Social media empowers consumers – including your patients
By Stewart Gandolf | February 4, 2010
At the end of the movie Terminator, a Mexican boy says, “Viene la tormenta.”
Sarah Connor asks the gas station attendant what he means, and he explains, “There’s a storm coming.”
The fact that patients can leave comments about their doctors or health care organizations on rating sites has been talked about to death, and I’ve been interviewed on the topic on a couple of occasions.
My take: the genie is out of the bottle, and while there are all kinds of legal and ethical issues to consider (how do you know that an anonymous bad rating wasn’t made by a jealous competitor), social media is empowering consumers – and your patients – more every day.
While providers like to think of themselves as a privileged class, Google doesn’t see it that way. In fact, Google and other search engines LOVE ratings and social media when they display search engine results pages (SERPs).
Consumers are now empowered, and some are getting aggressive. The best anecdote I’ve heard about involves a country singer whose guitar was broken by baggage handlers working for United Airlines. When United refused to pay for repairs, he created a very funny video, United Breaks Guitars, on YouTube. Upon seeing the video, United came around and offered to pay him after all, but by then the damage was done. He suggested they give the money to charity. Worse, this was only his first video on the topic, and as of today it has had more than 7,600,000 viewers. Ouch.
Jeremiah Owyang recently wrote that companies should give priority attention to highly visible web savvy customers. He cites a woman who had a million Twitter followers and warned Maytag to solve her maintenance dispute. When they failed to do so, she asked her followers to boycott the company.
Owyang admits that such consumers can use their new-found power irresponsibly, but how do you stop them once they have such a large podium? Besides, who will be the referee to determine which actions are “power of the people” and which are exploitation?
What really struck me about Owyang’s article, however, was that he reminded us that companies give preferential treatment to celebrities all the time, so we shouldn’t feel bad about recognizing social media leaders.
I have always found it a little annoying that celebrities, who already have everything, get the best gifts and treatment from us all. Still, this phenomenon goes back to at least Biblical times, so it isn’t going to change anytime soon.
So even if you hate the idea of newly empowered patients having a voice, you aren’t going to change it.
Some are trying to litigate this problem away, but frankly, I think that is naive. Our country was founded on “free press,” and “free speech,” and providers aren’t going to get a special pass. (United Airlines didn’t get one…) Besides, the Groundswell is too big.
So what should healthcare marketers, providers, pharmaceuticals and manufacturers do?
Well, if you have the time and budget, getting into the conversation may be a great idea.
That’s what Johnson and Johnson did with their JNJ Health Channel on YouTube. After all, consumers are going to talk about you whether you like it or not.
However, joining in on the fray may be hard for you to do. If you work in a small organization, you may not have access to the talent, time or budget required. If you are with a large organization, there will be legal and internal issues to deal with. (Rob Harper explains Johnson and Johnson’s experience here.)
I recommend you give your own situation some careful analysis and planning. Don’t just rush in to do it like the rest of the herd – come up with objectives and decide how it fits into your larger strategy.
But one thing is for sure. It is fun to be working in marketing during this revolutionary time period.
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Here is an interview about our success with this blog…
By Stewart Gandolf | January 29, 2010
http://bit.ly/bNJ1iD
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Medical Marketing “On The Cheap” Can Be Hazardous To Your Health
By Stewart Gandolf | January 28, 2010
I am as frugal as the next guy, but in competitive markets, doing things on the cheap is not only ill advised, it can be downright dangerous.
A doctor called us the other day, saying that he wants to expand into a new line of business, despite entrenched competition. Now this a really nice guy who enjoys a good reputation, but he has never had to deal with ANY competition before. Since things have always been easy for him, he assumes that it will be a “walk in the park” to get referrals for his new business from area doctors.
That’s a big assumption. If he is right, great, but if not, the consequences could be dire.
It seems our doctor spent a lot of money getting his new center up and running. So much so in fact, that he has no money left over to market his new business. I explained that is like buying an expensive racehorse, but then being unable or unwilling to feed it.
His plan is to send an employee (who has never sold anything in her life) out into the market to win doctor referrals, using some “home-grown” marketing brochures and a website.
To prevent a potential debacle, I introduced him to one of the professional physician liaisons work with. Also known as physician relations, business development, practice reps, etc., physician liaisons are on-the-ground experts at generating referrals from doctors.
This particular liaison shared some interesting insights, based upon his experience personally walking into hundreds of doctors offices.
1. Referring doctors are used to seeing state-of-the-art marketing materials from pharmaceuticals, manufacturers, hospitals and competing groups. Home grown marketing materials always look amateurish. You wouldn’t think that would matter, but it does.
