What Will Census Data Mean For Cardiovascular Marketers?

September 23, 2010

Cardiovascular marketers may benefit from focusing on the huge demographic change that is taking place in America.

People in the media and marketing worlds have already started to talk about what the new Census results could reveal next year. In an AdAge article, Jackie Hernandez, the chief operating officer of Telemundo, says:

“These are profound times of change, and it’s not about tomorrow, it’s about today . . . the rules of engagement are changing and even the definition of who is a minority is changing. For companies to succeed now they need to understand how it’s all changing.”

A recently published “yellow” paper from AlmaDDB  does a great job of recapping the growing influence of the Hispanic market.  It raises a key point: it’s not about the Hispanic market, it’s about how these demographic shifts are affecting the so-called general consumer market. (Including health care, in my opinion.)

Here are some key takeaways from the paper:

  • In the 1990 Census, it was the African-American market that was the largest minority in America, representing 12% (29 million) of the total U.S. population while Hispanics only accounted for 9% (22 million).
  • By 2000 Hispanics, as the fastest-growing minority, had already surpassed the African-American community, reaching 35 million, representing 13% of the total population, while African Americans remained at 12%.
  • By the end of 2010, there will be 30% more Hispanics (50 million) than there will be African Americans (38 million) in this country.

Although these are just projections, they are based on data from the American Community Survey, the CDC, Homeland Security and Geoscape’s DataStream 2010 Series.

Here are some additional highlights:

  • In Texas, California, New Mexico, Hawaii and the District of Columbia, the white portion of the population is already a minority (representing less than 50%).
  • At the DMA level there will be 19 markets where the minority is the majority. In 15 of them, the dominant minority is Hispanic; in two markets the dominant minority is African American, and in Hawaii, of course, it’s Asian/Pacific Islander.
  • By 2020, minorities are expected to account for 40% of the country.

Issac Mizrahi, one of the yellow paper authors, encourages marketers to not only recognize the demographic changes but to start taking advantage of them.

“The most important thing is the internal discussion of what are the possible consequences of this demographic shift. We can’t look at the past. … We need to write the future. … So experimentation, control programs and pilots are the best options for marketers,” he adds.

Key items to consider in cardiovascular marketing plans:

  • Many Hispanics live in multi-generational households. Therefore, it is critical to understand how different generations influence each other and who might be making and influencing health care decisions.
  • The influence of the Hispanic market goes beyond the traditional states. More than 30 markets saw the Hispanic population increase by more than 100,000 persons in the past 10 years.
  • U.S. born Hispanics will require marketing campaigns that take into account their unique cultural background. It is critical to develop marketing campaigns that go beyond language and place of birth.

For those of you who really want to understand how to do this, Hernandez recommends a book called The Culture Code.  It sounds interesting, but I haven’t read it yet.  If anyone wants to read it and submit a guest review, I’d be happy to post it.

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Posted by Julie Robinson

Changing Cardiovascular Marketing Messages May Change Patient Behavior

September 22, 2010

Changing health behavior is dependent on how you talk to people.

Theoretically, this should come as no surprise.  All of us in the marketing world claim to be experts when it comes to crafting messages that move people to action.

However, I recently came across an interesting post which highlighted a particular methodology to consider.

Stephen Wilkins, a former healthcare executive and researcher, highlights the work of Marshall Becker, PhD.

Becker’s Health Belief Model says four things must be in place for behavior to change:

  1. A person has to know that they have a particular health condition.
  2. A person has to believe that having said health condition is bad.
  3. A person must perceive the benefits of behavior change to outweigh the difficulties of behavior change.
  4. There must be a “call to action” to spark the change.

Wilkins uses this model to explain a common issue with obesity.   Research shows the vast majority of obese people believe they are merely overweight.  And unfortunately, more than 60 percent of “technically obese” adults have never been told by a doctor that they are truly obese and must change their behavior.

Seriously?

If that’s true, I have to agree with Wilkins’s assessment:

Poor physician-patient communication enables obesity…and probably many other chronic conditions

The evidence shows that patients who receive physician counseling about weight loss are up to 2 times more likely to report that they are currently trying to lose weight.  Yet such conversations reportedly do not occur in some two-thirds of physician visits by obese patients.

