Insights on Healthcare Marketing

As a practice leader, one of your roles is to encourage physicians in your group to develop and nurture positive relationships with referring physicians.

My friend Bob Kodzis, a nationally acclaimed writer, marketer, and president of Flight of Ideas, shared in my recently released book It’s Personal: The Art of Building Your Practice that, “There is no marketing tool or promotion known to man that is more powerful than a good, sincere, and mutually beneficial relationship.”

I wholeheartedly agree. Here are the traits he believes build good relationships:

We’re all busy. It’s become the American way — less time to do more. And this is especially true for women, who typically manage the healthcare decisions for their families, sometimes caring for multi-generations at the same time.

As a result, we demand convenience in everything — shopping, dining, entertainment and yes, health care, too. We want to access quality care that is quick and easy, and gets us back to our busy lives. This includes:

We know patients want it, and some providers are even measured on how well they provide it. But are we delivering it?

Compassion has two core components:

1. An awareness and concern of another’s suffering
2. A desire to alleviate it

Patients want to be comforted, heard, informed, understood, respected, supported and engaged.

So what does compassion look like for you and your team? It can include:

Too often I hear that healthcare today has become corporate, cold and dare I say indifferent. 

Indifference is defined as a lack of interest, concern or sympathy. And it is one of the greatest threats to any business, especially a medical practice. Because when customers feel that you don’t care, they will find someone who does.

Patients too frequently report that they feel like “a number,” that no one cares about them as a person. Indifference.

Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel beautifully said,

A culture of gratitude is contagious. The more you thank others, the more they become thankful as well. Each encounter you have — whether with a patient, colleague, referring physician, member of your staff, vendor or community contact — is an opportunity. 

Be humble. Be honest. Be open. Be aware. 

Who are you thankful for today? Take a few minutes to let them know.

There is a church in town that encourages its members to extend an “extravagant welcome” to everyone who walks through its doors. It is a philosophy that no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, your are welcome there. What began as a simple idea has grown to become the culture, the “brand” if you will of that congregation. And it is working. The church has experienced steady growth in a time when when many churches are watching their membership and attendance decline.

Social media. It’s all around us. 

For many, their Facebook news feed is the first thing they check when they wake up and the last thing they look at before going to bed. It is where they turn for input before making a decision or purchase — from vacations to restaurants to yes, even physicians. 

One post from a super satisfied patient about your practice can spread like wildfire, sparking interest, building awareness, and generating new patient referrals. 

Unfortunately a negative post can also ignite, fanning the flame of negativity as others comment and share, and burning down your reputation.

No one is perfect. Bad days happen. You are running late. Your billing staff makes a mistake. Your office makes a scheduling error.

In medicine today, we’re pushed to achieve efficiency and compliance. And we’ve all been taught that in order to survive in this pressure-cooker environment — both personally and professionally — we need to learn to say, “No,” to prioritize and stay focused. Many of us have gotten quite good at it.

But what would happen if we said, “Yes” a little more often? 

In our quest to meet benchmarks and achieve our goals, saying “No” too often can limit our ability to innovate, to serve, to delight those we are working so hard to serve. And it can squelch the engagement and ideas of those whom we need to listen to most — our patients, staff and referring physicians.

The pressure to perform has never been higher, and the demands on your time and energy continue to increase. We’re all trying to do more with less and do it all faster.

In this rush, it is easy to look for the shortcuts, to check things off the list and make those we serve happy — at least for the moment. 

Marketing guru Seth Godin wrote a great blog post recently that highlights the importance of not sacrificing standards and knowing when to “push back” to stand up for quality and what is right.

If you have a practice Web site, you know about the importance of search engine optimization (SEO). It is a process for generating increased visitors to your site by enhancing performance and ranking on search sites like Google, Yahoo and Bing. So, if someone searches for your name or terms related to your practice, like “family practice physician Springfield,” your site appears at or near the top of the list on that user’s screen. 

Why is this important? Today’s “prosumers” increasingly turn to the Internet first to gather basic information and compare their options. Your online profiles provide the perfect opportunity to ensure you bubble to the top of a search while also showcasing your professional qualifications, experience and reputation.