You Never Know Who’s Reading

Fat Cyclist on the ride of his life. Photo by Glenn Kasin

These days it’s not unusual to get a high-level response to a blog post, e-mail or comment you make in your Facebook status. While the storyline itself is becoming commonplace, sometimes when it happens it’s an exceptional story.

Like what happened to recreational cyclist/IT product manager/blogger Fat Cyclist . He’s usually called Fatty, but in the name of professionalism I will use his real name, Elden.

In 2007, the blogger’s wife Susan was diagnosed (again) with breast cancer. Rather than abandon his blog, he used it to chronicle and share his family’s painful battle and to raise money to fund cancer research.

Susan died in August 2009 and he credits her for turning his blog from bike jokes into a cancer-fighting powerhouse. And that it is.

On December 3, 2009, on a whim, Elden posted a resume cover letter  to Johan Bruyneel, the manager of Lance Armstrong’s newly formed professional cycling team, Team RadioShack. He hilariously outlined his qualifications for becoming a professional cyclist.

 Within 24 hours of the post, Johan had:

1. read the letter.
2. asked his Facebook followers if he should give him a shot.
3. extended Elden the opportunity to ride with Team RadioShack for a day provided he could meet two fundraising goals.

With his readers’ help, Elden reached both goals within 24 hours of announcing the contest on his blog on December 6.

So, on December 7, Johan upped the ante. If Elden could raise $100,000 he’d throw in a trip for two from Trek Travel to the finish of the 2010 Tour de France. Elden’s supporters propelled him past the new goal again less than 24 hours later. In less than three days, “Team Fatty” generated more than $135,000 for Livestrong and World Bicycle Relief.

Elden rode with Lance, Levi and rest of the team the weekend of December 11 while donors reaped the HUGE rewards Elden gave away to further the cause: the autographed team Trek Madone bike, a custom Fat Cyclist Gary Fisher bike and the Tour de France weekend. Here’s his video recap  of the experience.

Fully aware of all that Elden had simply given away to his blog readers, Johan and the team gave him his own Trek Madone and a trip to the Tour of California for his family complete with a ride in the team car.

For the past few years, Elden openly shared the painful realities and raw emotions of his family’s fight with cancer. While many readers did have hopes of winning the Madone bike, I believe most wanted to give him a small slice of happiness in one of the most painful years of his life.

Elden’s blog post set the wheels in motion, but his loyal, engaged readers got him to the finish. Would your blog’s readers do the same for you?

Retail healthcare.

Based on the positive review posted by a friend on Facebook, I decided to try the services of a CVS Minute Clinic yesterday when I came down with what I knew to be a bad sinus infection. Up to this point, I had always gone to my primary care physician for any illness. I knew these retail friendly clinics were part of a growing trend and were expanding in pharmacies like Walgreen’s, Kerr Drug and the pinnacle of retail environments, Walmart. Healthcare consumers seem to like the retail approach when it comes to comfort and convenience.

I want to be clear; I really like my primary care physician. I’ve referred numerous friends and colleagues to his practice. But in this case—when I knew exactly what I had and exactly what I needed—I wanted a more convenient option. I pulled up the nearest Minute Clinic online, and printed out the driving directions right from the CVS site. When I arrived, I entered my basic information in a very user-friendly kiosk which informed me I would be seen next. A very friendly nurse practitioner recorded my symptoms , entered some information and performed a few diagnostic tests. Tests proved what I already knew, I had a nasty sinus infection. She told me the antibiotic she was prescribing and why she chose that particular antibiotic and then she asked me where I want to have my prescription filled. I told her I like to pickup prescriptions where I grocery shop. She put in the grocery pharmacy info without once shilling the CVS that we were sitting in. When I asked about the hard copy of the prescription, she informed me all the data had been sent to my pharmacy electronically. I didn’t even have to keep up with a piece of paper now. The entire process took less than 15 minutes.

The whole clinic-within-a- retail environment is about being patient focused. In this case, it’s focusing on my need for convenience for a minor health issue. It will never take the place of my primary care physician as the source that’s focused on my overall health and well-being.  These clinics do offer a valuable option to the healthcare consumer though.

Stay real with social media

I’ve noticed a few healthcare organizations that recently jumpstarted aggressive social media programs.  Way to dive in, I thought – until I noticed that their content matched up with other organizations’ posts.  Turns out it’s syndicated content.  It looks and acts like a local voice, but it’s not.

For a small business or hospital, starting a social media program may seem daunting, especially in terms of time to do it well.  If weighed against the prospect of not engaging in social media at all, pre-packaged information wins. 

Or does it? 

How effective is syndicated social media content when consumers crave the real thing: authentic people and experiences they can connect with? 

And if they connect – thinking it’s a local personality or voice they can trust – what happens when customers realize otherwise?

I wish I’d thought of that.