Why?

Physicians may not see themselves as competent weight-loss counselors, they may question treatment effectiveness, and they may not feel their patients are sufficiently motivated to lose the weight.

“Physicians have a lot more influence with patients than they seem to give themselves credit for.  If patients have a health problem, they expect their physician to tell them,” Wilkins says.

One has to wonder how many patients suffer needlessly from obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc. simply because their physicians did not take the time to walk them through the four steps of the Health Belief Model.

If this is the case, shouldn’t we as marketers recommit to fostering better patient-doctor communication?  We have more tools at our disposal than ever before to improve the process. I’d love to hear about strategies that are working for your organization.

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Posted by Julie Robinson

How Cardiovascular Marketers Can Help Patients Make the Most of an Office Visit

September 8, 2010

Helping patients enhance communication with their doctors can increase patient satisfaction.


On the heels of my post last week about patient empowerment, I came upon some great suggestions for easing doctor/patient struggles.

Following are patient tips to encourage collaboration and respect:

  • Be prepared.
    • Write down any questions that you may have.
    • Be well prepared and organized.
    • Keep your questions very specific.
    • At the beginning of your visit, let your doctor know that you do have a list of very specific questions so that you are giving your doctor a “heads up” of what to expect.
  • Bring a trusted friend or family member with you.
    • They can help decipher the information and take notes during the visit.
    • You can also ask your doctor if it is okay to record the conversation.
  • Communicate and collaborate respectfully with your doctor.
    • Present your questions in a clear and succinct manner.
    • If your doctor interrupts you, or if you feel you are being rushed and you did not get time to ask your questions, calmly and politely let your doctor know that you have specific questions that you would like to have answered before the office visit ends.
  • Listen carefully what your doctor is saying.
    • If you don’t understand something, simply and politely ask your doctor to explain it in simpler terms.
  • Before leaving the office, make sure you are absolutely clear about all the information you received.
    • It is important that you understand any instructions and the treatment plan given to you.
    • If any medications are prescribed make sure you understand them exactly.
    • While many of these points seem like common sense, they seem like good reminders for enhancing doctor/patient relationships and encouraging positive patient outcomes.

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Posted by Julie Robinson

Empowering Patients Through Cardiovascular Marketing

August 31, 2010

Highlighting your practices for patient empowerment could become a meaningful point of differentiation.

Patient empowerment has been on my mind a lot lately.  For the past several months, I’ve watched a close colleague struggle with her husband’s health challenges.  Following a series of surgeries, set backs, readmissions to the hospital and some fairly shaky home health routines, I’ve watched her anxiety and exhaustion grow.  Trying to coordinate his care among a team of multiple specialists, nurse practitioners and others nearly became a full-time job. So many times, she has wished that someone could just evaluate the whole picture and guide her to make the right decisions.

As uncertainty about healthcare reform continues to create angst among patients, providers and payers alike, the concept of patient empowerment is likely to be a big part of the discussion.

A new book by longtime medical correspondent for CNN, Elizabeth Cohen, “The Empowered Patient” tackles these issues.

“The Dr. Marcus Welby days are over, and you really have to advocate for yourself. This system doesn’t work perfectly. Sometimes it doesn’t even work very well. You have to step in sometimes and make things right,” says Cohen.

I doubt that any of us would argue that the “Dr. Marcus Welby days are over.”  However, I’m equally certain that this quote would make most of my clients cringe just a little.

As health care professionals, I know that we don’t want our patients to have to go to undue lengths to advocate for themselves and their loved ones.

In her book, Cohen advises patients to “find people to go to when things aren’t working out. You just have to know how to do it and how to think through your options.”

In fact, patient satisfaction is so important to many of us that we’re establishing procedures and protocols to address these concerns – to help patients easily find these “people” to go to when things aren’t going as planned.

Several of my clients have nurse navigators or family advocates that go beyond the traditional hospital ombudsman.  We’ve also touted the concept of “longitudinal care,” meaning that patients see the same physician and/or nurse practitioner throughout the duration of their lives.  These programs work, and in some cases are relevant differentiators from a marketing point of view.

