5 Hospital and IDN Marketing Secrets Suppliers Need to Know!

I recently attended a conference in Nashville, Tenn., focused on best practices in marketing by hospitals and health systems. Attendees listened to great marketers from world class organizations such as;

• Cleveland Clinic
• Texas Health Resources
• Boston Medical Center
• Beaumont
• Ascension Healthcare
• Indiana University Health
• Mayo

So why would a supply chain guy like me care what IDN/hospital marketers are saying? Because in this marketplace, only the suppliers that align with what their customers are promising their customers will thrive.

Make no mistake – these marketing leaders are vital to their organizations.

Here are a few things I learned that any supplier who wants to really understand their customers should know.

1. Every hospital is looking for commercial pay patients for specialty care. Said another way, hospitals have plenty of patients that are covered by Medicare and Medicaid, or covered by nothing at all. Hospitals need patients with good insurance to ensure they make ends meet and can continue to invest in great buildings, people, and technology. Can your organization provide the right data, information, or content to help hospitals attract these patients? If the answer is yes, let them know!
2. Every life deserves world-class care. Sound familiar? This is the Cleveland Clinic’s brand promise. It sums up my hope for all healthcare providers, and their promise to their communities. Do you know your customers’ brand promise? Do you know your company’s brand promise? Who does your brand promise target? Hospitals? Patients? Wall Street? With the overload of content and information out there, you better have your brand promise right!
3. Twenty percent of Americans have a behavioral health issue, and it effects 55 percent of all healthcare costs. We spend so much time talking about contracting best practices for drugs, gloves, MRIs, and hospital beds, that we lose sight of how our solutions may help providers address behavioral health. If you have a way to help hospitals and IDNs with this burgeoning issue, they would welcome it.
4. The average hospital has a $3.1 million marketing budget, and $950,000 of it is spent on interactive marketing. The days of mass mailings, logos tied to sports figures, and billboard displays of a doctor in a white coat are numbered. Marketers want to segment all the way down to the unit of one. Being in consideration is the new gold standard when a patient uses the Internet for advice on care. Can you help equip your customers with compelling, timely, and meaningful content when their patient is looking for answers?
5. Be an active participant in your rescue! If you are in a transactional mindset with your hospitals and IDNs, I promise you they are doing all they can to commoditize you right out the door. If you actively help your customers attain the right patient at the right time to give the right care, you will be a much more valuable supplier.

Although a little unorthodox, I enjoyed listening to the other side of the industry at this meeting. I may be an eternal optimist, but I believe that if you can help hospitals deliver on their promise, your seat at the table will be more valued!

Let me know how we can help you align better with hospitals and IDNs. We at Share Moving Media do it every day, and would love to help you. Our brand promise is our name – if given the chance, we’d love to provide you content to gain market share. Give me a call to hear how we do this! You can reach me at (770) 263-5262, or via email at jpritchard@ShareMovingMedia.com.

Thanks for dropping by!