healthcare

Marketing – it\’s a TEAM effort!

As the saying goes – there is no “I” in TEAM. I wish the word Marketing didn’t have an “I” in it so I could carry the saying over – but I think you know where I’m going here.  You can spell team using the letters in Marketing though! Marketing is a TEAM effort – that is, if you want to have the biggest ROI (Return on Investment).

About the TEAM in MARKETING.  I get some pushback on this, especially if I have a client paying me to handle marketing for them, or if they have an in-house marketing person or group.  Why do the rest of the employees need to be involved – what gives?

In fact – a lot gives. Here’s why.

  1. When you build a culture of inclusion making everyone part of the process and therefore the story, magical things happen.  It creates a powerful place of employment, more importantly, the team not only drinks the proverbial Kook-Ade – but they also share it.  WORD of MOUTH Marketing is powerful.  When employees brag about your brand – what does that say about you?  Ps – A Lot.
  2. You get the REAL STORY. Back to #1.  When you have team members posting work selfies on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter – or FB or Insta Live videos they tend to get far more engagement and will tend to become viral over a standard – hey here’s what we do post.  More importantly, you are getting a behind the scenes look at what makes the company tick aka “The Real Scoop”.
  3. Your buyers don’t want to be sold to. When you get that real behind the scenes story, buyers can see what’s real and then make a decision based on that reality.  Far more powerful than an advertisement telling someone why they should buy from you.
  4. The team includes your customers! We all strive to have brand evangelists, so why not encourage your employees to find those evangelists and engage with them on social.  Salespeople are your ideal target for this since they are often client facing – or perhaps even a service team.  Having an employee and a happy customer in an Instagram Story or in a picture on Twitter is PRICELESS!  You can’t beat that kind of advertising.
  5. Consistency, Authenticity, and Transparency. The holy grail of marketing.  When you have your team involved this becomes far easier.  You will have more engagement, you will see the real behind the scenes story from real people – not actors, not stock photos and not a stagnant social feed or website.

So….that’s why I encourage CEO’s to have a flexible yet monitored social media policy.  Yes, you have to have training and controls especially in compliance driven fields such as healthcare, financial services, and insurance – but trust me, it can be done and done well.

That’s my story, I’m sticking to it.  Go Team is the answer to this one. 100% hands down a winner!

Marketing – it\’s a TEAM effort! Read More »

Marketing – it\’s a TEAM effort!

As the saying goes – there is no “I” in TEAM. I wish the word Marketing didn’t have an “I” in it so I could carry the saying over – but I think you know where I’m going here.  You can spell team using the letters in Marketing though! Marketing is a TEAM effort – that is, if you want to have the biggest ROI (Return on Investment).

About the TEAM in MARKETING.  I get some pushback on this, especially if I have a client paying me to handle marketing for them, or if they have an in-house marketing person or group.  Why do the rest of the employees need to be involved – what gives?

In fact – a lot gives. Here’s why.

  1. When you build a culture of inclusion making everyone part of the process and therefore the story, magical things happen.  It creates a powerful place of employment, more importantly, the team not only drinks the proverbial Kook-Ade – but they also share it.  WORD of MOUTH Marketing is powerful.  When employees brag about your brand – what does that say about you?  Ps – A Lot.
  2. You get the REAL STORY. Back to #1.  When you have team members posting work selfies on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter – or FB or Insta Live videos they tend to get far more engagement and will tend to become viral over a standard – hey here’s what we do post.  More importantly, you are getting a behind the scenes look at what makes the company tick aka “The Real Scoop”.
  3. Your buyers don’t want to be sold to. When you get that real behind the scenes story, buyers can see what’s real and then make a decision based on that reality.  Far more powerful than an advertisement telling someone why they should buy from you.
  4. The team includes your customers! We all strive to have brand evangelists, so why not encourage your employees to find those evangelists and engage with them on social.  Salespeople are your ideal target for this since they are often client facing – or perhaps even a service team.  Having an employee and a happy customer in an Instagram Story or in a picture on Twitter is PRICELESS!  You can’t beat that kind of advertising.
  5. Consistency, Authenticity, and Transparency. The holy grail of marketing.  When you have your team involved this becomes far easier.  You will have more engagement, you will see the real behind the scenes story from real people – not actors, not stock photos and not a stagnant social feed or website.

So….that’s why I encourage CEO’s to have a flexible yet monitored social media policy.  Yes, you have to have training and controls especially in compliance driven fields such as healthcare, financial services, and insurance – but trust me, it can be done and done well.

That’s my story, I’m sticking to it.  Go Team is the answer to this one. 100% hands down a winner!

Marketing – it\’s a TEAM effort! Read More »

Secrets to building your health care practice…

Word of mouth is one of the best ways to organically build your healthcare practice. People are naturally cautious about who they share their medical needs with, and getting recommendations from friends and family helps to build trust.

The problem is, word of mouth has diminishing returns. You can build up a stellar reputation as a health provider, have overwhelmingly positive people who advocate for you, and bring in new patients, but at some point that’s going to tail off. When that happens, you need some other ways to reach out and let others know how awesome you are. Fortunately, we have just the thing…

Here are some tried and tested ways of marketing your healthcare business to bring new patients through the door.

Provide exceptional healthcare advice in a public setting. Some of the medical advice you provide is crucial. It helps potential patients gauge if you’d be the right doctor or healthcare provider for them. Use this to your advantage by providing great advice in a public setting. Attend health fairs and other events, speak at gatherings, and share your knowledge.

This doesn’t just need to be limited to strict medical information — If you have a nutritionist, physical therapist, or other healthcare expert on staff, they can provide advice in related fields and expose you to a whole new audience.

