Health Care Marketing During Changing Times
Fred J. Tyson PhD
Published by BayResearch & Consulting at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 BayResearch & Consulting
Health Care Marketing During Changing Times
Index
Reasons to Have a Marketing Plan
What Is a Health Care Marketing Plan?
**D--Goals, Strategies and Tactics
Guide to Market Research for Small Practice
How to Define Your Target Audience
Sales & Marketing Strategies
In today’s changing economy people’s priorities in regard to health care are also changing. Consider what the prospective patients want or need the most. Don’t think about what you want to sell, but determine what it is that they want to buy, and then deliver it to them.
In a down economy the last thing you want to do is eliminate you marketing budget, but instead at least keep it consistent. The healthcare entity that stops communicating to the community is totally invisible to people who need its services. The entity feels like it is preserving resources, but it is giving up more in lost revenue and opportunity.
Every dollar wisely invested as a stronger ROI potential when the competition is reducing or stopping all marketing. Take advantage of the competitive vacuum by using this time to grow market share.
Instead of reducing marketing, slash any wasteful spending that has crept in. Take this time to carefully examine where there may be waste or more efficient processes.
Now is a good time to look at new tactics that might not have otherwise been considered. Healthcare professionals tend to be conservative and dismiss good or new ideas without consideration, ideas that could vastly improve profitability of their organization. Remaining open to new ideas is especially important right now.
Since all other healthcare organizations are facing the same economic downturn, it is important to fortify and strengthen all professional relationships. These referral relationships are more important than ever, and better partnerships make a win-win situation.
Refocus on lower risk internal marketing that may have been overlooked. Internal marketing, working with existing patients is low cost, low risk and high ROI. Your best assets are your patient base and it is a solid source of referrals, especially in declining economy.
Begin or increase your marketing in the internet arena. It is getting harder to be found on the internet; therefore just having a web presence is no longer the only answer. Look into Search Engine Optimization, Pay per Click, Cross promotion, Content Utilization, Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
If your healthcare organization is advertising with different media, us the opportunity of the rough economy to negotiate your pricing schedule. This is a time when the media is hungry for new business and they can be much more flexible about rates.
Look for ways to bundle your services that can create a value-laden and compelling package. For example:
*Plastic surgeons are bundling together Liposuction, Botox, and Tummy Tucks into a product they call the “Mommy Makeover.”
*“Executive Physicals” consist of all the normal and necessary test usually spread out or ignored by busy people.
*Cancer centers offering full coverage offering from prevention, testing, treatment, rehab, “Mind, Body, Soul” areas of retreat, education centers, and many other services bundled into one center.
You can test low risk offers by using existing valued customers that are willing to give you honest feedback. Consider how you might use and profit from a trial offer on something in your office or facility. Allowing for a low-risk or introductory trial is appealing to a conservative audience. Make sure you provide above expected value and word of mouth will drive the marketing.
Your marketing message should be much more about the value you provide and less about gimmicks or fluff. People respond to value as a means to get more for their expenses. They are tired of being marketed to, and then discovering the value was not as promised.
Make sure your marketing budget and plan is at least 12 months long, and based on specific objectives and your ROI goals. This plan must be based upon who you are, how you practice, what you are trying to achieve, and your goals. It should be organized by category. Example:
*Internet Marketing
*Internal Marketing
*External Advertising
*Professional Referral Marketing
*Publicity
*Branding
During rough economic times, stopping your marketing plans sacrifices your previous marketing investment. What you have put into building your branding message is lost without continuing it. Patients may think that you and the organization have disappeared because you are silent and market share goes down. A continuing marketing effort maintains your connection with the community, your recognition is brighter on everyone’s radar and it inspires greater confidence.
In rough economic times, buyers are more selective. Individuals will look carefully at purchases, and they might even delay their decision, but they are likely to buy from someone. Healthcare organizations that remain visible communicate trust and patients gain confidence in knowing you will be there for them when they need you.
Prospective patients are looking for strong value in all their purchase decisions. Carefully review and adjust your marketing message to emphasize how you deliver solid value. Communicate high value, not fluff. Prospective patients want reassurance that you understand their needs and deliver effective solutions that directly answers these needs.
Satisfied patients are a great source of referrals, but you have to ask them. Because decision makers are more selective in soft economic times, the referral of another patient carries added weight. It is a simple process that is effective in any economic climate, but it can be easily overlooked when the office is busy.
Many Healthcare organizations revert to “feel good” marketing. Soft marketing is like giving away coffee mugs or sponsoring a little league team. While these actions might feel good and seem safe, they simply do not produce results. Others will just “throw spaghetti at the wall.” They feel they need to do something, but they begin with no plan and no idea of what does or does not work.
The better plan is to stick with your marketing and stay in the game. Obviously the most productive and cost effective marketing opportunity is when there is little or no competition. When other Health Care organizations duck and cover with negative economic news, it opens the playing field for the smart marketers. The competitive vacuum is a rich opening to reach and attract the patients who are still seeking services, to protect your patient base and to build a larger market share.
Focus on strategies that deliver a positive ROI. Narrow your promotional sights from the wide field of all things you do to selectively focus your promotional messages on the professional services that build profits. If money is super tight, it is ok to tread a little carefully at first, but again, do not disappear from the marketplace. Instead, take smart risks and reasonable steps until you find the combination of variables that works. Once you do, turn up your marketing while everyone else sits on the sidelines.