To me, few service lines are in greater need than CV when it comes to needing programs that empower patients.  Who has examples that are working?

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Posted by Julie Robinson

Cardiovascular Marketing Focus: A-Fib Growth Projected to Soar

August 24, 2010

Atrial fibrillation may represent a huge growth opportunity for cardiovascular marketers.

A new report estimates that the AF market is estimated to reach $4.1 billion by 2015.

AF-related market growth is being spawned primarily by an uptick in therapeutic treatment choices, including:

The ablation catheter market alone is estimated to cap a compound annual growth rate of 13 percent. Upcoming steerable diagnostic EP catheters equipped with mapping technology will also add to higher price tags compared to non-mapping catheters. And anticoagulant drug development is projected to continue to rise exponentially.

As we all strategize about competitive advantages, it seems that AF expertise can play a key role.  An audit of recent advertising campaigns shows many hospitals focusing on AF.

For example, the University of Kansas Hospital has implemented Yoga My Heart, a clinical trial aimed at discovering whether yoga is a potential treatment for abnormal heart rhythms. This study has been a focus of both print and broadcast advertising

I think this is a great example of integrating innovative service line programming into cardiovascular marketing content.  Do you have other examples to share?

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Posted by Julie Robinson

Top Designer Tips for Cardiovascular Marketers

August 17, 2010

Applying best practices from the design world can lead to better problem solving and more innovation in almost any business, including cardiovascular services.

My clients are constantly looking for ways to stand out from competitors though implementing innovative strategies in patient care and education.

A new book by Warren Berger examines the shared behaviors of top designers.

Here are four of the most important things successful designers do to achieve significant breakthroughs.  These habits seem intrinsically linked to the designer’s ability to bring forth original ideas and successful innovations.

I agree with the author that for those of us who are charged with innovation on a regular basis, these practices deserve a closer look:

  1. Question. Designers ask, and raise, a lot of questions.  They recognize the importance of challenging the existing realities and assumptions in a given industry or sector. The persistent tendency of designers to do this is captured in the joke designers tell about themselves. How many designers does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: Does it have to be a light bulb?In today’s highly competitive marketplace, the ability to question and rethink basic fundamentals — What business are we really in? What do patients and families actually need or expect from us? — has never been more important.
  2. Care. It’s easy to say that we care about our patients.  Of course we do.  But Berger asserts that to really empathize, you have to be willing to do what many of the best designers do: step out of your bubble and actually immerse yourself in the daily lives of people you’re trying to serve.Design researchers are dedicated to really observing and paying close attention to people — because this is usually the best way to ferret out their deep, unarticulated needs.  Focus groups and questionnaires don’t cut it; designers know that you must care enough to actually be present in people’s lives.
  3. Connect. Designers have a knack for synthesizing–for taking existing elements or ideas and combining them in fresh new ways. This can be a valuable shortcut to innovation because it means you don’t necessarily have to invent from scratch.By coming up with “smart recombinations” (to use a term coined by the designer John Thackara), Apple has produced some of its most successful hybrid products; and Nike smartly combined a running shoe with an iPod to produce its groundbreaking Nike Plus line (which enables users to program their runs.)

    In order to come up with combinations like these, you must be willing to try connecting ideas that might not seem to go together. This is a way of thinking that can also be embraced by non-designers.  I’m considering leading a brainstorming session for a client soon that is focused on “recombinations,” taking elements of an already successful program and thinking of ways to put some of those things together to develop systems that will be even more patient centric.

  4. Commit. It’s one thing to dream up original ideas. But designers quickly take those ideas beyond the realm of imagination by giving form to them.  When you give form to an idea, you begin to make it real.

But it’s also true that when you commit to an idea early — putting it out into the world while it’s still young and imperfect — you increase the possibility of short-term failure. Designers tend to be much more comfortable with this risk than most of us. They know that innovation often involves an iterative process with setbacks along the way — and those small failures are actually useful because they show the designer what works and what needs fixing.

If you work with an agency, I would encourage you to challenge your account team to practice these disciplines in your overall marketing communications planning process.  Set aside a small portion of your budget for innovation, in essence, creating a think tank that is made up of agency and client representatives.