2. If his employee has a talent for sales (we don’t know that yet), she may be successful. However, if she doesn’t have any talent, she will fail. And even if she does have talent, her going out into the market without being appropriately trained, managed and compensated will probably result in failure as well.
3. This is a rural area, so if his new business gets started on the wrong foot, it may never recover. In small towns, good reputations take forever to build, but long-lasting bad ones can be created in an instant.
4. Given the big money at stake, the existing competitors will probably not take this encroachment on their turf lightly. Therefore, the level of competition is sure to increase, and an “arms race” may well ensue. Our doctor needs to be ready for a much more aggressive situation than the one he is walking into.
Again, this doctor is a good guy, and I hope he does well even though he remains “unconvinced.”
But the truth his, he would greatly improve his odds of success if he were to find the money to 1. train his rep, 2. get some decent marketing materials, and then 3. market appropriately.
In any event, I urge you to avoid painting yourself into a similar corner.
Whenever you start or own a business, your business plan needs to account for marketing too, not just the lease, build-out and employees. And, be ready for competition that turns out to be much stronger than you would hope for.
I recommend you look at your marketing dollars as an insurance policy to mitigate the risk of a painful misstep.
After all, a financial fall will leave you badly bruised for a long time.
Topics: Medical Marketing | No Comments »
How to protect your privacy on Facebook – and why
By Stewart Gandolf | January 26, 2010
I’ll write in the future about how to use Facebook for business, but in the meantime, I want to share a great article about privacy settings that a good friend forwarded to me.
January 20, 2010
The 3 Facebook Settings Every User Should Check Now
By SARAH PEREZ of ReadWriteWeb
In December, Facebook made a series of bold and controversial changes
regarding the nature of its users’ privacy on the social networking site.
The company once known for protecting privacy to the point of exclusivity
(it began its days as a network for college kids only – no one else even
had access), now seemingly wants to compete with more open social networks
like the microblogging media darling Twitter.
Those of you who edited your privacy settings prior to December’s change
have nothing to worry about – that is, assuming you elected to keep your
personalized settings when prompted by Facebook’s “transition tool.” The
tool, a dialog box explaining the changes, appeared at the top of Facebook
homepages this past month with its own selection of recommended settings.
Unfortunately, most Facebook users likely opted for the recommended
settings without really understanding what they were agreeing to. If you
did so, you may now be surprised to find that you inadvertently gave
Facebook the right to publicize your private information including status
updates, photos, and shared links.
Want to change things back? Read on to find out how.
1. Who Can See The Things You Share (Status Updates, Photo, Videos, etc.)
Probably the most critical of the “privacy” changes (yes, we mean those
quotes sarcastically) was the change made to status updates. Although
there’s now a button beneath the status update field that lets you select
who can view any particular update, the new Facebook default for this
setting is “Everyone.” And by everyone, they mean everyone.
If you accepted the new recommended settings then you voluntarily gave
Facebook the right to share the information about the items you post with
any user or application on the site. Depending on your search settings,
you may have also given Facebook the right to share that information with
search engines, too.
To change this setting back to something of a more private nature, do the
following:
1. From your Profile page, hover your mouse over the Settings menu at
the top right and click “Privacy Settings” from the list that appears.
2. Click “Profile Information” from the list of choices on the next page.
3. Scroll down to the setting “Posts by Me.” This encompasses anything
you post, including status updates, links, notes, photos, and videos.
4. Change this setting using the drop-down box on the right. We
recommend the “Only Friends” setting to ensure that only those people
you’ve specifically added as a friend on the network can see the things
you post.
2. Who Can See Your Personal Info
Facebook has a section of your profile called “personal info,” but it only
includes your interests, activities, and favorites. Other arguably more
personal information is not encompassed by the “personal info” setting on
Facebook’s Privacy Settings page. That other information includes things
like your birthday, your religious and political views, and your
relationship status.
After last month’s privacy changes, Facebook set the new defaults for this
other information to viewable by either “Everyone” (for family and
relationships, aka relationship status) or to “Friends of Friends”
(birthday, religious and political views). Depending on your own
preferences, you can update each of these fields as you see fit. However,
we would bet that many will want to set these to “Only Friends” as well.
To do so:
1. From your Profile page, hover your mouse over the Settings menu at
the top right and click “Privacy Settings” from the list that appears.
2. Click “Profile Information” from the list of choices on the next page.
3. The third, fourth, and fifth item listed on this page are as
follows: “birthday,” “religious and political views,” and “family and
relationship.” Locking down birthday to “Only Friends” is wise here,
especially considering information such as this is often used in
identity theft.
