But before I dive into that…let me sum up a state-of-the marketing theme in one simple sentence.

We want things and we want them at our convenience.

Read it again. And yes, it does apply to healthcare.

We want things and we want them at our convenience.

Got it? Okay, proceed -

What to focus on for 2012?

1.) Video, video, and more video.  Some healthcare organizations have firmly embraced this while others seems to be lagging a bit behind. So why video now? Our society has become an interactive,  on-demand audience. We want things and we want them now. Video supplies this and connects the viewer personally. Between emails and texts, the element of face time communication has lessened. Video provides a way to non-intrusively interact with a person or a product in a convenient time for the viewer. For example, who wants to read a press release talking about an upcoming event at your hospital? Show them a video of preparing for the event or a preview of what is to come.

2.) Portable, People! This made many marketing lists last year (and the year before that),  but it needs to be reiterated because not everyone is on board. There are 327.6 million mobile devices registered in the United States alone. Make sure your digital marketing is portable. That does not mean that your website looks nice on a smartphone. It means having a mobile version of your website. Patients can find your information easy and the easier the better on a portable device like a smartphone or iPad.

3.) Content, not comedy I am going to go out on a limb and say that most people are getting tired of the comedic marketing messages. If I have to see another glove dance video or variations of that, I think I will lose my lunch. If you need humor to differentiate yourself from the competition, your high quality level of service gets lost in the message. Don’t get me wrong, I think humor is appropriate in certain situations. Just don’t blow your marketing budget on it or make it the focus at the wrong time. Chances are, when a patient is visiting your website, they are looking for health information, not the staff being goofy. Save it for an eNewsletter or an event.

4.) Less apps, more integration (Okay, this one is more of a prediction than a trend) With the explosion of apps out there, it seems that a healthcare app can get lost among the crowd. I would like to see more healthcare organizations partner with existing platforms and have everything in one spot. Bill paying, prescription renewing, test results, appointment scheduling…all in one platform that can integrate into where you spend your time. Less “download this app to do X”, more ways to have activities as part of your dashboard or homepage. Does this exist and I am not aware of it? As Leonardo deVinci (and of course Apple Computers) said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” This is my mantra for the upcoming year and a reminder to keep it simple for your patients.

What other marketing trends do you think we will see for healthcare in 2012?

This past week I noticed the same Facebook post from various friends popping up fast and frantic,  “Help save Nick’s!”

Who is Nick and why does he need saving?

Nick’s is a local pizza joint that has two locations in two different communities near where I live. But Nick’s is not just a place for great ‘za, they are truly dedicated to giving back to the community by participating heavily in community group fundraisers. They even recognize the difficult economy affecting its customers and have specials reflecting the economy.  Nick Sarillo has dedicated employees and treats them like family, even so much that his business model was portrayed in Inc Magazine.

But last week, after Mr. Sarillo sent an email to 16,000 customers, it was the community’s turn to help out Nick’s.

The email read…

“I realize that sending an e-mail like this is risky and unorthodox, but I don’t care because I don’t have anything to fear or hide.  We run our business with totally open books, and the core team that shows up to our weekly fiscal huddles will not be surprised by what I’m writing. I truly care about our team and each guest who has blessed us by choosing to eat at Nick’s instead of any of the many other places available to them.”

“As of the beginning of this week, the hard reality facing us has become glaringly apparent to me. We overbuilt and overspent, and then we didn’t cut fast enough or hard enough when sales started to go downhill. The issue is primarily with our Elgin restaurant, but because we are one company, the failure of Elgin will likely impact Crystal Lake as well, depending on the choices our bank makes. This failure is not the fault of our team members; on the contrary, I am extremely grateful to them for their incredible contributions, including accepting salary cuts, taking on more responsibilities, and volunteering to market us on their own time.  The whole responsibility for our troubles is mine for making the bad decisions that got us into this mess.”

