By Kassi Belz

Chances are right now as you are reading this blog, someone out there is talking about you and/or your practice online. While you may assume that what they are saying is positive, there is really no way to know unless you are monitoring the conversation.

In today’s new era of communications, everything is online. Your patients and potential patients can find out information and review their doctor with a few simple clicks of their mouse. What they say about your practice will most likely shock you. In many cases, they blog and comment about everything going on in your office from what the nurse said to the way the lobby looks to how the receptionist greeted them when they arrived.

While these reviews may seem trivial or unsubstantial to some, your patients are reading them before they visit your office, or in some cases NOT visit your office.

Managing your company’s online reputation and presence is crucial for any business, especially health care practices. Below are a few tips on how you can monitor what is said online about you and your practice.

• Research and listen:
  • Start with a Google search of your business name and variations of the name as well as the names of your doctors and key staff members
    • These searches will uncover the many review sites on the web that need your attention
  • Identify 2-3 top review sites you need to monitor
    • These will come up first in your Google Search
    • Review all comments
• Respond to comments:
  • Develop a plan for responding to the comments – both negative and positive
  • Many of the review sites allow you to respond, or at the very least join the conversation
• Continue to monitor and engage:
  • Set up Google Alerts for your practice’s name as well as your doctors’ and team members’ names so you get notified when someone posts something about you or your practice
  • Establish your own blog or social media platforms and encourage your patients to engage with you online
• Ask for help:
  • Identify patients who love your practice and ask them to review your practice online
• Hire a professional:
  • PR agencies like MassMedia offer online brand management services and packages
  • Utilizing a firm can help to ensure you do not miss a comment

Kassi Belz, APR, is an accredited PR professional who has assisted numerous health care clients and companies manage their brands online. Follow her on Twitter at @kassipr or contact her at kassi@massmediacc.com

There are many advantages to direct mail marketing. Its message and audience can be very targeted and its success can be easy to track which Anthem Pediatric Dentistry found out with the research and distribution done for their mailers.

Challenge

Anthem Pediatric Dentistry is a top dentistry with an office in Henderson and two in Las Vegas. Due to an increased demand at one of its locations in Las Vegas, the pediatric dentistry chose to expand the hours in that office to accommodate more patients. With the new hours, the company wanted to ensure increased foot traffic so they set out to inform potential patients about that specific office by using a direct mail piece.

Solution

MassMedia assisted the dentistry to establish the primary target audience for this location. It was determined that the piece should be sent to residences in a 5-mile radius of the new location with a total household income of $50,000+ and at least one child under the age of 15 living in the home. Once this was finalized, MassMedia provided the information to a mail house that was able to identify the addresses of 6,000 residents who met the demographic criteria. MassMedia also conducted a survey and focus group with a small sample of the target audience to find out the type of incentive that would make them try out a new dentist office. It was determined that the mailer would include an offering of a free $20 gift card to Target, Wal-Mart or Cardenas Market. This incentive would be used to drive traffic and track the number of new patient volume as a result of the mailer. Anthem Pediatric Dentistry’s logo includes fun, cartoon-style jungle animals that showcase its child-friendly identity. The design of the direct mailer was very eye-catching as it expanded on the dentistry’s playful and colorful branding by including the same types of animals set against a vibrant rain forest background. The direct mailer’s heading was ‘We’re in your Neighborhood!’ to convey its close proximity to the recipients. The piece included the names and pictures of the head specialists at that location and listed the company’s competitive advantages.

Result

The direct mailers were sent in early January 2011 and proved to be very successful as they have resulted in increased patient volume and revenue. During January and February, the mailers brought in 51 new patients with eight of the patients being scheduled for the operating room. Several of the patients were also found to need additional treatments that were scheduled in March and April 2011. The collective total of actual and projected revenue far surpassed the cost of the mailer. The dentistry was so impressed by the outcome that they opted to send mailers for their other locations as well.

By Ashley Campbell

You’ve finished updating your brand identity and logo and now ask yourself, “How should I introduce the new look to our patients and integrate it into our medical practice?”

There are a few marketing strategy phases that you should consider when integrating your updated brand into your marketing campaign.

Phase I
Start by adding the new logo to your stationery, statements and invoices. When a patient walks up to the counter, they’ll notice the change on your business cards, or when reviewing their invoices and statements. It’s a subtle change but every touch point creates brand identity for your medical practice.

Your email signature can also be updated to include your new medical marketing logo and will be viewed when sending out external emails to referring physicians, consultants and vendors

Phase II.

Announce the revamp of your brand by creating a direct mail piece or an eblast showcasing the exciting new look and feel. This will not only allow patients to see your brand for the first time, but it is a chance to advertise your practice.