4. Depending on your own personal preferences, you may or may not feel
comfortable sharing your relationship status and religious and
political views with complete strangers. And keep in mind, any setting
besides “Only Friends” is just that – a stranger. While “Friends of
Friends” sounds innocuous enough, it refers to everyone your friends
have added as friends, a large group containing hundreds if not
thousands of people you don’t know. All it takes is one
less-than-selective friend in your network to give an unsavory person
access to this information.
3. What Google Can See – Keep Your Data Off the Search Engines
When you visit Facebook’s Search Settings page, a warning message pops up.
Apparently, Facebook wants to clear the air about what info is being
indexed by Google. The message reads:
There have been misleading rumors recently about Facebook indexing all
your information on Google. This is not true. Facebook created public
search listings in 2007 to enable people to search for your name and see a
link to your Facebook profile. They will still only see a basic set of
information.
While that may be true to a point, the second setting listed on this
Search Settings page refers to exactly what you’re allowing Google to
index. If the box next to “Allow” is checked, you’re giving search engines
the ability to access and index any information you’ve marked as visible
by “Everyone.” As you can see from the settings discussed above, if you
had not made some changes to certain fields, you would be sharing quite a
bit with the search engines…probably more information than you were
comfortable with. To keep your data private and out of the search engines,
do the following:
1. From your Profile page, hover your mouse over the Settings menu at
the top right and click “Privacy Settings” from the list that appears.
2. Click “Search” from the list of choices on the next page.
3. Click “Close” on the pop-up message that appears.
4. On this page, uncheck the box labeled “Allow” next to the second
setting “Public Search Results.” That keeps all your publicly shared
information (items set to viewable by “Everyone”) out of the search
engines. If you want to see what the end result looks like, click the
“see preview” link in blue underneath this setting.
Take 5 Minutes to Protect Your Privacy
While these three settings are, in our opinion, the most critical, they’re
by no means the only privacy settings worth a look. In a previous article
(written prior to December’s changes, so now out-of-date), we also looked
at things like who can find you via Facebook’s own search, application
security, and more.
While you may think these sorts of items aren’t worth your time now, the
next time you lose out on a job because the HR manager viewed your
questionable Facebook photos or saw something inappropriate a friend
posted on your wall, you may have second thoughts. But why wait until
something bad happens before you address the issue?
Considering that Facebook itself is no longer looking out for you, it’s
time to be proactive about things and look out for yourself instead.
Taking a few minutes to run through all the available privacy settings and
educating yourself on what they mean could mean the world of difference to
you at some later point…That is, unless you agree with Facebook in
thinking that the world is becoming more open and therefore you should
too.
Note: Other resources on Facebook’s latest changes worth reading include
MakeUseOf’s 8 Steps Toward Regaining your Privacy, 17 steps to protect
your privacy from Inside Facebook, the ACLU’s article examining the
changes, and DotRights.org’s comprehensive analysis of the new settings.
If you’re unhappy enough to protest Facebook’s privacy update, you can
sign ACLU’s petition. The FTC is also looking into the matter thanks to a
complaint filed by a coalition of privacy groups, led by the Electronic
Privacy Information Center. You can add your voice to the list of
complaints here.
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Have Providers Finally Given Up Passively Waiting For Recovery?
By Stewart Gandolf | January 16, 2010
I am a partner in a medical advertising agency, and something very intriguing has happened for us during the first two weeks of this year….
Our inquiry rate from doctors, hospitals, manufacturers and other potential health care clients has tripled over what we are used to.
Now, we expect a small bump due to New Years resolutions, and we’ve also made a few tweaks to our marketing efforts.
But I think the real cause of this explosion of interest is that doctors and health care organizations have finally given up on passively waiting for the recession to end.
For two years, I have exhorted readers, audiences and prospective clients to continue marketing despite the recession. Now, apparently, at least some people are fed up with waiting.
I want to make an important distinction here.
I didn’t say that our prospective clients are excited about the recovery we are alleged to be in the middle of. In fact, quite the opposite.
Out of the dozens of inquiries my partner and I have been fielding lately, not one person has mentioned any evidence of a recovery in his or her business. (I wrote in recent post about how I often get laughter from doctors and healthcare professionals whenever I mention our “recovery.”)
Which by the way, don’t even get me started. On January 14, CNBC reported that, “Retail sales unexpectedly fell in December, leaving 2009 with the biggest yearly drop on record.” What’s more, the same article reported unemployment was up. Again.
Yet the stock market that same day saw gains. Clearly there is a disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street. (Note: the economists I follow say it will take years before we see good economic times again.)