Health Care Marketing 101
The bottom line objective in Health Care marketing is to grow the organization. Often this means attracting more patients, but a well executed marketing plan will achieve more for the providers. Effective and ethical marketing opens the door to benefits for providers to:
*Achieve profitable growth;
*Attract cases that the doctors either enjoy or have special expertise;
*Protect and grow market share against competition;
*Build the professional reputation of the provider with the community and peers
These high-level objectives also translate into answers for challenges and opportunities such as:
*Attracting better paying or more profitable cases;
*Reaching "ideal patents," directly and cost-effectively;
*Changing the mix of patients or types of cases;
*Winning more professional referrals;
*Supporting a new location, provider or technology (or all of these);
*Building volume for an ancillary service;
*Transitioning to a "cash business" or "all-referral" practice;
*Standing out from the crowd in positive ways;
*Answering competitive challenges;
*Finding more personal time and greater professional enjoyment;
*Tastefully building and extending your reputation
Many Doctors and Health Care organizations remain “marketing-shy” more than 30 years after the landmark 1977 Supreme Court case made marketing legal for doctors and other professionals. While the licensing boards deemed marketing to be ethical in the 1980’s, many doctors still feel uncomfortable because they are worried about coming across as “needy, cheesy, or greedy.”
Marketing is an important channel for positive influence in shaping how others think of you. You are telling patients what you do, and reminding them when, how and why to think of you and your organization. Health Care marketing will produce professional results in measurable growth and enhance your reputation in positive ways.
The starting point for Health Care marketing is like a blank canvas. People who do not know you are completely unaware of what you do and have no image of you at all. The professional marketing messages of your organization communicate your credible, impressive, ethical and highly professional image and reputation.
Health Care marketing is a positive tool to inform and influence people toward a better quality of health and life. Unfortunately marketing can deliver a disastrous outcome if you do not know what you are doing or understand how to use it properly and effectively. You will want to do proper homework and then seek out expert guidance prior to embarking upon a new marketing program.
The key steps in reducing risk and achieving success include:
*Learn from the marketing outcomes of other healthcare practices and organizations;
*Create a strategic marketing plan based on strategies and tactics most likely to be successful, including geography, specialty, personalities, strengths and weaknesses, etc.;
*Test whenever possible before committing significant sums of money;
*Track results carefully;
*Roll out the "winning" strategies
Health Care marketing is not an issue of expense or “expensive.” Some highly effective marketing strategies and tactics are low or no cost. Other tactics may require a reasonable investment of some kind. No matter the cost, there should always be a ROI that is positive.
The correct approach to a sound marketing budget is to begin with the end in mind. Clearly define what you intend to achieve in specific and quantifiable numbers. Start with the overall incremental growth objective even if your marketing plan has several segments. Your goals and your budget are two parts of an equation that need to be aligned with each other. The purpose of your 1 month budget is to assign adequate resources to achieve realistic goals, and this goes hand-in-hand with tracking and calculating ROI,
Health Care marketing should not be confused with Medical Practice Management. Medical Practice Management embraces operational matters such as coding, payer selection, accounts receivable, staffing, HIPAA, software, cost cutting, and other issues that are the day-to-day business of the business/practice. Health Care Marketing is about building a positive reputation, getting your phone to ring, getting people to come in for a first appointment and converting them into patients.
Practice Management is largely about the wheels that turn inside the practice.
Health Care Marketing is the planned process of communications that goes on with individuals who, for the most part, are not yet aware of or part of the practice.
Advertising is a small sub-set of marketing, and one that you may not even need.
While marketing and advertising are often mistakenly used interchangeably, marketing is the very broad, overarching heading. Marketing encompasses many variables, oftentimes referred to as the Seven Ps of Marketing. These "Ps" include:
*Product (the services you deliver and needs you fulfill)
*Packaging (how you bundle services)
*Price, Place (physical facility and geography)
*People (you and your staff)
*Positioning (why you)
*Promotion
That final "P" for promotion includes doctor referral marketing, patient referral marketing, publicity (free press), branding (the sum total of experiences the patient has with you), internet marketing, community marketing, case presentation, point of purchase displays and finally advertising. A well-considered marketing plan may or may not include some form of advertising, depending upon objectives, budgets, philosophy, marketplace and many other factors.
The fact is that you DO market your business. Like it or not, call it something else if you like, but virtually everything you do is sending a marketing message
-----"You cannot NOT communicate." Paul Watzlawick---
It may be that an organization does not have a written Marketing Plan, or that it deliberately avoids newspaper or other forms of external advertising. It is a mistake to think that a provider "never markets“, this is more than semantics. Marketing includes;
*The way a business greets and interacts with patients
*The decor and appearance of the office
*The demeanor of the staff in person and on the phone
*Caregiver manner
*What patients are likely to say (or not say) about the business to others
The result of this—intentionally or unintentionally—represents the messages that are communicated about the business. Marketing includes communications, by any means, about a business that encourages the recipients of the communication to respond positively. The question is, "Are you actively controlling your message and therefore reputation and results, or are you simply allowing things to happen by chance?"