Encourage this group to commit to ideas that might seem crazy at first.  By giving them permission to give some of these ideas form, you might be well on your way to discovering a truly innovative way to stand out from your competitors.

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Posted by Julie Robinson

Improving your Cardiovascular Marketing Facebook Page with Custom Landing Tabs

August 13, 2010

Custom landing tabs can have a huge impact on converting Facebook lurkers to Facebook fans.

If you’re like many of my clients, you’re doing a mid-year evaluation of your Facebook strategy.  Most cardiovascular marketers have started Facebook communities, but I know several marketing directors and CEOs who are looking at resources spent relative to the return.

I recently came across an interesting post that outlines how using custom tabs can turn casual visitors to your Facebook page into active members of your online community.

Here are seven tips:

1. As your visitors to like your page.

Placing the “like” tab right at the top of your page automatically grows your community.

2. Give multiple invitations for engagement.

Some ideas to consider:

  • a long tab that allows people to scroll through layers of information
  • polls
  • games
  • invitations to share photos
  • geo-targeting (new technology makes this easier.)

3. Provide multiple doors to begin interaction.

The Facebook application TabSite allows you to make a separate navigation bar within a Facebook tab you create using Static FBML.

I think this would be a great way to provide information about sub-specialties or various physicians’ areas of expertise or interest.

4. Use Current Events

Combining promotional materials with current events is a marketing tactic that can work well on your landing tab too.

Think about posting videos of heart-healthy news stories or synopses of cardiovascular research to spark dialogue.

5. Link to Custom Applications

We can learn from retailers like Starbucks that offer custom tabs to help people manage their Starbucks accounts.   What about developing custom apps to manage diet and exercise or to keep track of blood pressure?

6. Get straight to the point.

Again, retailers know how to do this.  Best Buy sends new visitors to a “Shop & Share” tab where they make it easy to access different categories of their shopping application.  Why not use a similar strategy to provide information about various procedures?

7. Make interaction easy and fun.

Invite patients to send in photos and inspirational stories.

If you have creative examples of ways that you have customized your Facebook page, please send it to me.  I would love to feature your ideas in a future post.

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Posted by Julie Robinson

Using Video to Make Cardiovascular Marketing Come Alive

August 9, 2010

I’ve written before about the benefits of incorporating video into cardiovascular marketing efforts.   It’s a great medium for telling a story, highlighting patient successes or delivering educational information.

Today, I’d like to share a video we’ve recently completed for one of healthcare clients, GEHA.

I’d venture to guess that most cardiologists would endorse these kids’ ideas!

What do you think?

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Posted by Julie Robinson

Making Your Employees Online Ambassadors For Your Cardiovascular Marketing Brand

August 6, 2010

Lately, a few savvy brands have lightened up a little regarding employees’ activities on the social web.

We’ve all heard cautionary tales, and truly, there have been some amazing indiscretions.  Who could forget the story of bored nurses on the night-shift (at a hospital that shall remain unnamed here) posting pictures of themselves with sleeping patients in compromising positions?

However, as it seems that most employees have “gotten the message,” so to speak, about appropriate online behavior, some organizations are moving into a new era:  actually encouraging and actively looking for ways for employees to use social media both personally and professionally.

Here are a few pointers from managers and employees using the modern-day Internet in brand-friendly ways.

1. Don’t issue too many orders.

  • There seems to be a shift away from prohibitive internal codes of conduct and toward more encouraging, educational practices.
  • Managers are seeing less need to specifically tell employees to refrain from discussing business online.  Instead, they’re telling employees to be open and communicative about the brand when using social media.
  • In addition to being told what not to do online, employees don’t want to be told they have to post or tweet about the company unless it’s a specific part of the job they perform.

“That would be very strange and awkward and not nice at all,” said one typical employee.

  • Business process consultants say that employees have a pretty good idea of how to handle themselves online.  (In some cases, they probably know more about appropriate online behavior than the bosses do.)
  • Ultimately, letting employees know that tweeting about the company is encouraged and letting them make their own decisions is the best policy, say respondents to a recent business survey.

“At [company name], we’re encouraged to tweet if we want to,” said one employee. “We don’t have a formal policy; people tend to have decent judgment.”