In any event, true to American spirit, at least some people appear to be dusting themselves off and taking matters into their own hands. They realize that hope is not a strategy, and waiting for things to get better could take a really long time.
Topics: Medical Marketing | 1 Comment »
How to avoid the 7 Deadly Sins of Medical Marketing.
By Stewart Gandolf | December 16, 2009
How can you avoid the most common and expensive healthcare marketing mistakes?
Download and read the free white paper, “The 7 Deadly Sins of Healthcare Marketing.” (link below)
It contains the medical marketing mistakes that my partner and I have observed time and again while working with thousands of doctors and other healthcare clients.
So far over 10,000 people have downloaded their free copy, and we invite you to do the same. It comes with a free subscription to the Healthcare Success Marketing Advisor. (You can unsubscribe at any time.)
Download your copy here http://www.healthcaresuccess.com/articles/7-deadly-sins.html and tell us what you think.
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“7 Mistakes Doctors Make When Trying to Attract New Patients From The Internet.”
By Stewart Gandolf | November 18, 2009
I presented a webinar yesterday for Henry Schein Medical customers about how to attract more patients from the Internet. We’ve since decided to make the recording available for free, for a limited time.
While it was created for providers, the concepts apply to all kinds of businesses.
To register to see it, go here Medical Internet Marketing and Advertising.
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Will the “is-it-over-yet” recession ultimately be good for us?
By Stewart Gandolf | November 17, 2009
Throughout this recession, a fair number of thought leaders have opined on whether American consumers have been permanently (and perhaps beneficially) changed in the process.
Here are some interesting related reads: Time Magazine’s “The Great Recession – America Becomes a Thrift Nation,” Time Magazine author Kurt Andersen wrote a feature article and later a book, “Reset: How This Crisis Can Restore Our Values and Renew America,” and ABC “Finance – Americans Adapt to the New Normal.”
Because there are so many conflicting trends happening at once, it will indeed be interesting to see how things turn out.
1. Our leaders denied the recession even existed for a whole year, and a few months after the Q4 2008 abyss began talking about “green shoots” and “over.”
2. My audiences (mostly doctors and healthcare professionals) remain incredibly skeptical – some laughed out loud in New York when I mentioned Ben Bernanke’s recent statement that the recession is “very likely over.”
3. Real unemployment is approaching 20% when you consider people who have given up or work part time.
4. People are finally beginning to be able to pay down debt (good) because they aren’t buying as much stuff (bad?).
5. We know that consumers still lust after big TVs, because it is just so hard to resist when your neighbors buy new stuff. So there could be a consumer tendency to spend again (too much, too fast, too soon), especially among the least educated consumers who can ill afford them.
6. Yet many people recognize that they spent way too much in the past, and are now uncertain about their futures. I for one predict a really poor Holiday shopping season as a result (and I am supposed to be an ever-optimistic marketer).
7. The Obama administration has seen to it that no one has felt any pain, including speculators and the people who got us into this mess. We solved the problems created by outlandish spending by … spending far more.
8. According to my economic hero Nouriel Roubini (who saved me a bundle by predicting our collapse last September), the stock market went up way (”too fast, too much, too soon”) and is based on near zero interest lending, which therefore has speculators spending other people’s money at little cost or risk.
Déjà vu?
9. In “The Great Depression Ahead,” Harry Dent predicted a depression about 2010, not due to current issues, but the fact that Baby Boomer spending will predictably slow as they age.
So the question remains, are consumers really permanently altered?
If Bernanke is right and the recession really is over, most consumers will quickly forget what they have learned and go back to spending. No doubt about it. Most simply haven’t experienced enough pain.
However, if Roubini and Dent are right, “We ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” Unemployment will continue to reign, and the air will begin rushing out of the hyper-inflated economic balloon as Holiday spending crashes on the rocks before it starts.
I expect the latter, and predict a very bumpy ride.
So eventually, yes, consumers will be permanently altered in their spending habits, for good and ill.
Which of course will make healthcare marketing more challenging for providers.
Maybe I should look at it as job security…
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What recovery? Unemployment shoots past 10 percent
By Stewart Gandolf | November 17, 2009
Another good post about real unemployment, this one from Yahoo! News. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/What-recovery-Unemployment-apf-563122944.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=6&asset=&ccode=
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Memo to Warren Buffett: Put Down the Pom-Poms and Tell Us the Truth About the Economy
By Stewart Gandolf | November 17, 2009
Love this post about Warren Buffet’s outlook on the economy of late http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/memo-to-warren-buffett-pu_b_359899.html
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