reading

IN SEARCH OF GOOD MEDICINE:

Hospital Marketing Strategies to Engage Healthcare Consumers

Published by Black Box Press

Troy, NY

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder.

Distributed by Smith & Jones

For ordering information or special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Smith & Jones at 297 River Street, Troy, NY, 12180, 518-272-2800. Book design and composition by Sara Tack

Hardbound

ISBN: 978-1-4951-1661-2

eISBN: 9781495116636

Printed in the United States of Americas

First Edition 2014

For Harold, Jeannette & Dad

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are many people I have to thank for making this book possible. At the top of the list are my thought leadership compadres at Smith & Jones — Alan Beberwyck, Caitlin Mooney, Chris Havens, Lynn White and Sara Tack. Over the years, we have worked collaboratively to schedule, research, discuss, debate, write, rewrite, visualize and ultimately publish our points of view on marketing healthcare provider organizations. It's a labor of love, and one we take very seriously. This book is, in great part, a product of that collaboration.

I also have to thank a few clients, past and present, who have given my team at Smith & Jones the creative license to rethink the status quo and inspired us to do our very best work. These include Anne Armater, Nancy Arena, Jim Connolly, Susan L. Davis, RN, EdD, Richard Henley, Ron Mullahey, Jennifer Susko, Ken Szydlow, Matt Van Pelt and William Van Slyke. There are also many others, too many to mention, who are in the direct lines of planning and delivering quality care who have had immeasurable impact on the contents of this book.

I'd also like to thank my father-in-law, mother in-law and father. It is through their personal experiences with the healthcare system during the later years of their lives, and those of my family members who advocated for their care, that made writing this book no longer an option.

And finally, I'd like to thank those who have chosen the noble profession of healthcare provider — the doctors, nurses, PAs, technicians, anyone else whose job title ends in "-tioner" or "-gist," and anyone who supports them in their endeavors. You are the present and future of the American healthcare system. May we give you the marketing communications tools you need to be the very best at what you do. It's a big job. If we do our job well, hopefully, you can do yours well, too. I, and many others, are counting on you.

Mark Shipley

PREFACE

My biggest fear is growing old and navigating the American healthcare system. I watched my parents and in-laws go through this process, and it was ugly. Because my mom lives nearby, I act as her healthcare advocate. I did so for my father, too, while he was alive, and it's a daunting experience.

Call me selfish, but if over the remainder of my career I can impact the organizations (and their leadership) that have the commitment and the foresight to improve our healthcare system — in whatever form it may take — I will feel like I've accomplished a central mission in my life.

As an advertising agency principal and brand development consultant, I've helped hospitals, physician practices and healthcare networks define competitive market positions and build brand equity. Over the last 25 years, with a few notable exceptions, the healthcare clients I've worked with came to me at a disadvantage to their stronger competitors. What brought us together was their determination to overcome those disadvantages, and perhaps, even outpace the competition.

By studying these organizations' strengths, weaknesses and unique patient experiences, I've learned valuable lessons about the inherent challenges of the healthcare industry and the opportunities to create positive change. Hospitals and practices in this position must approach their marketing with great ingenuity. Strategy has to be differentiating, ownable, relevant and deliverable. In execution, there's little room (or budget) for waste and error. Every single element of a marketing communications plan should contribute to strengthen your market position and elevate your brand. Measure the results of your marketing, then repeat what's working and fix what's broken.

By writing this book, it is my goal to share my collected experiences with today's innovators and emerging leaders, those who have the potential (and the gumption) to change and improve the healthcare system. I hope to inform and inspire healthcare leaders: Chief Executive Officers, Chief Marketing Officers, and members of the C-Suite who aspire to direct and lead their healthcare organizations. All of these leaders need to understand the new marketing model they will need to employ if they want their organizations to be successful over the long-term.

Can a book about marketing change the world? No, but it can influence the important and sweeping change that's taking place in the healthcare industry. By understanding how healthcare consumers' behaviors have changed, and how marketing communications and brand building can direct the conversation with their constituents, healthcare leaders will be empowered to make far-reaching changes in care delivery — both from the top down and from the bottom up. And perhaps, my experience of growing old in the healthcare system of the future will be less frightening than my parents' experiences.

Mark D. Shipley

MARKSHIPLEY@SMITHANDJONES.COM

LINKEDIN: MARKDSHIPLEY

TWITTER: @MARKDSHIPLEY

WEB: WWW.SMITHANDJONES.COM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE CEO'S ROLE IN HOSPITAL MARKETING

DEFINING A COMPETITIVE POSITION

ALIGNING STAFF WITH THE BRAND

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS

MARKETING TO PHYSICIANS

INBOUND MARKETING

SOCIAL MEDIA

THE MEDIA MIX

STAY VIGILANT

THE FUTURE IS HERE. ARE YOU READY FOR IT?