Reasons to Have a Marketing Plan
Answer aggressive competition which has emerged in the area
Attract higher paying, elective and/or cash cases
Attract more cases that you enjoy or have special expertise
Be able to hire the right people
Become more profitable
Become recognized as a leader in a specific field or community
Bring cash or ancillary cases into the practice
Build a practice recently joined or purchased
Build the organization's reputation (brand) for positive recognition
Build volume for new technology, equipment, procedures/services
Ethically attract cases that reimburse well
Grow the number of new patients
Increase revenues
Increase the marketing effectiveness
Move the office and/or add another office; assure all locations are successful
Multiply patient referrals
Reach more people to provide service to the community
Rebranding for better differentiation in face of change
Reduce reliance on low paying insurances
Reduce over-reliance on a small number of referral sources
Spend more time as a doctor (not an administrator)
Support new providers, new partners, and new locations
Take more time off for family and/or other interests
Win more doctor (or other professional) referrals
Work smarter not harder
What Is a Health Care Marketing Plan?
A Health Care Provider marketing plan is not just a list of marketing ideas from which the marketing department randomly selects different ideas to test or combine for trial-and-error or experimentation. This concept is just random, “spaghetti on the wall” marketing activity. This technique is almost always a high risk attempt that results in disappointment, failure, frustration, and very expensive.
A marketing plan should be a strategic document that is designed to achieve specific business goals and objectives over a specific time period. Compare not having one to hiring contractors to build a new hospital without first developing and approving blueprints. Without a marketing plan you are engaging in random, reactionary marketing processes without first strategically developing a well thought out plan.
Most marketing plans are conceived to extend no longer than a year before the plan goes through a reassessment for modifications, additions, subtractions or entire evaluation depending on changing business goals. A well designed marketing plan is constantly being assessed by accurate and consistent tracking systems to evaluate the plan’s performance against the goals set down. The continual evaluation is done so that ongoing adjustments can be made to improve the plan’s end results.
A good marketing plan allows you to:
*Anticipate
*Assess progress
*Prepare for volume of patients
*Build a road map to follow
*Cover-Your-Bases
*Construct necessary support systems
*Improve chances of marketing success
Elements of a Marketing Plan
Target Marketing
Competition Analysis
SWOT
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
Goals
Strategies and Tactics
Marketing Budgets
A Target Marketing
The marketing budget of a Health Care provider is going to be more effective when it reaches its selected target market. Efficiency is the benefit of target marketing. Solid target marketing is a method to more efficiently reach you intended audience. Target marketing is a better use of the most valuable resources, time and money, to generate additional revenue.
The goal of targeted marketing is to get to know as much as you can about your existing or prospective customers. The more you know about your customers, the better you will be able to make decisions that will enhance your ability to communicate and influence them.
There are four general ways to identify Target Markets:
Demographics: The age, gender, income, family composition and size, occupation, and education of your customers. Example:
Married
Between the ages of 21-35
At least one child
Home Owner
Educated
Income of $75,000 or higher
Geographics: The location, size of the area, density, and climate zone of your customers. Example:
Lives within the Zip Codes 71223-71556
Psychology: The general personality, behavior, lifestyle, rate of use, repetition of need, benefits sought, and loyalty characteristics of your customers. Example:
Values time and considers it their single most limited resource
Excited about accepting and using innovative ideas and products
Consistent Web users
Prefer the Internet over magazines and newspapers for information they trust
Increasing resources invested into safety and security issues
Beginning to plan for their future
Behaviors: The needs and wants your customers seek to fulfill, the level of knowledge, information sources, attitude, use or response to a product of your customers. Example:
They are leaders in product selection and respond to the opinions of the “industry experts” when making purchase decisions
This group will first look to the Internet to acquire this information
They defend these decisions under most any circumstance and will adamantly “sell” those that ask why they use the product or service and why they made the choice they did
One of the marketing fundamentals is focusing on benefits, this perspective is critical to target marketing. Establishing an intimate understanding about the needs and wants of your desired target market is critical. Questions to ask about your targeted marketing:
*How will your customer benefit from using your services or products?
*What intangible or tangible benefits might customers realize, and is it possible to quantify these benefits?
*What is your customer really buying? (No one wants to buy surgery, or dentistry, physical therapy, or invasive procedures)
People purchase services and products to realize life-improvement benefits: Therefore focus on the Benefits:
*Pain Relief
*Productivity
*Abilities
*Confidence
*Appearance
*Personal Relationships
*Peace of mind
Target marketing allows you reach customers, create awareness in, and ultimately influence the group of people who most likely will select your products and services as a solution to their needs. The more information you have, the more detail you have about your “ideal” clients, the better you will be able to make them aware of your products and services, and how to purchase them through you.
When target marketing consider who will benefit the most from your products and services. Consider the client and their most common characteristics and attributes. Start with looking at your existing customer base. Who are your ideal clients and what do they have in common.
B Competition Analysis
Health Care success is not achieved by ignoring the competition, but rather anticipating competitive issues and influences so you can always have a proactive plan and strategic strategy for staying ahead of the completion. Ways to compile a good research on your competition:
*Simple Google search
*View their website and take note of:
**How they are positioning and differentiating themselves
**List of the scope of programs, services, and products they offer
**Hours of Operation
**Special features and benefits
**Emergency access
*Articles they have authored, media interviews, legal actions, see where they are listed:
*Yellow pages-Size and Placement of Ad
*Physician location sites on Web
*What categories they are listed
*Order they come up using search engines
*Scan and collect competitor advertising from local newspapers, direct mail, TV commercials, radio commercials, billboards and other media
*Search Social Networks like Face Book, Twitter, Blogs, etc.
