Marketing Your Healthcare Organization Is it really for YOU

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Marketing Your Healthcare OrganizationIs it
really for YOU?
Dr. Hesham O. Dinana
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Agenda

• What is Marketing What it is NOT
• Is it Ethical to Market Medical Services
• The Concepts of Marketing S.T.P.
• The Tools of Marketing the 4Ps
• The Key to Medical Marketing - Service Quality
• Conclusions

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Egyptian Marketing?

• Selling
• Public Relations
• Advertising
• Promotion

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What is Marketing?

• The identification of customers NEEDS and
  fulfilling them in a profitable manner

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(Almost) Anything Can be Marketed
Not-For- Profit Marketing
Idea, Place, People Marketing
Consumer Goods and Services
Business- to- Business Marketing
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Major Criticisms of Healthcare Marketing

• Marketing Wastes Money
• Marketing is Intrusive
• Marketing is Manipulative
• Marketing will lower the quality
• of health care
• Marketing will cause health care
• institution to compete
• Marketing will create unnecessary
• demand for health care

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Why Marketing is For Everyone

• The purpose of a business is to create a
  customer
• Marketing is not a specialized activityit is the
  whole business seen fromthe customers point of
  view.

If you focus on the patient and the patients
needs you are practicing marketing concept
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MYTHS TRUTHS ABOUT MARKETING Every member of a
practice is a  marketing specialist every day,
whether consciously or unconsciously

• What medical marketing cant do
• Overcome unsatisfactory or unpleasant experiences
  in your practice.
• Overcome poor performance by you and your staff.
• Create a sudden and incredible response.
• Create a demand for services where no demand
  exists.
• Produce effective results if the message is
  misleading.

• What medical marketing
• can do
• Increase awareness in your market area and reach
  newcomers.
• Encourage current patients to STAY.
• Generate renewal and referral patients.
• Increase patient volume for certain services and
  programs.
• Support volume at slow times of the year.
• Improve the attitude and morale of you and your
  staff.

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Whats Holding You Back

• It distracts from my real work
• Fear of imposing on others
• Sleazy image of selling
• Pressure to produce results

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• Life is too short to make all the mistakes
  yourself

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Marketing Concepts

• The Three Questions
• 1. Who are we?
• 2. Who cares?
• 3. How do we get our message out?

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Marketing Tools The Marketing Mix
Tools that Are Used Together to Create a Desired
Response Among a Set of Defined Customers
Product Good, Service, Idea, Place, Person
Price Assignment of Value
Place Availability of Product
Promotion Activities to Inform Consumers
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Product Mix length
Inpatient Services
Ambulatory Services
Health Promotion
Product line width
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Five Patterns of Market Coverage
M1
M2
M3
M1
M2
M3
M1
M2
M3
P1
P1
P1
P2
P2
P2
P3
P3
P3
Product/market concentration
Product specialization
Market specialization
M1
M2
M3
M1
M2
M3
P1
P1
P2
P2
P3
P3
Selective specialization
Full coverage
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Resources of Medical Services

• Technical Quality
• Physicians knowledge
• Ability to make correct diagnosis
• Therapeutic procedures
• Quality of the medical equipment
• Service Quality.
• The physicians willingness and ability to
  communicate with the patient.
• A culture of sharing information, and systems
  enhancing a long-term doctor-patient relationship

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Service Quality is IMPORTANT

• Business with High Service Quality have
• 12 higher return on sales
• 6 faster growth rate
• 10 price premium

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Patients as Consumers

• The majority of your patients are (or will be)
  sophisticated, comparison-shopping consumers of
  health care, who are armed with facts, ideas, and
  concerns that they have reaped from different
  media, and from their friends, associates, and
  family. Your patients will assess your medical
  practice and compare it to other practices where
  they have previously been and will evaluate your
  practice against standards THEY consider
  important.
• How patients "rate" your practice will influence
  patients to stay with you even if there is a
  problem.
• Consider very carefully what messages you convey
  about yourself, your practice, and the importance
  of your patients to your practice.

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How to develop your medical marketing plan

• Define your target audience
• Research your service areas
• Know your competitors
• Define your Goal
• Develop your plan
• Implement your plan
• Follow up your plan

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Who are your Target audience

• Any group or individual that affect the revenue
  and profitability of your practice.
• Patients---your current revenue base and major
  source of referrals.
• General public---especially those who do not have
  a doctor and might need your practice someday.
• Referring physicians---send your practice
  patients needing your services.
• Special groups---targeted for future services,
  such as HMO members (managed care).
• Media contacts---need to know what is newsworthy
  about your practice.
• Area Employers---pay for health insurance plans
  for patients, also have employees with
  occupational injuries, or have applicants needing
  pre-employment health assessments (preventative
  AND industrial medicine services).
• Government/regulatory agencies---their decisions
  effect your business.
• Staff members---whose performance greatly
  determines patient satisfaction and practice
  productivity
• Providers---all important to your business, such
  as laboratories, pharmacies, hospitals, civic
  groups, salespeople/vendors, etc.