It went on to say, please help us out by eating here in the next month and to tell your family and friends. Well, everyone did just that. The message hit inboxes, Twitter and Facebook in huge waves and blinding speed.  A Facebook group called Pizzapalooza was formed by customers. With such a situation looming, it was refreshing to see a customer base come together and use social media to deliver a call to action. That’s right, it was the customers providing a call to action. The honesty from the company combined with its past community support harnessed communities to come together – now.

It was a great lesson in how businesses should have integrity and the importance of establishing social media in order to engage with your community. If Nick’s did not have an active and thriving Facebook and Twitter account, it would be tragic to see an important message not receive the exposure it truly needed.

And in case you are wondering how Nick’s is doing…check out this photo from their Facebook page – it may be a sign that after the rain, the sun will shine again.

Once again, so much focus has been placed on how those in health care (doctors, nurses, etc) are failing when it comes to social media. Mistakes are being made and those who make them have been publicly vilified for their actions.

Mistakes happen. But what you do with those “fails” is what can make you, not break you.

I was out for a run the other day (just completed a half-marathon and will start training for Chicago Marathon in October – my first – yikes!) and was thinking of what to blog about. (@GiniDietrich beat me to the punch with her post, but here’s another take on it). Even though I was having a great run and not failing in the least, the topic came up mainly because of the time of year.

Every spring I hear about prom and think back to my socially awkward youth and my absence of a prom. That in turn, led me to think about other failures I had experienced and my response. I went to a very competitive high school and I tried out for the speech team my sophomore year. Yes, I thought it would be fun to present speeches in competition (see above note of “socially awkward youth”).  I did not make the team but I tried out again my junior year. Again, I did not make the team but ended up as an alternate due to the coach’s sympathy. I went to EVERY practice and EVERY tournament when most of the time I did nothing but observe. Due to my persistence and dedication I ended up making the “real” team my senior year and received an award at the end of the season and had all my teammates cheering me on. It was the best feeling to have to acknowledgement of never giving up.

It’s not about the failure, it’s how you respond to it.  So to those out there like *@mommy_doctor, don’t give up as the reward is down the road.  I am SO not a quote person, but one of the two that inspire me is “A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he gives up”.

*she has unfortunately disabled her Twitter account and made her blog private. If anyone with access can pass this on to her, I would be grateful.

All I can say to health care organizations:  Don’t freak out.

Yes, it was a lack of judgment of the part of the doctor (as is most of the time) and it was not cool to post details (although the doctor probably assumed they were vague enough).  Don’t let these horror stories scare you and your organization from using social media.  Instead of the negatives, focus on what you CAN do with social media.

• You CAN use your patient stories that are consented upon.

• You CAN use comments from others to connect and interact with.

• You CAN use a story like this to highlight that your organization has a clear *social media policy for employees and you take it very seriously.

So let’s stop getting freaked out when stories like this happen.  They will most likely continue to happen.  Take the time to focus on what you can do and more forward.

*If you need help preparing your organization’s social media policy for employees, give Sparkfire Marketing a shout out.  We’d be glad to help.

I wish I had the skill of being able to decorate a room.  I really suck at being able to pull different wall hangings and pillows and tie them all together in the same theme, but I can tell you what I like when I see it.  This is a photo of a decorative sign in my kitchen.  When I first saw it, it really spoke to me and I felt I needed a reminder like this staring me in the face every morning when I sit down with my coffee and news.

Sometimes it is good to take a step back and really reflect on what is important and what needs attention.  With life these days being at a micro-level, there are so many little things that can interfere with a happy and productive career.  With marketing, I sometimes feel overwhelmed with technology and the options available for everything.  I feel as though I (and those in my industry) are constantly “panning for gold”.  Every day I take a pile of new information and sift through it to find the gems, and pass those concepts and tools as gold on to my clients.  But first I need to test that gold to make sure it is real, not fools’ gold, and that takes time.  I try to keep things simple for my clients, so I focus my time on the big pieces.

