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Discreet Advertising
Posted By: jstiles* on 3/1/2005 5:05 PM (CST) 400 Points
I am interested in augmenting (possibly confirm) some of the marketing ideas I have so far for a medical group client. I'll try to be brief.

The group is comprised of 5 physicians in a single location. One is very well known in the area, another is new to area but has national credentials, the others are not really differentiated from competition.

This is one of the three largest (tie) offices among the 6 total for this specialty in the area.

They make a habit of donating to charities, often anonymously, and are clear that they do it for results and not credit.

The group is differentiated mostly by its very upscale setting, participation in research trials, and compassionate staff. There are also many integrated professional services (e.g. counselor and pharmacist on staff) that are outsourced by competitors.

This is a business that is driven by referals from other physicians (primary care and surgeons) but ultimately the patients make the choice. Private insurance pays for majority of services.

The challenge is that in order to maintain the reputation of the group they do not want to engage in outdoor or direct mail ads. The budget is rather modest as well but they are more flexible in that regard. The target audience is potentially any age but most likey in those over 35.

They seek discreet advertising. Specifically, a means of conveying the expertise, warmth and caring to the right people at the right time, without being overt.

Your help is appreciated, go to it gang!

Posted by: Malcolm Mcdonald* Member Response
3/1/2005 5:20 PM (CST)
Perhaps it's got something to do with being a polite Canadian, but I always go to the specialist my doctor recommends - I figure that he's the best to know. How my doc finds out about the specialist, however, I'm not sure - but I do know that he's almost always got a leaflet or brochure on hand to give me from that specialist - usually with a big space for important appointment booking details. If your client's practice is well known, and they don't already have something like this, I would definitely recommend ramping up their presence within the primary care physician's offices - that's the best kind of timely 'product placement' you can hope for.
 
Posted by: koen.h.pauwels Member Response
3/1/2005 5:25 PM (CST)
What works very well for my father-in-law is local TV appearances on important health issues. This way, you are showing your expertise without touting your own horn. It also puts the patient concerns first (on a much larger scale, Kaiser Permante is currently trying to convey warmth and patient care in California)
 
Posted by: Paul Copcutt Accepted Answer
3/1/2005 5:30 PM (CST)
Jim

You might want to look at trying different approaches from medical related practitioners but not MD's

One such person is an Austrailian dentist called Paddi Lund

http://www.solutionspress.com.au/content/standard.asp?

Also can they put on information sessions in their practice for local docs who do not currently refer and also for insurance providers?

For the three partners not currently differentiated is there some work you can do here to make them unique?

Good luck!
 
Posted by: kulkdeepu* Accepted Answer
3/1/2005 6:18 PM (CST)
i know it is a very difficult situation. i had faced the same kind of situation when dealing with some surgons. i can share with you my experience. what i had done was
when you talk to them just note down each and every key work. then sit down by yourself and analyze every thing. the answer to their problem is right in those words.
in my case i had helped promote the surgons by putting up their interviews in the medical journals. and it had worked well.
in case of doctors what you can do is arrange for a radio interview with the 2 distictive doctors so that you get maximum exposure and you will actually not advertise but it will then be a PR job. or put up their interviews on tv shows. it is not a costly affair if you have a decent budget.
wish you luck
 
Posted by: telemoxie Accepted Answer
3/1/2005 6:54 PM (CST)
I checked out your web site - looks very nice by the way - but it seems to me that you are missing the one key qualification you need for this situation: you are not a Medical Doctor.

If these doctors are like most other doctors - unless you have certain initials behind your name, your 30 years marketing experience (and mine as well) are worth precisely zip.

If I were in your situation, I would certainly ask the question you are asking... but I would ask it of other doctors. I would say, "Doctor Jones at Practice ABC in New Mexico did this and it worked... the doctors at such and such a practice in California did some other thing and it worked".

They will be thankful for the effort you used to collect the info and to analyze and priortitize the options, and to prepare and present a concise summary and reccomendation (as long as they make the decision), and they will be happy to let you implement the program they choose... but they will believe the other doctors, if they are like many others in their field, they will not believe you.
 
Posted by: mgoodman Accepted Answer
3/1/2005 9:18 PM (CST)
I think the solution to the problem (of how to advertise in a way that will be comfortable for the doctors) is to redefine the mission to be one of education. They can become the recognized experts by providing the education consumers/patients need, and by providing materials to referring physicians that will help them educate their patients.

A few of the vehicles they might use are: (1) brochures, (2) media appearances, (3) newspaper columns, (4) website, (5) seminars (if appropriate), and (6) books and booklets. There are probably a few more, but this is a good start. It might also be worth talking to a publicist about how to get some local visibility without looking or sounding like a commercial.

