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Marketing/pr Tips For When You Have No Budget
Posted By: kelair10 on 11/27/2006 12:08 PM (CST) 250 Points
I work for a small but growing company that specializes in Marketing for Healthcare companies (especially Home Health agencies), nationwide. I enjoyed a fairly flexible budget for marketing expenditures and campaigns over the last few months. However, looking back over those two months, production has been too low and now I am forced to basically spend nothing on Marketing activities, as we focus creative development and production only on billable campaigns.

However, I certainly don't want to just put all marketing on hold, so I'm looking for some great ideas for low- or no-cost marketing and PR activities I could implement in the meantime (basically between now and Christmas). Primary goal is to gain awareness and eventually new business from prospective home health agencies. We do not currently have an active PR plan, so any tips on developing a PR strategy would be great, along with inexpensive marketing ideas.

I appreciate any help!

Posted by: vic Accepted Answer
11/27/2006 1:12 PM (CST)
On this site you will find everything you need to market "on the cheap"

http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/read/176/100_Marketing_Weapons.html

Good luck,

Vic
 
Posted by: W.M.M.A. Accepted Answer
11/27/2006 2:11 PM (CST)
This is ridiculous.
Your primary job is to ensure that everyone in the department/company is aware that they can get nothing for nothing. What have they done to change the world for the better? Nothing? Then no press release! Are you opening a new wing? What will it do? There is a possible press release. There must be news. There must be something exciting happening there.

Your BIG JOB is to get money for the department. If they do not investment spend in their programs, no one else will either. There has to be money somewhere. If not, you will not succeed at your job, and they will fail at what they are asking you to do.

News is news. If they have nothing to say except "we're open" WHOOPEE---"We provide medical services" WHOOPEE... that's what you're supposed to do.

If you can convince them that they are asking you to pull a rabbit out of a hat...you are on the right track.

All the best.

Randall
WMMA
 
Posted by: zelvenschi Member Response
11/27/2006 2:46 PM (CST)
Randall is right you got to show management that marketing spending is investment with the return on it for the company. Especially if what your company does is providing marketing services, shouldn't you guys be good at marketing yourselfes?
 
Posted by: kelair10 Author Response
11/27/2006 3:52 PM (CST)
Thanks for the input so far. Just to clarify, I have been assured this is a temporary, short-term challenge until we can get billable projects out the door between now and Christmas.

I should have my budget back again by the end of the year (which I will certainly fight for if needed), but for the time being, I want to make good use of my time with any activities that could produce good long-term results but not necessarily require up-front monetary investment...
 
Posted by: W.M.M.A. Member Response
11/27/2006 4:06 PM (CST)
Everything costs - something.
If I were in your position, I would begin structuring a plan for after the first, when the funds become available. If they want something now...that's PR. What do they have to say? New record census, tied to increase in baby boomer illnesses? Hey, it's a story.

Good Luck.
Randall
WMMA
 
Posted by: Laura* Accepted Answer
11/27/2006 7:30 PM (CST)
Hi,

A while back a question in the SWOT team was written about on conducting marketing without a budget.

It can be found at http://www.marketingprofs.com/5/stroll73.asp

Good Luck.

Laura
 
Posted by: shghosh Accepted Answer
11/28/2006 12:17 AM (CST)
Well -Do you have some research material that can make PR copy? Use the data and weave a human interest story around it.

Use e newsletters & emails to market your services.
Do some research/ collect Voice of Customer which you will need in upcoming months.

Do some competitive benchmarking- great way to get ready when the budgets are back.
 
Posted by: jojo Accepted Answer
11/28/2006 4:23 AM (CST)
write an article talking about how great your projects were in the past years (just make sure its buzz-worthy or super incredible at the very least). send it to your local newspaper . if it gets published, you might even get free publicity after :)
 
Posted by: Theresa H. Accepted Answer
11/28/2006 8:03 AM (CST)
OK, so you are a marketing organization who needs to market your services - with no budget - to home health agencies across the country.

Create a series of white papers on marketing home health care and e-mail them to prospects or post them on your website and then send a link to prospects.

Make cold calls to HHAs to "discuss" the importance of marketing in the increasingly competitive home health care industry.

Contact state home care associations and offer a marketing seminar for their membership. This would generate money for your organization and put prospective customers at your feet for even more revenue.

Contact the trade pubs for the home health industry (i.e. Success in Homecare) and offer to write an article on successful marketing strategies.

I would also take this time to plan for the coming months when this happens again. Your organization should have a plan for the lean months. You can't base everything off of creative and print revenue because the home health industry has definite cycles and there will be lean times several times a year.

I believe creating the seminars for state or smaller associations is a way to generate revenue for your agency in addition to the regular "campaign production" revenue. These seminars can be scheduled to bring in money throughout the year.

Hope this helps.
Theresa

P.S. Take some ideas from your competition like H2 Marketing in Seattle. They are selling their own "brand" of marketing strategy development all over the country. They were in Pennsylvania in March presenting it - see their website for what "it" is. Remember that traditional home health agencies like Visiting Nurse Associations and Medicare certified agencies never really had to market until now. These places are babes in the realm of marketing and don't know how to do it, they just know that they need to do it. Private duty agencies are tougher in that many are franchises who have marketing built into their program and the smaller start-ups don't have the budgets. Good Luck!
 
Posted by: devinrange Accepted Answer
11/28/2006 10:17 AM (CST)
While I agree with tmh1, the reality is that the health care industry is booming right now...and it will be for the next 25 years! Our agency has a division that specializes in health care marketing and the overwhelming theme across the board right now is "Why should I spend more money when people are continually coming through the door?" As a true marketing professional, you can't very well claim that in order to keep those people coming through the door that said client needs to continue spending at a high rate, because the reality is they will come anyway. In my opinion, the best thing to do this time of year is to find a sentimental story and exploit it. I.E. A military veteran and his/her grandson that just returned from Iraq for the holidays, a well known city figure (high school coach, politician, etc.) reconnecting with his/her community through some civic organization/event. These types of stories will, in most likelihood, be picked up by your local paper, which shouldn't cost you a cent and, if written the right way, they will get your agency/organization the notoriety and recognition your execs are looking for.

I'm not sure if this helps or not, but I wish you all the best. If I can help in any other way feel free to ask.

Devin
 
Posted by: peanutpeanut Accepted Answer
11/28/2006 12:19 PM (CST)
given that it is christmas time there must be some heart rendering stories out there in your area of where one of the agencies you represent has done a major good deed. find out about those and then go approach some media outlets individually rather than a big press release with just such a story. tell them you will give it to them exclusively. i am sure someone will bite. that has been my experience and i used to be in the media business where i had to deal with such calls and even though later i went up the corporate ladder i can tell you people in the business area always looking for those do good stories especially at x mas time..
 
Posted by: madsdadus* Member Response
12/3/2006 10:19 AM (CST)
Not that familiar with your marketplace, but can you pen articles or serve as a guest on radio or TV to advocate for consumers/business on how to spend their FSA dollars now that the end of the year is approaching and they risk losing those dollars? Atleast you will generate some recognition for your brand without the spend. And contacting the appropriate outlets will take some time.

Also, you may want to exploit the blogosphere- not sure what outlets exist for your industry in that space, but it may also be a good place to get your company recognized.

I agree with the first few posters regarding the need to fight for additional resources, but I understand your predicament is short term. Now may also be a good time to review those invoices that came in and be certain that you were billed appropriately or for other bills you may be expecting this month, that you will be billed what you are expecting. We recently found a great deal of money that is going to fund an initiative this year that we thought we would have to put off until next.

Best of luck!
 


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