One way I try to keep it simple is limit my time on research.  You could spend hours upon hours reading all the latest that appears via Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds, etc.   I have my trusted “smart folks” on Twitter lists so I can scroll through and read about the latest information they have found worthy to post.  Every morning I check my RSS feeds like CNN, Mashable, Inc.com and others, and scan my email for morning posts from AdAge and other marketing and medical groups.  An hour later, I am done with my research for the day.  Unless something really catches my eye during the day (like an immediate development or breaking news) I save it for my dedicated a.m. power hour.

In short, I try to keep things simple for me and for my clients.  It helps me keep focus and my clients better understand their marketing plan.  Do you “pan for gold” everyday and how do you sift through everything to find the gems?

When I first heard about product review site SaferProducts.gov on NPR, I thought it was a great idea.  I  love to research items and enjoy hearing the praise/complaints before experiencing them on my own (currently now kicking myself on why I didn’t research before purchasing an iPod docking station, as it has decided to go awry after one month. Grrr.. ).  And with the federal government penning this site, I would give it more credibility than any celebrity endorsement. Although not until I read the story Marketers, Meet the Feds’ Very Own Yelp from Advertising Age did I truly think…”What if medical device complaints will be lodged on this new database?”  And the bigger question, how will manufacturers respond?

About SaferProducts.gov

Now typically, issues with medical devices are reported to the FDA in a private manner.  You fill out their online form and send them the information and that’s that.  It’s a one way transaction and what you wrote is not posted anywhere. With this new site, http://saferproducts.gov, you are able to see the complaints of others on a product.  This is going to bring up a new concern for communication departments in companies.  How should respond to complaints in this type of forum?  I am curious to know if they are going to funnel those complaints into the private site -and- how they will keep the categories from bleeding together?

What should communicators do?

1.) Register your business on the site and you will receive emails when someone files a report and, more importantly, gives you an opportunity to respond to the report online.  I find the aspect of being able to respond online a tremendous resource and gives way to open up the issue.

2.) Make this a chance to bring the issue/answer to your own website.  Steer those looking for your response using appropriate links to your website and your information.  Home field advantage rules.

3.) Listen. The site is currently in a soft launch function.  You can leave comments, but they will not be viewable, nor will they become viewable until the official launch in March 2011.  With sites like Yelp out there, people are getting used to the idea of heading to the internet to voice a complaint. Because people are talking on new site like this, communicators need to be listening there too.

What do you think of the new website?  Do you think it will be used as a credible resource for reporters gathering information or just another product review site?

This year healthcare communications is (surprise) focusing in on social media as a tactic to employ. It’s really more than focusing; social media has become the guest of honor, a VIP, and is subjected to fanfare worthy of the Great Pumpkin. It can be a whirlwind of activity, but waaaait. Let’s slow down here. 

Let’s take it one step back. Back into where the “conversation” begins for most patients…the exam room.  A doctor I know very well (okay, he’s my husband) does a very simple thing during eye examinations.  He notates on the chart what their interests are and what they talked about.  That way, when he sees the patient again, they can pick up where the conversation left off and he can learn more about their activities and how that may influence their eyesight needs.  This is a somewhat common practice among doctors and really helps build patient-doctor relationships.

Every patient has the potential to be an influencer.  If you don’t know, an influencer is someone that interacts with and affects others about their experiences (both positive and negative).  The goal is to identify those that can be influencers to others to talk about your medical practice or health care organization in a positive light.

1. – Define them. Like I stated above…most patients have the potential to be an influencer. The big job is to find out what their interests are and create a bond with those items. Once you have a conversation going, guess what, they are actively listening.  Assuming they have a positive experience at your office, they are ready for step number two…

2. – Enable them. Arm your influencers with the magic so they can spread the word (via social media/word of mouth) about your practice and how awesome their experience was. If they seems ultra-pleased with their visit, capture their emotions right then and there.  This sounds basic, but just literally telling patients simple like, “Thanks for choosing our office, I’m glad you are pleased with your care – if you know of anyone seeking (insert your service) please pass on our office info.”  Enable them the with access to your social media sites, such as having very easy to follow links and trackable URLs, sending them to your Yelp page or have them write a review on their local Patch.com site.  There are so many possibilities here, so give some thought to how you can utilize your best spokespeople in the most effective way.