Keep your ear-to-the-ground. Competitor Research is a very effective way to gain competitive intelligence, especially from those competitors whose marketing is not advertising-based or visible in the media. Have others in your employment act as information gatherers and pass along any information they hear, see, or learn about your competitors. Another great source are those outside your facilities:
*Pharmaceutical reps
*Vendors
*Loyal patients
*Colleagues
*Friends
*Relatives
When you have collected the competitor information, you need to take advantage of what you have learned. Success in business is about anticipation, strategic planning and action.
C SWOT
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Part of your strategic marketing process is a periodic evaluation of your internal and external environment. Because SWOTs are inherently subjective, it is good to get an external SWOT analysis from a well informed but objective third party.
Strengths and Weaknesses are the internal evaluation. Opportunities and Threats comprise the external evaluation. One of the definitions of marketing is that “Marketing is the process by which resources are brought to bear against opportunities and threats.” Therefore to determine which resources you can bring to bear against opportunities and threats (external), you have to understand your strengths and weaknesses (internal).
Strengths are your capabilities and resources that can be used as the core for developing a competitive advantage. Your strengths to evaluate are:
*Your special expertise and/or experience
*You new, innovative product or service
*Location of your business
*Quality processes and procedures
*Any other aspect of your business that adds value to your product or service
Weaknesses include:
*Areas you need to improve and/or avoid
*Can be considered as the absence of certain strengths
*The flip side of one of your strengths
*Lack of marketing expertise, plan or system
*Undifferentiated products or services
*Location of your business
*Poor quality goods or services
*Damaged reputation
Opportunities include:
*A developing market
*A new technology, service or procedure you can offer
*Mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances
*Moving into new market segments that offer improved profits
*A market vacated by an ineffective competitor
*Changes in population profile, social patterns, lifestyle, changes, etc.
D Goals, Strategies and Tactics
Because they have never established Goals, many of today’s health care businesses have failed. Goal*setting which is the blue print for the Market Plan should include:
*Specific, Synergy, Systematic, Significant
*Measurable, Motivational, Meaningful
*Achievable, Action-based, Agreed-upon, Accountable
*Relevant, Realistic, Responsible, Results-Oriented, Rewarding
*Tangible, Thoughtful, Time-Based
Most HealthCare entities seriously establish both short-term and long-term goals.
After you have established your goals, you need to evaluate, prioritize, and organize the specific marketing strategies and tactics that will be best suited to use in pursuing the goals established.
A well designed marketing plan is an example of a “the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts”. In other words, the strategies and tactics work together to complement one another for exponential positive overall results.
To understand the difference between Goals, Strategies, and Tactics, the following differences are important to understand:
*Goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and tangible business objectives. Example:
**Goal: Increase new patient volume by 20% in the next year
*Strategies are the ideas and approaches that are developed to achieve the goals. Example:
**Strategy 1: Improve patient experience to inspire more word-of mouth referrals
**Strategy 2: Leverage relationships with established patients and improved patient experience for more word-of-mouth referrals
**Strategy 3: Develop and test targeted external advertising campaign
*Tactics are the specific actions, details and activities that must occur in order for the strategy to succeed. Example:
**Tactics 1: Institute quarterly customer service training sessions for staff and owners
*Create incentive program for staff based on increased referral volume
*Devote one staff meeting per month to new ideas for improving patient care
**Tactics 2: Develop and institute new patient satisfaction survey leaving space on survey for happy patients to refer others
*Executives, doctors, nurses ask patients for referrals at opportune times
*Staff supports management with additional encouragement to patients to refer when the opportunity presents itself
*Post “Thank You for Referring” bulletin board in reception area with names of patients who have referred others
**Tactics 3: Test new print ad series in local newspaper
*Test direct mail program to new residents using oversized postcard
In a completely implemented marketing plan, all strategies and tactics are implemented comprehensively. Each strategy in your plan should be implemented in the same comprehensive and synergistic manner that it was conceived.
Marketing Budgets
Healthcare entities typically establish budgets for various categories of operational expenses but not always for marketing. Even those who frequently engage in marketing activities and expenditures will often have no pre-established budget for marketing. Unless these entities take advantage of an annual marketing plan, most will determine their marketing expenditures on a case-by-case basis, a process consistent with random marketing activities.
Random financial decisions made out of context of a real strategic marketing plan frequently yield disappointing results. In a marketing plan, a pre-established and committed budget is essential to assuring the plan’s success. In the goals section, “Achievable” and “Realistic” goals are important. How can an entity know that they are achievable and realistic marketing plan if they do not know what budget resources can be committed?
A Healthcare entity can put most of their focus on budgeting for operation cost centers. Cost centers cover the expenses that are required to service and operate the business. But a revenue center refers to departments and/or activities that generate revenue directly into the business. Revenue centers also incur expenses for the specific purpose of stimulating and generating revenue into the business. Marketing plans should be look at not as a cost center, but as a revenue center.
Revenue centers require “fuel” in the form of investment capital in order to stimulate and generate the desired revenue. If not enough fuel is added the marketing plan (revenue) will run out of gas. Because marketing is primarily concerned with generating and protecting sources of revenue, a marketing budget belongs in a revenue center, not a cost center.
If the entity does not have the financial resources or the willingness to commit them to the category of investment in the growth and or protection of existing business, they may need to rethink their goals and possibly establish less ambitious objectives.