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Researching your Service Areas

• How many people live in your service area? How is
  the population distributed?
• Age distribution has the birth rate increased or
  decreased during the last ten years? Where are
  certain ages most prevalent? (for example young
  families concentrated in newer subdivisions, and
  older people in established, older neighborhoods)
  
• Composition of families Singles, married couples
  with and without children, single parent
  families, etc.)
• Population expected to grow or change? 
• New industry or new housing expected in your area
  soon?
• Median income of those living in your service
  area
• Percentage of the population is employed 
  percentage of white collar / blue collar
• Industries types most prevalent, major employers
  
• Stability of the community and the economy (old
  and established area VS upwardly mobile living
  temporarily here
• Physicians Dr. to patient population ratio,
  location of doctors, populated areas around the
  physician locations

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Know your Competitors

• It is important to know
• HOW MANY physicians of your specialty are there
  in your community or service area, where they are
  located, and in what concentration.
• WHAT SERVICES your direct competitors provide in
  this way you may be able to provide needed
  services.
• WHAT VOLUME these doctors have accepting new
  patients or are they "closed' to new patients?
  (OPPORTUNITY!)

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Key to Patient loyaltyfeeling for staff and
patients that PATIENTS ARE YOUR NUMBER ONE
PRIORITY is the only way doctors can make sure
they keep their patients by cultivating
relationships with them.

• The actions of the entire staff can make or break
  a practice.
• An excellent doctor with mediocre staff will not
  prosper. How well the office does is up to both
  the physician and the staff. You have joint
  custody of your practice's patients.
• Respect your patients. 
• Go out of your way to do something nice for each
  one. 
• Memorize names. 
• Jot down on sticky paper and place in the chart
  any personal info you would like to remember
  (such as a new grandchild, likes to garden, son
  in college, plays tennis, etc. ) People love to
  hear someone else remember things about
  themselves.
• Focus your attention on the patient, as much as
  you are able. 
• Avoid doing three things at once while you are
  talking to the patient. 
• Wait until they are finished talking to speak. 
• Be a good listener.
• Show empathy.
• How would YOU feel if you were going through the
  same situation?

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Keeping your current patientOn an average,
every happy patient can bring you six happy
referrals. And conversely, on an average, every
disgruntled patient will relay his or her
negative message to 26 other people

• WHY PATIENTS LEAVE THEIR PHYSICIANS
• Doctor vague and evasive
• Poor or no bedside manner (physician)
• Chronically not seen on schedule
• No diagnosis given
• Doctor discourages second opinion
• Doctor does not respect confidentiality
• Unpleasant office staff

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Some ideas on keeping your patient

• Small assessment cards to be filled by the
  patient on what he liked most about the service
  and ideas to improve it
• Reminder calls or cards for their next
  appointments
• Birthday cards
• Reminder notes to yourself that would help to ask
  about personal stuff your patient cares about

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PRINTED MATERIALS AS A MARKETING TOOL

• Printed materials are can be an effective
  image-maker and a positive marketing tool, if
  your choices are made with care. The printed
  materials that you present to your patients and
  other contacts are a reflection on the quality
  and image of your office.
• Things you will need to be custom printed
• Letterheads---letterheads should be of
  letterhead-weight paper, with an impressive look
  and texture Business cards---business cards
  likewise should be of heavier weight with
  impeccable typesetting. Remember that these cards
  are passed on to others, especially potential
  patients and referrals.
• Patient brochures-
• Appointment cards---
• Prescription
• Direct mailing brochures. .
• Cards birthday cards, appointment reminder
  postcards, preventative care reminder cards,
  thanks you cards for public relations purposes
  and for follow-up continuity.

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PRINTED MATERIALS AS A MARKETING TOOL

• PRINTED EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION MATERIALS
• Many types of patient information materials can
  be obtained free from pharmaceutical suppliers.
  Information sheets can also be created in your
  office to meet the specific needs of your
  practice.
• Written explanations given before testing or
  specialty services are done are especially useful
  for patients, as well as written instructions
  regarding medications and prescriptions.
  Hospitals, clinics, and outpatient services often
  provide specialty information and instructions.
• Written home going instruction sheets can be
  created in your office, and these help to cut
  down on the number of phone calls to your office
  relating to forgotten or misunderstood
  instructions.
• Computerized patient instruction software is also
  available for the office. These provide written
  instruction and diagnosis information, and can be
  customized to include the patient's name and the
  name of the ordering physician.

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The circle of positive outcomes of a good
patient-physician relationship.
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Rapport Results Retention Referrals
MARKETING