3. – Thank them. If they give you a shout out via social media, like commenting on your Facebook page, tell them THANK YOU.  Be grateful and treat them well, as they are part of your advertising team and brand ambassadors.  Respond to their tweets and thank them for the kind words.  Thank them in person at their next visit.

As for the story of the Great Pumpkin and Linus…it’s safe to say that Linus was THE biggest influencer of the Great Pumpkin character.  So much as he convinced Sally to skip out on “tricks and treats” to see the great vision.  Wouldn’t it be awesome to have patients with the passion of Linus talking about your healthcare practice?

For more information on social media influencers, take a peek at @LisaBarone and her article How to Track Down and Scout Out Influencers and Tom Webster’s (@Webby2001) gem Five Ways to Improve Online Influence Measures.  They both have some solid experience and very different tones – good reading for sure.

(image ©1966 United Feature Syndicate Inc.)

Have we become a nation of numbers?  Number of followers, number of blog hits, number of votes, etc.  No, we have always been a nation obsessed with numbers.  You just need to be aware of the numbers that matter.

Comfort in numbers is the basis for business. Your profit loss statement, your budget, the number of hours you have available to spend on your business….all numbers.  These are the numbers that matter.  Spend your time developing those.

It seems those searching for a way to quantify their ROI on social media are being lured by these “easy” ways to show that their time spent on social media is adding to their business.  I agree there are ways to show a numerical ROI on social media, but I don’t think that ideas like Klout are truly valid.

What do you think?  Do you think all these new platforms and analyzers truly do anyone good?  Or it just an ego stroke?

* Dinglehopper – from the animated movie The Little Mermaid, what Ariel calls a fork, since it’s new and shiny and she doesn’t know what the hell it is.

It seems everywhere I look these days, I keep seeing how customer service is becoming a hot topic (@BarryMoltz).  This stands for good reason.  If someone is happy or unhappy about a service or product, they can voice their opinion via Facebook status update, tweet, blog post/comment, Yelp review and through other social media portholes.  Now I know customer service has always been a way for a health care practice to stand out from their competition.  But now the rate of how fast the message of good/bad service is spread is at a record speed.  Many practices do not have the time or resources to respond to these issues so quickly.  The best way to combat this problem?  Have great customer service from the start.

Take a peek at the video below for three concepts to keep in mind for outstanding customer service.  Special thanks go to @ShellyKramer and her inspiring blog post and Jeannie Walters (@JeannieCW) and her insightful knowledge on customer service (I need to learn more from you).

When I was in my early twenties (those crazy days!) I would celebrate New Year’s Eve in the basement of my dear friend’s house.  It was always a lively group, with the excitement culminating in the minutes up to the new year.  To musically mark the occasion, we would always sing Auld Lang Syne.  Do you know the words to that song?  We sure didn’t.  At least beyond the first lyric, “Should old acquaintances be forgot and never brought to mind?”  But in our excitement and sometimes less than sober minds, we would sing (very loudly) the same phrase over and over, pretty much filling in the rest of the song with “na na na na na”.

I think it is pretty common to not finish the song, since most people don’t know the words.  My goal this year: learn the words and finish the damn song.

What is my point?  My point is that some marketing plans just scream out the same message the same way and think people are listening.  Medical practices typically offer a wide variety of services and they can get stuck in how to promote ALL of them.  By ignoring all the other lyrics (you can think of lyrics as services), you are limiting yourself in what the song (the medical practice) really means. Or worse, you plan your marketing around the belief that people know what your services are.  Take the time in some areas to explain what you offer (in simple language) using various mediums.

In short, don’t let your brand become like Auld Lang Syne…something that people may know of, but not really know what stands behind the tune.

A sincere Happy New Year to everyone and I hope 2011 brings you good health, success and happiness.

-Karen Rocks