Marketing budgets based on month-to-month cash flow cannot be called budgets. Effective marketing is a consistent, ongoing process based on solid systems, good planning and efficient implementation. By using Month-to-month cash flow, an entity cannot maintain consistency in its marketing plan and the results will be seriously compromised. The marketing budget must be taken seriously as a financial commitment to the business success or all marketing efforts will be doomed to failure.
A healthcare entity may not put all of the necessary budget funding set aside when they start, but have to know with confidence that they will have access to those funds as needed to utilize them without having to rely on the hope that cash flow will be continuously positive enough to support the marketing budget without compromise or interruption.
When developing a budget for the marketing plan, there are many different budgetary models that can be considered.
The Objective and Task Budgets is the simplest budgeting method. The budgeter must specify exactly what goals and outcomes are expected. The following steps are followed in designing an “Objective and Task Budget:
*Specify the marketing objective to be achieved
*These goals must be quantifiable and measurable
*Specify the marketing strategies and tactics necessary to achieve the objectives, including quantity and frequency of activity and associated costs
*Evaluate profitability of marketing plan if goals are achieved at the expected costs
*Assuming profitability level is acceptable, assign budget based on anticipated costs associated with strategies and tactics necessary to achieve the goal
*Launch plan, monitoring and tracking closely to adjust strategies and tactics as necessary to achieve, maintain or exceed anticipated profit levels
In a ROI-based Budget, the marketing budget is established based on a ratio of anticipated return*on*investment for the budget and its associated marketing activities. The overall challenge in ROI-Based Budgets comes in identifying a reasonable expectation for return. Most ROI-Based budgets work from a source of quantified data on performance of similar marketing plans or activities in similar situations and circumstances to those of the budgeter. ROI-Based budgets are employed in situations, assuming the data is available, where a marketer wants some level of reassurance that the odds of success are in their favor.
The down side in the ROI-Based budgeting is:
*Limitations on availability of statistically meaningful comparative data
*There is no guarantee that the performance of the new budgeter’s marketing plan will mirror those whose data was used for the ROI modeling
*There are many variables that affect the performance of a marketing plan which are difficult or impossible to measure and compare including personal initiative, attitude, sales skills, focus, etc.
The Percentage Method matches certain activity to the budget. In using this method, the budgeter simply allots a predetermined percentage amount for marketing. That percentage could be of profits, revenues, or sales. The assignment of a percentage is typically subjective, based on advice of financial advisors, experience, “gut feeling” and other factors.
With the Percentage method the marketing budget increases as profits, revenues or sales go up or are expected to go up. The real problem is when sales go down, and marketing needs to be increased to capture the lost sales but just the opposite is budgeted for. The Percentage method does not correspond to goal achievement, even if it worked successfully during a previous period.
The Other questions to ask:
*How do you determine what percentage to assign, is 5% too little, 10% to much?
*What happens to a new product with few sales?
Zero-based Budgets are where entity starts with no predetermined or authorized funds, and each activity must be justified each time a new budget is evaluated. The problem is that the basic concept of the model compromises consistency, which is essential for long term success in marketing. Zero-based budgeting means that each marketing expenditure, even though previously assigned to the plan and marketing budget, is constantly being re-evaluated and re-justified as the money needs to be committed.
Most healthcare entities find it difficult to avoid second guessing their previous commitments due to fear or financial strain of the moment or uncertain circumstances that constantly are present. Therefore previously committed marketing activities and associated funding is withdrawn or reallocated. This interrupts or even destroys the consistency of the marketing effort and the chances for success of the plan as originally designed.
The SWAG Budgeting technique is defined as everything from:
*Super wild ass guess
*Sophisticated wild ass guess
*Scientific wild ass guess
*Silly wild ass guess
SWAG budgets are anything but scientific, but usually are based more on emotional beliefs, perceptions, misperceptions and comfort levels. Rarely to SWAG budgets have any relationship to success in achieving goals.
All-you-can-afford Budgets looks at the funds that remain after all other budgets have been developed, and whatever is left over is spent on marketing. This is usually a model for disappointment and failure of the marketing plan because marketing has already been determined to be of low importance and not a priority.
On-the-fly Budgets are the most common method for assigning marketing costs in most small business’, particularly in private practice healthcare. It is the most consistently unsuccessful. This type of budget is not really a budget at all. Marketing expenditures are determined on a case-by-case basis as marketing opportunities are identified. There is no real plan, no strategy. This is just a reactive, spontaneous type of behavior.
Marketing Without the Risk
HealthCare has grown more competitive, while reimbursement rates of decreased. The HealthCare market is crowded with physician owned hospitals, syndicated hospitals, chain hospitals, specialty hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, immediate care centers, specialty disease centers, physician groups, specialty groups, and an unlimited variety of organizations offering Health Care to the public. The marketing challenges for HealthCare organizations require innovative solutions, but at the same time, regulatory complexity has increased. Marketing risks can be minimized through an understanding of what legal risks are present when marketing HealthCare services and products.
Many Federal and State statutes, regulations, regulatory advisory opinions, and court opinions govern the delivery of HealthCare. Statutes create the framework for what is, and what is not legal. Federal and State agencies draft regulations based on these statutes to enforce the rules. Regulations are designed to clarify any ambiguities. Regulators may then offer written opinions, or the courts may weigh in to clarify ambiguities. In addition to this, many HealthCare associations follow their own ethical marketing codes, which may restrict marketing well beyond the statues and or regulations.