2. Give Employees Resources.

  • Employees express a desire to have permission rather than ask forgiveness for their social media activities, so it may be critical to give them resources and education.

One user said, “My employer… doesn’t tell me what to tweet but does provide all managers with great Twitter resources to educate people on how to benefit from tweeting, show that the company supports it and provide clarity on what is appropriate.

  • A good way to think about providing good tools for your employees is to ensure that you have as many proactive statements as prohibitive ones in any documents or guidelines you issue; the DOs and DON’Ts columns should be equal, with the DOs holding the advantage whenever possible.

3. Give Your Internal Fans a Voice Online

  • Every organization will have a certain number of employees who truly embody the brand and the company culture. When you find those individuals, recognize them by inviting them to be part of your company’s social media activity.
  • For these employees, contributing to the company’s blog or Twitter account or maintaining a separate but related social media presence can be beneficial for all parties involved. The employee builds a greater external network and strengthens his contribution internally; the company benefits by having a relatable, responsive, on-brand face as another facet of its social media presence.
  • Your employees are people “who see themselves as individuals and who are living a brand of their own making,” writes Interbrand’s Alexander Rauch.

“The question boils down to this: If a brand is supposed to give customers something to identify with and add meaning to their lives, shouldn’t helping employees express themselves as individuals help the brand as well?”

The theory is that In allowing the brand-employee relationship to flow in both directions, you accomplish that most important objective: true engagement. And in doing so, you create advocates who understand and promote the brand in ways that you could never achieve through top-down directives alone. Moreover, the brand itself is invigorated by fresh perspectives in a trickle-up model.

What do you think?  Is healthcare ready?  Let me know.

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Posted by Julie Robinson

What Cardiovascular Marketers Can Learn From the Grateful Dead

August 4, 2010

So, it turns out that the Grateful Dead were social media pioneers.

According to a new book, we can learn some valuable lessons from strategies the Grateful Dead employed to become one of the most successful bands of all time.

Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead, a new book from Deadheads and marketing strategists, David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan talks about how the band broke popular rules of the time in order to stand out.

“The Grateful Dead can be considered one giant case study in doing marketing right,” says Halligan, HubSpot CEO and co-author of Inbound Marketing. “Not only did they pioneer the freemium business model by allowing concert attendees to tape the show, but also encouraged their fans to build a community, and kept them informed via their newsletters.”

Some examples the book outlines:

  • Rethink traditional industry assumptions – Rather than focus on record albums as a primary revenue source (with touring to support album sales), the Dead created a business model focused on touring. The Grateful Dead teaches us that business model innovation is frequently more important than product innovation.  With all the digital technology available today, there have to be new ways to conduct business in our industry, yet few health care organizations are really doing anything new.
  • Turn your customers into evangelists – Unlike nearly every other band, the Grateful Dead not only encouraged concertgoers to record their live shows, they actually established “taper sections” where fans’ equipment could be set up for the best sound quality. When nearly every other band said “no” the Grateful Dead created a huge network of people who traded tapes in pre-Internet days. The broad exposure led to millions of new fans and sold tickets to the live shows.Often as cardiovascular marketers, we feel bound by privacy concerns and other protocol issues.  What could we say “yes” to, though, that would truly make things different or better for patients?
  • Bypass accepted channels and go direct – The Grateful Dead created a mailing list in the early 1970s where they announced tours to fans first. Later, they established their own ticketing office, providing the most loyal fans with the best seats in the house. The Grateful Dead teaches us that building a community and treating customers (read patients) with care and respect drives passionate loyalty.
  • Build a huge, loyal following – The Grateful Dead let their audience define the Grateful Dead experience. Concerts were a happening, a destination where all 20,000 or more audience members were actually part of the experience. Making fans an equal partner in a mutual journey, the Grateful Dead teaches us that our community defines who we are.

I would argue that few diagnoses touch people and their families as broadly as those in the cardiovascular realm.  I’ve also seen “cult-like loyalty,” much like that of Deadheads, from grateful patients and family members.  Taking a cue from the Grateful Dead seems to make sense.  Involving patients and families in the experience and building in processes that truly make them feel they are valued members of our community could really pay off.

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Posted by Julie Robinson

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