FURTHER READING

ABOUT MARK D. SHIPLEY

INTRODUCTION

WHY WOULD HEALTHCARE CONSUMERS CHOOSE YOUR BRAND?

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."

— Kurt Vonnegut —

Consumers are in search of good medicine.

Today, people in need of healthcare have more options, more information and more at stake, and this is changing the way they choose care providers. Many healthcare consumers, especially younger people, override their physicians referral and look to brand reputation and patient experience when they make their care decisions. They are actively researching their care alternatives to determine how and where they will spend their care dollars.

This is a new reality for healthcare organizations. Hospitals and physician practices are discovering that it's no longer enough to deliver good quality healthcare to remain competitive. To attract and engage these empowered, self-directed patients, care providers will need to maintain a presence in the channels consumers use to find information. They'll need to communicate a distinguishing competitive position: what makes their organization the best choice for care. And, they'll need to deliver their brand promise by aligning their organization to a shared mission and patient experience.

"One-third of hospitals will close by 2020."

That was the subject of a recent email I received from MedPage Today, a provocative and intelligent blog on breaking medical news hosted by Kevin Pho, MD. This email referred to an article written by David Huell and Jonathan Fleece regarding the changing role of hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Americans connect with a hospital during their most intimate and extraordinary experiences. We are born in hospitals, treated for serious injuries and illness there and, like it or not, we are likely to die in one. Yet, despite a history of "strength and stature in America," assert the authors, the hospital as an institution is in the midst of "massive and disruptive change." There are several significant factors driving this historical shift:

RISING COSTS: Healthcare costs continue to climb, leaving hospitals vulnerable since they are generally the most expensive part of the delivery system. And patients are carrying a greater responsibility for the high costs of healthcare, making them more deliberate with their care dollars.

QUALITY CONTROL: Despite the incredible advances we've made in medical technology, hospital care continues to be relatively poor. Three times as many people die in hospitals from medical errors than die on our highways — 100,000 deaths compared to 34,000. And of those 100,000 deaths, 80,000 are from hospital-acquired infections, which are preventable.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: The average waiting time in a hospital emergency department is four hours. There are not many businesses in America where customers, if offered an alternative, would tolerate this poor level of service.

HEALTHCARE CONSUMERS: Thanks to the Internet, social media and access to information (and misinformation) unparalleled anytime in history, the new breed of patient is better informed, less tolerant, and more likely to seek change. More of us are shopping for and comparing healthcare providers the way we do for other expensive services and products.

As a result of these trends, hospitals will be challenged to compete for market share based on a combination of reputation, quality and cost — just like any other consumer-driven business. Some will fail. Those left standing will enter a new market — the open competitive market — where those who are prepared will rise to the top and those who are not will be forced out of the game. Ultimately, there will be winners and there will be losers.

This book is about the winners.

It's about those of you who 'get it,' those of you who recognize you're going to have to lead your organization into a new market if the hospital or practice is to remain a stable and competitive force. It's about embracing the concept of internal alignment and inspiring your entire organization to deliver on the value promise you are making to your customers: the physicians you support, and the patients and families in your care.

In the new market, you are not 'who you say you are;' you are 'who your customers say you are.'

This book is about true leadership and melding your vision of excellence in healthcare with the needs of the communities you serve. And it's also about presenting expertise, services and philosophy in a manner that helps your organization remain relevant to your consumers.

Will you meet the challenge of competing in the new marketplace?

You can look at the new market in two ways. You can panic (or worse, remain ambivalent) and do nothing, or you can see a tremendous opportunity to challenge the status quo and position your organization as the leader in healthcare for your community – however you define that leadership.

THE CEO'S ROLE IN HOSPITAL MARKETING

EMBRACING YOUR ROLE AS CHIEF BRAND ADVOCATE

"Leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall."

— Stephen Covey —

How one leader's vision changed an organization

A community hospital found itself at a critical crossroads. Closings forced by legislative mandate had left the hospital as the primary caregiver in a small city with two distinct patient bases: a large urban, primarily indigent population, and an equally large suburban, insured population. With a high number of uninsured patients accessing health care through the ER, combined with the hospital's dwindling access to government funding to cover those costs, how was this hospital to remain financially solvent and relevant to both customer segments?