Phase III

You must integrate your new logo and brand into your advertising as soon as possible. Depending on your healthcare marketing plan, you can integrate your new identity into your existing ad campaign. Updating healthcare advertising will take some time, but remaining consistent is very important when building a reputable brand. Remember to also update your medical practices’ website!

Phase IV
Healthcare marketing collateral materials, such as brochures, flyers, posters and information kits are all items that need to be updated as well. Again, every touch point for your customer should create brand identity and should remain consistent throughout. Having a strong, consistent brand will aide in positioning your medical practice as a reputable and reliable resource.

Phase V

The most expensive and time consuming marketing piece to be completed is your medical practice signage. This is usually the last piece that needs updating because of the size, location and material needed to build your updated signage. It will be expensive, but it is worth it.

By Pam Meyers

When someone thinks of a brand they tend to think of large consumer corporations such as Pepsi, Coke, Apple, etc.  Why do those names come up first?  They were successful at branding their product or service by being consistent with their messaging and logo.  Branding and healthcare marketing is not just for large companies and hospitals; it is for all businesses that want to be recognized as a leader in their industry.  Creating a successful brand can help attract patients to your practice and instill confidence.

According to Wikipedia branding is it the identity of a specific product, service, or business.  What exactly does that mean?  And what does that mean for your practice?  It seems a lot of physicians are skeptical of the word.  A better definition is that a brand is delivering on a promise consistently.  Branding now extends to people, think of Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Martha Stewart, Kim Kardashian, these savvy individuals know they have to be different and stand out from the crowd.  However, branding is not very common in private healthcare practices. You would be surprised to know a large percentage of healthcare practices do not use branding to establish and reinforce a specific reputation in their market.

So the good news is that most of your professional colleagues are not trying to brand their practices or promote their practices through health care public relations agencies. The even better news is that the practice that successfully brands itself will standout above the competition.

In service industries, including healthcare, effective branding is about the entire experience and relationship that patients have with you and your team. When you communicate what makes your healthcare practice different, you are setting expectations — a direct or implied promise — that patients will get the benefit of your unique value each time they visit or call.

Finally, here are some healthcare brand-building points to consider:

Guard your brand within your office. Once you’ve created your brand, make sure you monitor all printed materials and any other collateral that is created.  Without someone maintaining the brand it can quickly get diluted and ineffective.  Stay focused on the goals that were identified when the brand was initially created and it should be easy to maintain.

Deliver a consistent patient experience. People prefer consistent quality to surprises, and a brand isn’t really a brand if the practice doesn’t deliver a consistent, high-quality experience. Remember, just a few negative experiences can blow your brand credibility and betray the trust you’ve worked so hard to build.

Deliver consistent branded communications. In addition to delivering consistent in-office experiences, you must effectively communicate your brand message at every marketing opportunity such as your website, brochures, business cards, etc.

When you create a powerful practice brand, you’ll attract the patients, cases, and referrals that you want. Deliver your branding message consistently, and your reward will be consistent profit growth.

Using an integrated and consistent marketing campaign is an effective approach to raising awareness for any cause. Northern Nevada Immunization Coalition created an increase of flu vaccinations in Northern Nevada communities through marketing, grassroots outreach and public relations.

Challenge

The 2010-2011 Flu Season kicked off in Northern Nevada with the help of Northern Nevada Immunization Coalition (NNIC) and MassMedia. NNIC contacted MassMedia to create an awareness campaign for the 2010-2011 Flu Season that was creative and promoted the flu vaccination in a fun and informative way, while still establishing a call to action.

Solution

MassMedia came up with an exciting new campaign entitled “InFLUence Others: Get Vaccinated!” which contained a definitive call to action and an identity that would appeal to a diverse audience. The campaign consisted of media relations, event management, advertising and grassroots/community outreach. Digital billboards, newspaper print advertising, television commercials and radio spots were created and stayed consistent with the campaign’s branding and NNIC’s goals. Since the majority of the target audience spends a great deal of time online on Facebook, Twitter and blogs, social media also played a large role in the campaign.

Results

Within days of launching the campaign, NNIC received positive feedback from both the public and the media. By the third day of the campaign, NNIC had already seen a 200 percent increase in their Facebook and Twitter page views. The media coverage secured for the campaign increased awareness of the importance of the flu vaccination and boosted the credibility of the Northern Nevada Immunization Coalition. Press releases regarding new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations and flu shot events were picked up by KOLO Channel 8, KTNV Channel 2, radio station KTHX, The Reno Gazette Journal, The Elko Daily Free Press, The Nevada Appeal, Family Pulse Magazine, and Humboldt Times. The flu vaccination clinic sold over 200 vaccinations, exceeding the client’s expectations. The campaign’s tagline and branding has been extremely successful in the Northern Nevada communities and among regional healthcare professionals.