Hospital relationships with referring physicians are strictly regulated. Two federal laws, and a variety of state laws form the backbone of this regulatory framework:
*Federal Anti-Kickback Statute
*Stark (Federal prohibition on physician self referrals)
*HIPAA
These laws only apply where a Federal HealthCare program (such as Medicare, Medicaid, TriCare) is the payer, but because these programs are such a large percentage of patients, and because state laws are generally modeled after the Federal statutes, compliance with Federal laws is considered the benchmark. Any effective marketing campaign must be designed with these laws in mind to avoid civil and criminal penalties.
The Federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits anyone from accepting remuneration in return for referrals. The statute also applies to marketing incentives targeting patients directly. Many marketing efforts that are effective and legal in nearly all other industries are illegal in the HealthCare industry. The OIC recognizes that is some HealthCare cases, marketing is beneficial and has adopted a number of exceptions to the Anti-Kickback Statute. The exceptions explain the exact requirements that must be met, and the OIG has repeatedly shown that failure to meet one requirement completely invalidates the exceptions in total. Before any marketing program is started, it is a must to first obtain legal counsel.
The Stark statute is narrower in focus as it only applies to relationships with referring physicians and therefore, only marketing targeted to physicians or physician owned entities. Stark prohibits a physician referring a patient to an entity with whom the physician has a direct or indirect “financial relationship”, unless the financial relationship falls squarely into a Stark exception.
Hospital marketing efforts that are patient focused will not usually implicate Stark, but those that focus on physicians who are contracted with the hospital can. The most common problem happens when there are joint marketing agreements between physician groups and hospitals. Unless each party fully pays it way, Stark will likely be violated.
Significant regulatory changes occurred with HIPAA. In terms of marketing, protecting patient privacy is of great concern especially with today’s ability to mine data for marketing purposes. Data must be aggregated so that medical information cannot be attached to names and addresses of individual patients. Patient identifiable information cannot be used to send them marketing materials, and organizations must allow patients to opt out of marketing activities tied to their personal information.
HIPPA has its own definition of marketing and communications; Marketing is “to make a communication about a product or service that encourages recipients of the communication to purchase or use the product or service…” and “an arrangement between a covered entity and any other entity whereby the covered entity discloses patient health information to the other entity, in exchange for direct or indirect remuneration, for the other entity or its affiliate to make a communication about its own product or service that encourages recipients of the communication to purchase or use that product or service”
The following types of communications are exempt for the definition of marketing:
*Communications describing a health-related product or service that is offered by the provider or included in its plan of benefits;
*Communications describing the individual’s treatment;
*Communications for case management or care coordination for the individual or directions/recommendations for alternative treatments, providers, or settings of care
Advertising is also governed by the FTC that states:
*Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive
*Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims
*Advertisement cannot be unfair
The ad is deceptive if it contains a statement, or omits information that is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonable under the circumstances. The ad is considered unfair if it causes or is likely to cause substantial consumer injury which a consumer could not reasonably avoid, or it is not outweighed by the benefits to the consumer.
Critical Branding-Building Points
Health Care providers (the sellers) are likely to think in terms of equipment, technical sophistication, hardware, clinical quality, skill level, training, peer reputation. But the patients (the buyers) values service, access, amenities, ease of scheduling, value-added items, products or services.
Effective branding communicates to the tastes, attitudes, and sensibilities of the buyer, not the seller. The wants and needs of the buyer are mainly rooted in results;
*Improved appearance
*Healthy body
*Self-esteem
*Confidence
*Good health
Therefore, think benefits not equipment. Identify a value-added edge over the competition. What is highly unique about the Health Care entity that delivers value to the patient over and above whatever else is available in the marketplace? Whichever issue that is chosen to compete upon, it needs to be the one thing that best characterizes the experience, and has to be the centerpiece for everything you do and say about the practice.
Your positioning of your products and services must be unique, therefore you cannot be everything to everyone. The challenge will be to appeal to many, while recognizing that your positioning cannot meet the needs of everyone. Being everything to everyone is not unique.
Once you have created your brand, you should beware of the trap of carrying the message banner for others. Guard your brand zealously within your organization.
Deliver a consistent patient experience across all levels of the organization. People prefer consistent quality to nasty surprises, and a brand is not really a brand if the practice does not deliver a consistent, high quality experience. Just one negative experience can destroy your brand credibility and betray the trust you have worked so hard to build.
Health care branding is an emotional connection between the provider and the people it serves. Staff and employees are the main interaction for making the people-to-provider connection. This includes:
*The first phone call
*The initial visit
*The exam room conversation
*The follow-up
If your staff isn’t buying your branding message, then your patients are not going to get the message or the experience that you have worked so hard to develop. Without their buy in and commitment, your branding will not succeed.
It is very important to train your staff in your branding message. Let all staff members in on the goals and the reasons why it is important to the practice, to the staff, and most important to the patients. Be certain that all staff members understand what the branding message means to the public and look for additional ways for the staff to enhance the branding message. This includes everyone from the janitor, to the receptionist, to every provider seeing patients.
By recognizing and reward positive behaviors of staff, you communicate a positive and helpful experience of the patient is an important for of the branding message. Look for ways to grow the staff’s talent that demonstrates the right attitudes. In addition, hiring and retaining the right staff will help inspire a positive environment. But most of all, the leadership must lead by example and encourage everyone to lead others in the positive branding process.
