hospital marketing

[Tony]

I'm finding that one of the top search terms that consistently lands people on the hospital impact blog is "hospital marketing." There seems to be so much hunger to learn how this, but not much decent stuff out there.

Where do you go to learn about hospital marketing? Why hasn't someone tackled this area already?

Hospital marketing is sort of a weird creature for obvious reasons, but I'm sure there are some best practices out there. anyone know of any good resources?

[Pattie]

Hmm, hospital marketing? I guess I'm a little unsure about what exactly that is. I don't know if this counts or not, but a neighbor of mine was looking for a good hospital for her child, so I started browsing everywhere online. On YouTube, I found some amazing survival stories of these children that escaped death - by the helps of Phoenix Children's Hospital, located in Arizona. So it brought me to a PCH's website (www.pchhandprints.org). Then, I don't know it it's just because I was truly touched by these videos, or if that hospital stands out for me, but now I seem to be seeing Phoenix Children's Hospital everywhere. In tv ads, on billboards, in online communities like Arizonamoms.com. Either way, my friend took her child to PCH and had such an amazing experience. It's wonderful when something good comes out of something like this. If you had to ask me, this was a good way for their hospital to market, by showing wonderful, inspiring videos of real children in their real situations (you can watch the videos on the pchhandprints.org site).

[Albert Maruggi]

And you'll be surprised to see that Ning sites with Healthcare Marketing and Advertising are empty. There are plenty of individuals to reach out to. As a senior fellow for the Society for New Communications Research and a former journalist, I am covering the issue of social media in healthcare. I also host the Marketing Edge podcast. My works has introduced me to great people. 1) Lee Aase of Mayo Clinic. watch what he does on things like Mayo Clinic YouTube Channel and Facebook 2) Elizabeth Tracey of Johns Hopkins Medicine. does some great things with podcasts and video. More of a broadcast style, but you can learn from her work. 3) Warren Johnson, MidMichigan a wodnerful resource on his blog Unsolicited Marketing Advice. he covers a slightly broader specrum than healthcare on the blog, however it is predominatly healthcare. I have done some reporting on healthcare and social media. This piece in Media Bullseye called Want to Hear About my Gallbladder got some attention. I also have an invitation only NING space called Provident Partners Social Media Sandbox, and we have a group there focused on social media in healthcare. Ping me and I'll shoot you an invite.

[ruchi]

i guess hospital marketing is a very tactful thing as branding and marketing strategy is all different thing in hospitals . in hospital it takes years to become a brand. and some ethical issues are alwayas involved in marketing . general practitioner play a crucial role in local market.u cant advertise like u advertise for other products and while marketing i guess patient satisfaction is a important thing which should be taken care of.now a days with halth insurance ( m in india so m talkin about health seniro in india)now thing have changed.

[snoreta]

Hi,

Thanks for the information. I would like to know more about it.

Snoreta

Drug Intervention Maine

[smithsteuen]

Nice discussion

[Warren Allan Johnson]

Another good resource, in addition to the nice list Albert provides, is the Hospital Marketing page on Squidoo (www.squidoo.com/hospitalmarketing). This "lens" provides a listing of professional societies, journals, books, vendor lists and other resources specific to the hospital marketer. In addition, the Society for Hospital Strategy and Market Development of the American Hospital Society (www.shsmd.org) is one of the largest and most popular resources for hospital marketing. They sponsor professional education, annual conferences, online webinars, a "Knowledge Community" and a listserv. Finally, The Advisory Board Company's Marketing & Planning Leadership Council is an excellent source of support for those hospitals who are members of this organization (www.advisory.com)

[Cindy Fallsen]

I am not sure why hospitals need to market. It seems that people who have Medical insurance simply go where they are covered. Other go only for Temporary medical care. If there are reasons that hospitals need to do this, I would be interested in hearing more about why.