CHPRMS – Take Your Community Hospital to a New Altitude
October 21, 2011
Despite poet John Donne’s insistence that no man is an island, the healthcare marketing world can seem pretty isolated.
Reconnect, recharge and get inspired with fellow healthcare marketers at the Carolinas Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society (CHPRMS) Fall 2011 Conference.
Working off the theme “Changes in Altitude,” this year’s fall CHPRMS conference offers a galvanizing gathering of industry leaders and newcomers alike, set amid the inspiring heights of the mountains surrounding Asheville’s historic Grove Park Inn.
Scheduled for Dec. 7-9, the conference agenda is sure to offer something for everyone with topics that range from the reality of political correctness and planning innovation to how to deftly navigate CEO issues or capitalize on marketing with micro campaigns. Click here for the full conference agenda.
The fall CHPRMS conference is a joint meeting with the Carolinas Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development. So, in a word, it offers more bang for your buck with an even larger knowledge base and expanded networking opportunities within the industry.
We’ll be at the conference and connecting with all of you along the way to share the educational excitement. Join us! Click here to register >>
Next week we’ll post an exclusive podcast with CHPRMS President Margaret Gregory, senior director of marketing and public relations at Piedmont Medical Center. She’ll address the inspiration behind this year’s fall conference, what attendees can look forward to and why such a gathering is so critical to the industry today.
Don’t miss out! Register today and subscribe to Creative Triage for conference updates!
Branding Your Community Hospital’s Campaigns
October 14, 2011
Branding a campaign means more than just creating a logo. “Branding” encompasses the overall personality, look and attributes associated with your campaign. Learn about one community hospital’s branding successes that increased its neighbors’ awareness for quality healthcare right in their own “backyard.”
In today’s ever-developing, busy and media-rich world, it’s easy to get lost to consumers, especially when you’re up against a large neighboring hospital. But with a little extra effort, you can create a brand for your community hospital’s campaign to bring it more legitimacy and recognition.
Rowan Regional Medical Center (RRMC) of Salisbury, NC, recently launched two campaigns with distinctive and effective branding efforts. I was proud of my firm for helping RRMC establish recognizable faces for its campaigns.
Maternity Campaign:
To market its modern facilities and maternity center, RRMC launched a maternity campaign, complete with a branded style that was implemented on both the web and in print:
- ABZ Design developed a microsite for the Family Maternity Center. The site features videos of physicians, nurses and patients raving about the Center’s personable care.
- The site also acts as a resource for potential mothers and patients, providing information about maternity classes and pregnancy.
- The maternity branding was also utilized in print brochures and ads.
- Check out the videos and the campaign images!
75th Anniversary:
To celebrate its 75th anniversary, RRMC sought to involve the community in a big celebration. The ongoing theme of “CommYOUnity” was reiterated through a variety of advertising and merchandise.
- ABZ Design developed an iconic “75th balloon” which was coupled with “CommYOUnity” for the campaign’s branding efforts.
- From web ads and billboards to elevator wraps, light pole banners, T-shirts and stickers, this campaign’s widespread marketing efforts made it recognizable in the community.
- Check out the campaign with its variety of marketing products!
What Can You Do? Some Tips for Branding Your Campaign:
- Focus on three or four identifiable traits. Identify three or four traits that stand out about your brand, or in this case, your campaign, and then build your campaign’s platform around these traits for a more cohesive representation. What differentiates your services or programs from those of competitors? Read more tips about identifying your community hospital’s strengths and weaknesses in this article from Becker’s Hospital Review.
- Appeal to your audience. Tailor the look and feel of your campaign to your audience. Is it a somber cancer campaign? Is it an energetic pediatrics campaign? Is it an elderly services campaign? Every aspect – from the look and feel to your marketing strategies – should align with your intended audience.
- Stay up with the times. In order to maintain a competitive edge, your community hospital needs to be up-to-date with marketing technologies. The rise of Smartphones is rapidly making it essential to promote your campaign in a Smartphone-friendly fashion on the web, while QR codes are adding an interactive element and depth to traditional print design. Read more about hospital branding and technology in this article.
Advantages of CMS Physician Websites for Community Hospitals
October 11, 2011
Content management system (CMS) websites offer your physicians the ideal solution for a branded website with the added ability to manage the site’s content.
What is a CMS? A content management system uses software and a database to manage and organize website content. Sites may be developed from scratch or built from a variety of available templates and then customized. The greatest benefit is the software’s user-friendly interface, which allows content to be easily added and edited without learning HTML or other coding languages.