Outward appearance can be just as important as your staff’s skills and services. The appearance of the staff, the facilities, and the service areas can go far to portray a positive brand.
Like your staff, your facility is a very important component of your branding. When patients go through your entrance for the first time, they get an immediate message about your physical environment. If the facilities sends a negative message, your branding message has failed to differentiate, and the patient may not want to stay or return.
An organization that wants to communicate an up-scale branding message it may be sending the wrong message if the address is wrong. Choose the location with brand marketing considerations in mind.
Long before the patient has a chance to see your interior, they will see and make judgments about the exterior of the facility. In selecting a location that’s consistent with your branding message, appreciate exactly what the patient will see before they step in.
The new patient sees everything for the first time, but unless you deliberately work at a fresh perspective, you may fall victim to not seeing what they are looking at. Because you are there every day, after a period of time, you can stop responding to what the surroundings really are like. Example, if you see a worn sofa every day, you may no longer pay attention to the continual wear and tear.
Make the facility as comfortable as possible:
*Clean
*Quiet
*Private
*Fits the needs of the patients
*Old magazines?
*Advertising?
*Blaring TV?
*Dirty?
*Worn?
Guide to Market Research for Small Practice
To gather the kind of information you need to develop a strategic marketing plan for a small practice, you need to conduct market research on your practice, your competition and your community. You can’t rely on intuition, judgment and experience; your practice needs hard data. Although it will take some time to gather this information, a number of resources are available that can make the process easier for you.
Much of the information you need about the practice can be found by reviewing patient records, surveying staff, and partners. You can find out about your practice and whether it is meeting the needs of your current patients by asking them to fill out a patient survey about the practice. Here are some of the questions you need answered about your practice:
*What is the background and history of your practice?
*Has it been in the current community for a long time?
*What are your practice’s strengths and weaknesses?
*Are there problems with scheduling, cancellations, staff turnover, or reimbursement management?
*Who are your current patients in terms of their age, sex, ethnic origin, type of insurance coverage, chief complaints and where they live?
*What are the services provided by your practice?
*Who needs these services?
*Are these needs changing?
*How is your practice perceived by your patients?
You need to find out who your competitors are and what they have to offer. Check with your county or state medical society and your local hospital to find out how many other family physicians, nurse practitioners and general internists are in your service area, how long they’ve practiced in that location and how many have moved into your area over the past five years. Once you’ve determined who your competitors are, you need to assess them. This information may be a little harder to come by, but you can try to gather as much information as you can by simply asking other physicians, listening to your patients, friends and neighbors when they talk about their physicians and keeping your eye out for competitors’ advertisements. To assess your competition, you need to ask the following questions:
*What are your competitors’ target audiences and niche markets?
*Why do certain patients particularly like or dislike your competitors?
*How are your competitors viewed with the community?
*What marketing activities have your competitors tried?
In addition you need to learn as much as you can about the people in your community. Census Data is available for every state, county, city, zip code, neighborhood, etc.
*How many people live in your service area?
*Is the population expected to grow or shrink?
*What are the demographic characteristics of the population in your area?
*How is your practice perceived in the community?
*Are you known in the community?
*Who are your potential patients?
*Are their wants and needs being met elsewhere in the community?
*If not, how can your practice meet those needs?
How to Define Your Target Audience
HealthCare marketing efforts that attempt to reach anyone anywhere will produce only a wasted budget. Inversely, carefully and precisely identifying the target audience is a critical process in marketing and brand development. You need to know:
*Whom you want to reach
*Where they are located
*What makes them buy
*When to reach them
*How to reach them directly
Picture your target audience as a person, somebody who is or could be real to you. The more specifically you define the target audience, the greater your ability to inspire a positive response.
There are many ways to describe target markets, to start with concentrate on the top four:
*Geography—Where are they and what is the actual territory that you want market share in. Commonly defined by ZIP codes, but can be as small as a square city block, or as large as a country.
*Demographics—What is the target audience’s age, gender, family composition, size, occupation, education, income?
*Psycho-graphics—What is the general personality, behavior and lifestyle, repetition of need, loyalty characteristics, receptive to new ideas and innovative technology?
*Behavior—What are the needs and wants of the patient? What is their level of knowledge, information sources, consumer patterns, response to the product or service?
The more specific you can see your target customer, the more effectively you can build your brand, and you will reach them more efficiently.
Marketing as a Business Tool
In today’s changing Health Care business environment, all HealthCare providers need to think about growth, increasing types of services offered, cross selling of their existing patients, and expanding customer base.
Most Health care providers have made dramatic changes to reduce costs and increase efficiencies, and for them, the “fat” is gone. Since no more cuts can be made, increase in revenue must be achieved with increase in marketing, to increase the number of potential patients receiving their message.
Having a solid marketing plan takes planning and strategic process of analyzing where the Health Care provider is and where they want to be in the future. A solid marketing is not:
*An After-thought
*Nice to Have
*A rainy-day option
*A second priority
A good marketing plan is follows effective and ethical techniques to make it a priority business tool within the Health Care system to deal effectively with change. A good marketing plan will:
*Achieve profitable growth
*Attract cases that practitioners were trained for and enjoy
*Protect and grow market share against competition
*Build the professional reputation of the Health Care system within the community
The Health Care system can have the most ideal “Healthcare Delivery System”, but without marketing, no one will know about it. With no marketing plan, the Health Care system really does not have a business at. Not having a marketing plan is like going on a road trip without a map:
If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there, but you will not know when or if you have arrived
Writing a Press Release
Requirements:
–Printed on Laser Printer only
–Text is Double Spaced
–Leave at least 1” margins all around
–One page
–Don’t use staples
–Written on 8 1/2 “X 11”
–Release date is printed at top of document
–Header with your contact information
Should be:
–Interesting
–Relevant to publications subject matter
–New
–Professional Written
Should not be:
–Self Serving
–Resemble Sales Letters
–Any claims coming from you
Which Editors Should You Send Your Release To?