Give 150% when it comes to the customer experience. With so many options today, patients are being quite critical of their patient experience. How can you stand out? Have a comforting and comfortable waiting area with refreshments – it makes a difference! Doctors running late? Ensure you have a way to contact your patients and offer them a reschedule. Busy day of appointments? Make sure your staff doesn’t rush patients through the process but spends time ensuring their questions are answered and their needs are taken care of. Every little touch point matters. Not sure how you are doing – survey your patients and find out! PS – when you have a stellar customer experience it will differentiate you from others – market it as a perk!

Partner with other local businesses. One of the most powerful forms of local marketing is partnering with similar businesses. If you have a local gym, provide a class on exercising safely. If there’s a sports team, get involved with them by giving talks on recovering from sports-related injuries. If your town has large student population, give advice on good nutrition and diet. Involve yourself with retirement communities on medical care in later life.[/cs_text]

Build up a better medical referral network. Healthcare providers thrive on referrals. Network with other medical businesses in your local area and demonstrate your authority and expertise. As your reputation grows, use this to build mutually beneficial relationships with other specialists.

Offer free or low cost physicals, preventative tests, and vaccinations. Prevention is better than cure. Get healthy patients to your practice by providing physicals, preventative tests, flu shots, and other vaccinations for free, or at a significantly discounted rate.

Enhance your online, local SEO marketing. Local search, especially on mobile devices, is one of the main ways people discover your medical practice. Create a great website with useful, practical content. Make sure all of your local search profiles and listings are consolidated and accurate.

Stay on top of your customer reviews. Reviews should be another key part of your marketing strategy. Encourage your patients to review and rate your services, as higher reviewed businesses are better placed in search results.

Use the power of social media Monitor the social media around your brand and business. Interact with people through social media and share genuinely useful information and content. Answer questions to demonstrate your expertise and build trust in your advice and approach.

It’s time to look beyond word of mouth marketing, and here at RBC we’re ideally placed to help you do just that. We understand what healthcare providers need, and we provide awesome marketing and strategy services to help your business thrive.

Secrets to building your health care practice… Read More »

Healthy Technology — How It Helps Healthcare Providers and Customers Thrive

The pace of technological change can leave you breathless, and not because you need to go to the doctor. In fact, as technology makes our lives easier, it’s expanding into every industry — One where it’s having a profound impact is in healthcare.

It’s easy to see why. Faster, better access to medical information, apps that make it easier for a physician to do their job, and giving the patient complete insight into their health is good for everyone. In fact, it’s vital for health providers to start adopting this new technology so they don’t get left behind.

The thing is, it’s all about how technology makes your patients’ lives easier. If you understand and support their healthcare journey through technology, it builds trust with your patients and gives you an edge against your competition.

Getting the skinny on your patients.

It’s vital to have all the latest info on your patients — Medications, lifestyle changes, symptoms, medical history — You name it. Unfortunately, something most of us hate is form filling. That’s why being able to get and record information from your clients electronically makes things much easier.

How the technology helps your patients

  • It’s less frustrating for the customer to provide the information, so they’re happier
  • It’s easy to transfer information between health providers, meaning a complete picture of care.
  • Software can automatically prompt for follow-up questions, so you build a complete picture.
  • You can tend to all your patient’s medical needs, with a holistic approach.

Having healthcare information at your fingertips. Diagnostic tools and information are getting even more portable and user-friendly.

From patient charts and details on a tablet, to wearable diagnostic devices providing real-time data, doctors and patients have access to a wealth of information.

How the technology helps your patients

  • Real time diagnostics means doctors have access to the latest information and can tailor treatment accordingly.
  • Easy access to test results, charts, and treatment plans ensures a complete understanding of patient needs and conditions.
  • This provides a more flexible, reactive, and caring approach to meeting your individual patient’s medical needs.

Sharing all the medical details that matter. It used to be that if you referred someone for an x-ray or other diagnostic test, you’d need to wait for the results to be posted or couriered back to you. With high-speed internet access and software designed to handle the huge amounts of data that medical imaging produces, those waits are becoming a thing of the past.

How the technology helps your patients

  • Find out what’s wrong with your patient much more quickly, resulting in faster, more focused treatments.
  • Easier to share results with other experts so you can get a specialist consult to ensure you’re recommending the right course of action.
  • More confidence from your patient that you have all the details you need to make the right choice for their treatment.

Medical convenience through smartphone apps

It’s not just in person doctor and patient interactions where big changes are happening. There’s a whole host of smartphone apps designed to do everything from reminding a patient to take their meds, to allowing people to remotely consult with a doctor or specialist (telemedicine). These apps are an incredible way to help patients make better decisions and take charge of their health.

How the technology helps your patients

  • They can get an update or text message if a doctor is running late.
  • The convenience of reminders and updates to help them take care of their health needs.
  • Greater access to a wider range of health and medical services.

Stepping into the health portal

Finally, the idea of the patient portal is becoming ever more popular. It’s an online, one stop “body shop” where patients can ask their doctors questions, review test results, book appointments, and get other vital information. It’s the way all practices seem to be going nowadays, and it’s the type of convenience patients love.

How the technology helps your patients

  • They can log in and get updates on their diagnostic tests, treatment and medications.
  • They can easily look up doctor availability and schedule appointments.
  • They can easily ask questions of a doctor.

Of course, with all these technological changes, it’s vital to maintain the human touch. A good bedside manner, a deep understanding of a patient’s needs, and helping them make the best health decisions are vital. A website that shares all your services, gives details on each doctor, and puts your patient’s needs front and center is a great way to show that you care.

Fortunately, with the right technology, that gets even easier.

Healthy Technology — How It Helps Healthcare Providers and Customers Thrive Read More »