Why should you use a CMS?
- No technical expertise is required. Individuals with average knowledge of word processing can add content, videos, photos, pages and links directly into the professionally designed CMS template.
- It is ideal for a collaborative environment. Users may simultaneously add or edit content simply by logging in to the “backend” of the website, where the content is stored. A CMS is optimal for a hospital or large practice where multiple people will be assisting in the upload of content.
- Better ranking on SEO. Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the process of improving your site’s visibility on the web by optimizing it for search engines. Most CMS have plugins or features to assist with SEO. Updating your site frequently with relevant content will also make it more visible to search engines.
- You can make changes immediately. You can effortlessly update your site with no delay. The moment you publish content to your CMS, it appears on your live website. Keep the community up-to-date on your practice’s awards, press releases, classes, announcements and media content.
- It will save lots of money. A well-designed CMS practice website template can help hospital marketers maintain branding by making it easy to share the template design with affiliated practices, creating a cohesive look. This lowers costs, as modifications can be made without the need of outside vendors or web experts.
- Security. The site administrator can manage what content is editable by other users or approved “authors.” This provides your content more protection from many standard website attacks.
- Social media integration – Your website can be easily linked to social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook, which allows practices to reach a broader audience of patients.
When you use an agency to set up and design your CMS template, you benefit by producing and establishing a branded look for your web presence, which can then be applied to affiliated practices. You will save time and money with the ability to easily add and edit your own content.
Examples of sites created using a CMS:
- Ovarian Cancer National Alliance – This organized and content-rich site was built using WordPress as a CMS. Check out this article on using WordPress to build your hospital website.
- Let’s Get Healthy For You! – This fun and clean design was also done using WordPress as a CMS.
- Baron Therapy – This creative and informative therapy services site was built using Joomla! as a CMS.
- Spine Health – Another content-heavy site, this one was built using Drupal as a CMS.
Practice Website Benefits for Community Hospitals
October 11, 2011
Physician practice websites will increase your community hospital practice’s visibility, build its reputation in the community and give your marketing budget the most value for every dollar spent.
The Internet is an absolutely essential tool for physician practices. I am amazed at how many rural practices that I talk to who have virtually no web presence.
Online Healthcare Empowers Consumers. Your practices need websites to acquire patients in an increasingly tech-savvy world.
In order to build a bridge between healthcare providers and patients, a website must also project the right image to your target audience. The appearance of the practice website and the information it presents greatly impact your visitors’ first impressions of your services. Their initial perceptions are completely in your control. How do you want your practice to be seen to the public? As reliable, modern and informed? As friendly, warm and welcoming? Build your site to reflect your practice.
As healthcare marketers, we talk a lot about mobile and social media campaigns, QR codes and email communication. None of these are effective if we have no coherent destination or website to which we can direct patients.
Developing your practice website is the first and most effective form of communication today!
Essential website content:
- A short description of your practice and specialties
- Physician biographies and certifications
- Personalized facilities and staff photos
- Explanations of procedures and services
- Before-and-after case studies showcasing your skills
- Hospital affiliations
- Office hours, office policies and accepted insurance plans
- Directions and maps to the practice
- Patient education articles
Getting ahead of the competition:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Social media integration
- EMR patient portal
- Physician videos
- Electronic patient forms
- Interactive maps and driving directions
- Patient education videos
Successful Practice Websites:
- Desert Institute for Spine Care – Physician videos, Patient education videos, Patient forms
- Cardiovascular Longevity’s MyEliteHealth – Patient Portal Integration, Patient forms
- Dr. Cooper-Lall – A dentist who understands the power of social media
As a mom and healthcare shopper, I take charge of my family’s health. Healthcare consumers go online for an increasing variety of healthcare information including looking for their doctors.
A website for your practice is more than just a way to “keep up” with your competition – it’s a way to get ahead.
It’s likely that a vast majority of your employees are already using social media, so why not use social media to promote your brand?!
Encourage your employees to talk about your community hospital and its related issues via social platforms, but be sure to follow some important guidelines.
Assess Who’s Using What
First determine what social media outlets are being used:
- MySpace
- Flickr
- Blogs
Ways to Take Action
Target the particularly active social media participants to lead initiatives:
- Write a blog post related to your community hospital. The topics could range from an explanation of a common procedure to a description of the new hospital wing – anything goes! Your patients will feel more connected to your hospital by having the inside scoop.
- Create a LinkedIn group to bring unity and act as a resource. Employees will be professionally linked to one another, making it easy for patients to skim their profiles and view their qualifications.
