for assistance.
Proven Strategies for a Strong, Profitable Practice!
Rich Hachenburg
Founder of Competitive Edge Healthcare Marketing
P.S. Let’s connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo.
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Practice newsletters can be an effective way to keep your name in the forefront of the minds of your patients and your referral sources, but can they really generate business and give you a good return-on-investment? The answer is YES, they can, but you have to avoid some common pitfalls if they’re going to be cost-effective healthcare marketing efforts.
Newsletters targeting patients and those targeting referral sources are two separate and distinctly different tools with different goals. Both can be effective, but the strategies and the ways you deliver the information to your targets are each different.
First, consider these important success factors for newsletters targeting patients:
- Focus on one topic – The goal of a patient newsletter is to keep your patients informed about your services, products, and treatments. Keep it simple and don’t provide too much information or you’ll dilute the message. Make it interesting enough to tease them to want to get more information.
- Email instead of print – Printed newsletters to patients that are mailed have shown to be less cost-effective than those emailed to patients. That’s because the two biggest costs associated with any direct mail piece are printing and postage. Emailing them to your opt-in list (those that have given you permission to email them) eliminates these two significant costs. Also, it’s easier for your patients to forward these emails to friends and relatives so they generate referrals to your practice. Encourage your patients to forward them to anyone they know who may be interested or in need of your services.
- Include a “call-to-action” – Make sure you don’t just inform your patients about a service, product, or treatment, but give them a reason to contact you now. Offer a reason to get more information, such as a brochure, eBrochure, or even a consultation. Consider offering a discount or an incentive to your existing patients. A newsletter should keep your patients informed, but you’ll need to get a response if you’re going to get a return.
The goal of a newsletter to your medical and dental colleagues is to keep your name in the forefront of the minds of existing and new potential referral sources. Here are some important success factors for newsletters targeting referral sources:
- Call them “Alerts” – Newsletters targeting referral sources are often called “Alerts”, such as “Physician Alerts”, “Dental Alerts”, “Cancer Care Alerts”, etc. Doctors are busy, so you need to give them a reason to take the time to read your “Alert”.
- Build your brand - Unlike patient newsletters, they should NOT have a strong call-to-action. The goal is to keep them informed AND to reinforce why you are the best to provide these treatments to their patients.
- Deliver them the way THEY want you to – Provide written Alerts (faxed, mailed or hand-delivered by your Practice Rep) if that’s the doctor’s preferred method of communication and email if that’s the way they prefer.
- Target the clinical staff – Make sure each provider within the practice receives a copy of your Alert. This includes each individual doctor, as well as nurses, PA’s, and assistants.
If you’d like to learn more about using newsletters in your practice, contact me for assistance.
Proven Strategies for a Strong, Profitable Practice!
Rich Hachenburg
Founder of Competitive Edge Healthcare Marketing
P.S. Let’s connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo.
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One of the most powerful ways to build credibility in your marketing is by using patient testimonials. Most good practices have at least a few “Raving Fans”, if not many of them. Raving Fans are usually patients who’ve not only benefited greatly from your services, but you’ve also exceeded their expectations. They’re willing to tell you (and others) about their extraordinary experience.
You can identify “Raving Fans” easily by using Patient Satisfaction Surveys (read my Nov. 3 blog post for more about using these surveys). Most Raving Fans are willing to provide you testimonials that you can use in many marketing efforts.
Here are a few ways to use testimonials to improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts:
• Create a testimonials page on your web site. Recent surveys show almost half of all consumers use the internet as a key source for informed healthcare decisions.
• Add testimonials to your external advertising, including direct mail, print ads, and TV and radio spots. Personal testimonials make your advertising more emotional. Consumers make emotional buying decisions, including medical and dental decisions.
• Create case studies for medical referral marketing. Specific clinical information is important to physicians reading case studies (diagnosis, treatment, and results), but a testimonial makes it compelling.
• Create a “Wall of Fame” in your reception area. Include a picture of your patient (smiling) and a portion of their written testimonial next to it. Cover an entire wall so new patients see how many Raving Fans you have and don’t question if they’ve come to the right practice.
Make sure you gain WRITTEN testimonials from your patients, receive permission from them to use it, and ask for them to sign the testimonial authorizing you to use it for marketing purposes.
If you need help making your marketing more compelling or building credibility, contact me for assistance.
Proven Strategies for a Strong, Profitable Practice!
Rich Hachenburg
Founder of Competitive Edge Healthcare Marketing
P.S. Let’s connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo.
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