*Send to editor you believe is most likely to find it of interest to his readers
**Use specific name or if unknown, title
**In cover letter you can request that if the editor does not feel he can use it, feel free to pass it along to appropriate Editor
**If you are not sure of name, address it to Editor-in-Chief
Don’t Overlook the Smaller Outlets
*If your service is just offered in local areas, the smaller outlets can be very beneficial
*The higher the circulation the lower your chances are of being published
*Smaller publications receiver far fewer submission there for your chances are greater
*The smaller publications cater to a particular community; therefore your press release might be of great interest to them
A Personal Touch
*Most news releases are sent in bulk
**They look the same as all news releases
*To be different stick a Post-it note to each release
**“Don’t you agree this would be of interest to your reader”
**“I think you have mentioned a similar service in a previous article”
*You can handwrite on envelope also
*Alter the copy of your cover letter to be personal
Email News Releases
*Sending Email releases are easy and inexpensive and not a good thing
**Editors are deluged with hundreds of Emails and usually don’t sort through them
*If you do send via Email make it stand out from all the rest
**Subject line must get the editor’s attention
**No Hyped-up messages
**Make sure to have attachment in usable format
Quantity and Quality
*Editors receive more news releases than they can handle
**After weeding out the badly written, self serving, or not relevant, he might be left with 20
**If your release is not chosen from the 20 can come done to luck
**The more releases you send, the greater your chances
**Send on a regular basis, once every 3-4 months
Media People like Surveys
*People want to know what other people think
**Begin your press release with survey results that have bearing on your business
**You can ask survey companies for permission to quote their poll results, hire them to conduct on, or do your own
**“A recent Gallup Poll”
**“A recent Survey of females over 65”
**“AMA lists top 10 disease states for young parents”
After Release Thank You Note
*Always send a Thank You Note after a release is published
**You will impress some editors and shock others
**Very few people send them, therefore editor will remember you
**Make sure contact information is included
**Offer to comment on other subjects that you are qualified to comment on
Include Picture with Release
*Your goal is to make the picture so irresistible to the editor that he would publish your press release simply as an excuse to print the picture
**Picture should be unusual, original, unique, attention getter or provocative
**I may be worth your while to consult a professional photographer or an ad agency to help you come up with a concept for a winning picture
Radio and TV Interviews
*Radio and TV stations are always looking for interesting and knowledgeable experts to talk to or profile an industry, ask your opinion on an important news story
*Send them a media flier-a short cover letter that introduces a newsworthy subject on which you are an expert
*You have to anticipate hard questions and be ready to field them
Bylines
*Writing articles about your industry or market implies that you are an expert, and helps you build up credibility and prestige
**One of the best ways to promote yourself and your business, and get fee media exposure
**Start with smaller publications that will be read by your prospective patients and local media
**Include supporting documents with the article when submitting: Diplomas, resumes, press releases, academic essays, interviews, list of published articles, and photograph of yourself
Public Speaking
*One of the best ways to gain exposure for your HealthCare practice while building up your reputation as an expert is through public speaking
**Churches
**Schools
**Associations Seminars
**Business Groups
**Chamber of Commerce
**Service Organizations
**Town Hall Meetings
**Senior Centers
**Disease support groups
Web Marketing
Turn Your Site into an Online Magazine:
*The key in Internet commerce is Information
**It is the first and most important commodity visitors to a Web site look for
**An abundance of free information relevant to the needs of the patients is essential for attracting new patients and keeping them as patient
**On your home page, make sure to list Articles, Patient Stories, Disease information, Treatment, Wellness, Time line for scheduling test and immunizations, etc.
Links should not be underestimated as means of marketing
**Your patients can get to other sites (ones you suggest) via you site
**You can get other sites to link you site in return
**Links to Major HealthCare sites give you more creditability:
***Mayo Clinic, American Society of XXXXX, WebMD, Government sites, specific disease sites, etc.
*If the links you place on other sites fail to send a large enough number of visitors, try using Survey Links
**Ask their opinion about a HealthCare issue you are providing services for
**When they complete they will be transferred to you Web page that thanks them for taking the time to answer the survey
**Direct them to page that talks about what they filled the survey on, and must be interested in
*It is a good idea to include a map of your location with all Web sites, brochures, and correspondence, especially to new or perspective patients
**Add links for directions
*Find ways to include your location on new internet mapping programs:
**Google, Bing, Smart Phone Apps, Directories, etc.
Get Their Names and Address
*Use every non-invasive technique to obtain contact information
*It allows you to send info via E-Mail, and regular Mail that is personal and relevant
*Questionnaires
*Surveys
*Contact forms, Make sure not to abuse or overuse the list
Testimonials
*Include testimonials of satisfied patients
**Thank you notes
**Advice of patients
**Recipes section
**Exercise section
Presented by BayResearch & Consulting
502-320-4264
BayResearch@comcast.net
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