- Post on Twitter or Facebook about hospital events and happenings or related medical topics. Encourage interaction from the fellow hospital employees as well as patients.
Promote!
The only way for your community hospital’s voice to be heard through social media is if you promote your efforts!
- Feature an employee’s blog post on your community hospital’s web page.
- “Retweet” and repost employee’s comments and notes on Twitter and Facebook.
- Participate in status updates on LinkedIn, and encourage employees to include a link to the hospital’s website on their profiles.
The Dos
- Create a social media policy to set standards for your employees. For a comprehensive list of good practices, check out this article.
- Act respectfully. Be careful to refrain from making offensive remarks about competitor hospitals. Be politically correct. You don’t want obscenities and insults to be associated with your community hospital!
- Always identify yourself! Employees should not pose as patients in order to boost your hospital’s image. They should ALWAYS identify their affiliation with the hospital. This will keep discussions open and honest.
- Monitor your employees’ social media activity. They are representing YOUR hospital! Designate some “social media police” to ensure employees are protecting your hospital’s interest. And be sure they AREN’T doing any of the following.
The Don’ts
- Don’t violate privacy: In a hospital setting, a lot of specific details about medical cases and issues are confidential. Be sure your employees follow HIPAA and other medical standards when engaging in social media.
- Don’t engage in conflicts of interest: Prohibit employees from identifying or referencing business partners or clients without permission. This could result in serious legal ramifications.
- No “astroturfing” — don’t disguise your efforts! This goes along with always openly identifying your affiliation with the hospital. Warn your employees against having hidden personal agendas as they engage the community through social media.
Your repertoire among local physicians greatly dictates your community hospital’s ability to gather a client base. Learn how to tailor your services and marketing campaign to increase your physician referrals.
It may be helpful to dedicate one individual to act as the face of your community hospital when reaching out to other physician practices. A personal relationship is the key to successfully obtaining physician referrals, because physicians will refer to a practice that they trust and respect.
Build A Network
- Assess the physician practices and primary care doctors in your area. Reach out by sending a letter of introduction or inviting the physicians to visit your hospital or attend a seminar.
- Involve your own physicians. Their interest and involvement is crucial to developing a referral strategy. They may have insights into local physicians and practices with whom you can connect.
- Cultivate relationships with existing referrals and potential referrals using the following techniques:
Cost-Effective Marketing
- Establish a presence on the web: Keep your website up-to-date with information for both referring physicians and patients. Ensure your web content is compatible with mobile devices, as recent studies have shown that 80 to 90 percent of doctors have a smartphone.
- Utilize social media: Use sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to keep in frequent contact with patients and physicians. Use “tweets” and “status updates” as a way to briefly but frequently touch base with other physicians. Show your physicians to be both personable with patients and knowledgeable about medicine.
- Email marketing: Send out business-to-business emails systematically and share the latest news about your programs and services.
- Advertising in physician-only networking sites: Register with a physician-only networking site such as Sermo (largest MD-only online community), iMEdExchange or Ozmosis.
- On-site/in-person marketing: Just because almost everything is moving online does not mean you have to abandon traditional marketing techniques. When time permits, have a representative visit local practices and spread the word and reputation of your hospital.
Provide Optimal Customer Service
This post from Rx MD Marketing Solutions suggests how to “make it easy to work with you and your office”:
- Report back quickly to the referring physicians about their patients. Do all that you can to assist them with paperwork or prescriptions related to their patient.
- Refer back to the physicians who have referred you. If you see a patient who needs a primary care doctor or a specialist service that you don’t offer, refer him to a local practice that has referred you.
- Demonstrate good customer service by treating the referring offices with respect. Be prompt with their calls and requests, and consider sending a thank-you note to the physicians who have recommended you.
Community Hospitals: The Importance of Being an Online Resource
February 17, 2011
The Internet has become a primary source for healthcare information. With medical knowledge in such high demand on the Web, community hospitals must promote their brands by being a resource to online consumers.
Recent Findings From The Pew Internet Project
Click here to download the full 2011 report from The Pew Internet & American Life Project.
- 59 percent of the overall U.S. population seeks heath information online.
- Nearly two-thirds of these health seekers were looking for information about a specific disease or medical problem.
- 17 percent of cell phone users have specifically used their phones to look up health or medical information.
- Nearly half of internet users who go online for health information are searching on behalf of someone else.
What This Means for Community Hospital Marketers
- The online public is in need of a credible source for medical information.