Several chiropracters take this approach, as does a small group of radiology clinics in Long Island, NY. In the case of the latter, they even ask patients to look at the site and go through a mini-orientation (online) before they begin certain procedures. It's a time saver, a great educational device, and it gives them a real selling point when they ask other physicians for referrals.

Hope this helps.
 
Posted by: blanalytics Member Response
3/1/2005 9:21 PM (CST)
You need to convince your doctor friends to do informational ads or infomercials. If you focus on a public service type of informational message, you can convince them they are doing a public service, yet their name gets out and reputation, which is what will drive business.
 
Posted by: Jim Deveau/Catalyst* Accepted Answer
3/1/2005 9:41 PM (CST)
Hi:

I concur with my colleagues that have recommended publicity via public appearances, seminars, etc.

Your clients can do a great deal of public service by helping to educate and reassure potential patients.

Have them seek out a magazine or newspaper feature - they can offer to write a regular column for the paper (e.g. barter) in return.

There are many possibiilties - get them thinking about speaking to the public and making their work newsworthy.

I hope this helps.
 
Posted by: Theresa H. Accepted Answer
3/2/2005 9:42 AM (CST)
The business is driven by physician referrals, but ultimately the patient makes the choice.....

Your target markets in order of importance are
- Referring physicians
- Potential patients
The insurance companies could be considered a tertiary (they can make referrals too.) But I won't address them here.

There is one factor that a few of these answers don't address which is most patients do what their physician tells (or suggests) them to do. So, unless the physicians who refer to your practice are giving patients 3 or 4 practice options to chose from - letting their patients do some leg work to find out which practice is the better choice for them - the more likely senario is that physicians are saying "here is what you need to have done and here is where I suggest you go."

Go after the referring physicians. Pick GP and surgical practices that have referred patients to you less frequently and have your docs set up a one-on-one lunch with the referring docs. Referrals are about relationship building. Have your docs utilize the realtionships they already have in the medical community to facilitate the introductions to these referring physicians. This can build business.

Don't forget the docs and offices who are big referral sources for you and give you the bulk of your business. Whether it's a personal note each time there is a referral, or a gift basket to the doc or the office once a month, or every 5 referrals. It helps to build the relationships with the office staff as well. They can be integral in the referral relationship.

Use the education/seminar suggestions to build brand awareness (practice awareness) among the patient population, but don't forget the source...the referring docs.

Hope this helps.
Theresa
 
Posted by: Papadoc (Steve)* Accepted Answer
3/2/2005 11:10 AM (CST)
Jim,

It seems to me that you have an advantage in the one well known doctor, probably drawing much of the clientele to the practice. There are of course many advantages to putting each of the docs on a similar footing, not the least of which is the viral marketing/word-of-mouth value. Each then draws in their own patients and may pass off others to other docs in the practice.

When someone says “discreet advertising”, to me, that immediately translates as PR, not advertising. Since healthcare is one of the top things of personal interest to a wide segment of our society, generating such should not be too hard. However, you might consider going in two simultaneous directions.

Check with your local newspaper to find out if they would consider a regular Sunday medical column, and with your television stations to see if they would be interested in a weekly 3-minute health segment during the news. It’s not necessarily as cumbersome as it may sound. In such cases, the news crew may show up once every two months and tape a dozen segments back to back. In exchange for these, then of course the news organization announces the name of the practice and maybe a website address.

Local groups such as the Lions, Elks, or Chamber may also be interested in medical speakers from time to time. This is a great foray into the community of business leaders, which of course are generally your 35+ with higher than average incomes.

Going these routes gets the name out without making the docs feel like they are part of the dancing bear club.

Steve
 
Posted by: jstiles* Author Response
3/2/2005 12:55 PM (CST)
Thanks for the opinions so far. There are some great contibutions and Theresa and Steve really helped confirm some of my thoughts so far.

Any to the contrary? Any examples of good work in this or similar areas?

I will leave this question open for another day or two to see if there are any other helpful contributions out there.

Thanks again to all of you for lending me your time and expertise.
 
Posted by: stevea Accepted Answer
3/3/2005 7:52 AM (CST)
Could I just add one item to Steve H’s response, which I totally agree with (Especially the dancing bear reference!)? As well as the respected commercial and social fellowships, also go out to the local churches and church communities with the offer of addressing the some of the various groups or meetings associated with them. Good works in this area have the dual benefit of assisting the neediest whilst being noticed by the worthiest!

I’m not being cynical with the above joke - if you look at some of the most inspirational entrepreneurs, philanthropists and educationalists that America has produced, they have nearly all reached out through church communities, namely because they can give something back whilst receiving a benefit themselves. If they have a faith or belief themselves, then they get 3 benefits, so it should be win, win, win!

Steve Alker
 


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