- By establishing your hospital as an informed source on the Web, you will gain patient trust.
- The Web will direct a whole new audience of information seekers to your community hospital.
- This online community will only grow, so getting ready now is a must.
Get to Know Your Online Audience
According to The Pew Internet Project, the following demographic groups are more likely to search for healthcare information online:
- Women
- Non-hispanic whites
- Young adults
- Those with higher levels of education
Online Marketing Essentials
- Make sure your hospital’s website is easy to find on search engines, especially Google:
See 5 basic search engine optimization techniques - Send frequent e-mail newsletters of health data and information to your patient lists; include links to more information on the Web.
- If you have lots of health information available in digital form, consider establishing a searchable database for online patients seeking information about medical problems.
Hospitals With a Presence on the Web
- University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinic offers a complete online Health Information Library for online medical seekers. The site features a full index on topics such as symptoms and diseases, surgeries and procedures, nutrition and self care. You can also request an appointment online or browse the hospital staff to find a doctor.
- Presbyterian Healthcare of Charlotte, N.C., also offers an online Health Library with categorized searches for medical animations, interactive health tools and an assortment of health topics in both English and Spanish. Presbyterian also sends out regular e-newsletters on a variety of health topics, which are also available online.
How Community Hospitals Can Help Their Communities
February 9, 2011
Instead of just focusing on patient care within the hospital, engage your community: expand awareness of your brand and services through outreach programs.
Many hospitals have already been making a difference:
“Eat Right, Move More” Program – Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital
- With obesity on the rise, Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital has partnered with Speer Elementary School in Arlington, Texas, to educate its second graders on healthy lifestyles with a new program called “Eat Right, Move More.”
- The program encourages kids to reduce their Body Mass Index by increasing physical activity and monitoring eating habits. In this video clip, one local mother praises the program for introducing fruits and vegetables into her son’s diet, as he has lost 20 pounds in just a couple months.
LiVe Mobile – Healthy Living Application – Intermountain Healthcare
- Intermountain Healthcare — a nonprofit health system based in Salt Lake City, Utah, which includes 23 hospitals and over 780 physicians — has released the free LiVe Mobile App for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
- The application helps you set healthy eating and activity goals and then easily track your progress.
“Hunger in the Community: Ways Hospitals Can Help” – UMass Memorial Health Care
- For this initiative in Boston, Massachusetts, UMass Memorial Health Care and the Boston anti-hunger group, Project Bread, are working with federal, state and local leaders to help connect people who are hungry with existing food programs.
- A few successful hospitals: At UMass Memorial Medical Center, employees help patients apply for food stamps and find local food banks; Boston Medical Center has its own food pantry. Many other hospitals in the area screen patients for hunger and provide emergency food vouchers to local supermarkets for those patients.
What You Can Do
- Hildy Gottlieb lists seven suggestions for what your hospital can do to reach out to the community.
- Gottlieb’s list suggests engaging your community by involving it in community decisions and discussions about community issues and problems.
- Build upon the community’s strengths by creating programs that your community has a vested interest in.
- Work with integrity by acting respectfully as you address issues; this will build patient trust and positively affect your brand awareness.
Share your story — what is your hospital doing to help your community?
Community Hospital Communications Audit Can Increase Revenues
September 26, 2010
By conducting a review and evaluation of your hospital’s and competitor’s marketing materials you can improve, coordinate and deliver more cost-effective materials.
Your community hospital has a heart and soul. Shouldn’t every piece of marketing that reaches a patient’s hands convey the right message?
Your marketing team is aware of the need in consistency in all the internal and external marketing materials. Selling a review of all your hospital’s ads, brochures and websites to the leaders is difficult with today’s budgets.
Create an awareness to leaders that the steps you take to evaluate your brand will assure quality to potential and current patients. This quality is the most valuable asset you have!
Don’t be swayed from evaluating your communication materials because of the time investment or size of your hospital.
Audits can be tailored to need and can be as simple (service line audit in weeks) and complex (over a couple of months for the whole organization) as needed. You can speed up the process by gathering the marketing materials to review and clearly summarizing the hospital’s mission vision and values to your independent auditor.
Compile Your Existing Marketing Materials
- Hospital Logo and Service Line Logos
- Websites
- Social Media Sites
- Brochures
- Fliers
- Data Sheets
- Trade Show Materials
- Internal and External Signage
- Advertisements
- Stationary
- Online and Print Newsletters
After your pile of materials is laid out you may be shocked to see the inconsistencies in your hospital materials. These inconsistent marketing materials give the impression of an unstable hospital, one that’s in flux. The unfortunate result is patients get nervous, your market position is compromised, and mind share is at risk.
Review Your Messaging
Analyzing these communication pieces helps you sell to leadership that your hospital messaging could align better with their strategic priorities and core values. Now you will have the ammunition to sell improving the communication overall.
I always recommend a visual communications audit for all hospitals at the beginning of a hospital/agency relationship and every few years to make sure you don’t drift from your identity. Looking with a fresh and unbiased perspective, across all marketing materials, can unlock the communication roadblocks keeping your community from understanding the value that your hospital brings to its members, patients, families, providers and partners.
Some of the questions that I would ask are:
- Are you adhering to the graphic standards of your hospital brand. (images, logos, font, colors etc. )
- Is there consistency in messaging? Does it follow your brand promise?
- Are your hospital strategies focused and on-target?
- Do all the pieces look like they’re from the same hospital?
- Is your website up-to-date and maintained?
- Have your marketing messages adapted to the current market?
- Does your brand identity reflect the personality of your hospital?
- How do your communications compare with your competition?
For your hospital it is key to communicate either clinical care (product) or providing care (service). Once your audit is complete you will better understand how to deliver a unified voice to educate new patients about new machines, treatments and your unique patient care experience giving your hospital the competitive edge.
Benefits of Your Communication Audit
- Savings - Audits normally uncover items no longer effective
- Impact - Points out areas where small changes produce big results
- Planning – Becoming aware is the first step in deciding where to go in the future
Don’t wait on leadership changes or your leaders to notice the inconsistency in your marketing materials. Audits can be as simple or as extensive as your budget and needs dictate. The results will protect the visual consistency resulting in gained market share and profits.
Additional Communication Audit Resources
- Brand and Marketing Audits—The Forgotten Necessity
- How To Conduct A Brand Audit
- Leadership turnover: Don’t lose sight of market strategy
To effectively combat out-migration, community hospitals must reposition themselves from the inside out.
Your community may know your hospital name and location, but find it difficult to see it as a leading healthcare provider with the same comprehensive services, skilled doctors and specialists as larger hospitals. Refreshing your hospital’s brand and image is a great and effective way to reposition in the changing healthcare economy.
Re-branding Your Hospital Can:
- Provide an opportunity to communicate the shift of higher-quality healthcare services
- Allow you to build service lines and new audiences
- Communicate economies of scale to reduce healthcare costs
- Can help shed a negative reputation, or disguise negative events
- Communicate services through partnerships, including those with a focus on clinical quality
- Leverage positive community image through partnerships with a “high-quality/high-image” provider
- Aid in the recruitment of physicians and specialists
- Update your hospital’s mission, vision and re-engage employees
The starting place for re-branding efforts must begin with employees, your hospital’s best brand ambassadors. The internal input and buy-in must be early enough to ensure that your re-branding message is on target and can remain consistent.
To begin your hospital’s re-branding efforts, these 6 internal, pre-makeover tactics, will be helpful:
- Research the community’s preconceptions on your hospital.
- Test the brand promise. How do employees feel about it? Are they believers?
- Roll out the new campaign internally first. If they have bought into the message, then it can be delivered to patients.
- Give employees time and the tools to internalize the new campaign. The enthusiasm and commitment they see from your employees will help sell the new campaign.
- Once employees own the new campaign, display your new campaign message at your hospital. Employees and patients will be reminded daily of its new image.
- Look for innovative ways to integrate the promise into the daily lives of each employee. Think of efforts such as awards and recognitions, blog and Facebook stories for internal and external communication, and community initiatives that can elevate the campaign even further.
There are numerous benefits of first testing your hospital’s brand campaign internally:
- It is a good way to conduct research on how the community will respond to your new message.
- It can create loyalty and advocacy internally.
- It will help employees buy into the brand promise.
- It can facilitate employees spreading the brand to patients and the community.
Here’s a good example of a community hospital’s re-branding campaign:
Danbury Hospital, a community hospital in Connecticut, recently developed a new brand campaign to convince consumers to look past their old-time preconceptions and see the hospital as a high-care provider. The imagery and campaign theme “A Higher Level of Care” blends patients with high-tech.
Clear and open communications with internal and external audiences provided outstanding results. Research found that ad recall is up 13% from the previous year in all markets, with unaided ad recall up 20% in the primary market.
Care to share your community hospital’s challenges and success through re-branding? Which internal tactics did you find the most helpful?