Most creative types start every project with the same hopeful thought, “this will be the best work I’ve ever done.” So you dig into your creative briefs and pore over the research. You think, brainstorm and execute. Finally, you step back with great pride and think, “they are going to love this.” You present the work and you are correct. They love the work and everyone is happy. Then, several months later, you thumb through a Communication Arts, Print or some other industry book and you think to yourself, “I wish I’d thought of that.” You look back at the work you just did and you know it could have been better.

Your work is still good. It’s on strategy, very effective, and your client loves it. But, as you look back, you realize at one point you were on the verge of something unique. Then you put your industry-specific hat on and unwittingly watered down a great idea.

Wait. Hold on. Timeout.

You always want to know the nuances of a specific industry in which you are working. It comes with the territory. But most of the time we pull that industry specific hat down over our eyes for one reason: fear. We use specific words and images because we think we have to. We forget that every human brain – whether it belongs to a consumer, creative or client – craves and notices novelty.

Like a lot creative people, I’m guilty of being afraid to develop something that may seem too radical from time to time. But not anymore. I’m more afraid of looking back on a project and thinking, “I wish I’d thought of that.”

People, helping people help people

If you want to know what drives successful advertising and marketing campaigns today, think pink. With nearly two million views in its first two weeks, the “Pink Gloves Dance” video is a perfect example of today’s best trends: strategic partnerships, new media and transparent creative.

Medline created their line of pink medical procedure gloves to raise breast cancer awareness. And to aid in the effort, they partnered with a Portland, OR, hospital to create an engaging, authentic and very human video, which they distributed through cost-free new media channels – with phenomenal results.

The video spotlights the vibrant staff of St. Vincent’s Medical Center, while also displaying Medline’s generosity and spirit. It even provided a platform for Jay Sean (whose song is featured) to showcase his socially-conscious side.

Together, the efforts of all three parties are helping further breast cancer research and provide mammograms for under- or uninsured women. And, everyone wins.

Which is exactly why this works.

CHPRMS Recap – Day 3

First, congrats to the Regional Medical Center and Lake Norman Regional for winning Wallie & Golden Tusk awards last night!  Love to see everyone dressed all snazzy to celebrate great healthcare marketing.

 

So after sausage biscuits hit the spot this morning, we shared the final session on physician relations with speaker Carolyn Merriman.  Some tidbits:

• Physician relations is the No. 1 thing that keeps hospital CEOs up at night, yet but hospitals don’t even make the Top 10 for docs.
• There’s no quick fix for referral patterns – selling cycles can take up to 24 months for an inpatient stay.
• Hospitals need a strategy, model and staffing structure to make the most of physician relations.  Most don’t have all three.
• Many hospitals don’t train reps in the “physician as customer” mentality.
• The national norm is to have a physician liaision in the field about 62% of the time.
• 64% of hospitals don’t do incentive-based pay for reps because they can’t figure out the best formula.

How does your organization compare?

Asheville’s crisp, mountain air always seems to provide some fresh perspectives – this year on social media, patient experience, internal communications, physician relations and many more. 

My favorite takeaway: If it ain’t working, try the opposite.  I heard it in one breakout session, but I think it applies across so many lessons from this conference.  If corporate speak isn’t moving the needle, try being genuine.  If regular employee channels aren’t generating results, go for novel ones.  If traditional hospital models don’t impact patient experience enough,  re-imagine them.  Kinda powerful.  Already thinking of where to apply that first…

CHPRMS Recap – Day 2

Today’s session included a lively panel discussion on healthcare reform followed by a masterclass on patient experience by Henry Ford Healthcare in Michigan. The CEO of their new hospital, a former international hotelier,  is truly visionary.  The entire focus of the facility is being a center for community wellness, not a place for disease (something we’re passionate about as well).

Some interesting points:  

• Henry Ford set up warehouse of the new hospital & staff walked through to test linens, feng shui of rooms, etc.
• The mission for hospital was boiled down to 10 words: to take health and healing beyond the boundaries of imagination.
• Hospital execs took a page from the book Blue Ocean Strategies: be so unique you make competitors irrelevant.
• They hired people on talent and passion in order to build an emotionally engaged workforce. ( Turnover is 8%)

Novant Health led a great session on employee communications.  Their premise (borrowed from George Costanza of Seinfeld): If it ain’t working, do the opposite.

A few creative ideas presented:

• Change computer wallpaper and screen savers system-wide to support your campaign.
• Look for unused real estate – anywhere – to communicate messages.  They used cafeteria tray liners, employee parking gate signs, bathroom stall signs and life-sized cardboard cutouts that popped up & moved around the hospital for a viral aspect.
• Novant created a website for any hospital to share the same campaign with its own staff – free.
• They collected those amazing stories of patient care that inspire everyone and created a coffee table book, microsite, blog and many other internal communications.

What internal communications have worked best for you?  How does you organization focus on patient experience?

Tonight, we’ll find out the winners for best healthcare marketing in the Carolinas, and tomorrow will focus on physician relations.  Check back tomorrow for the final update or follow live posts on Twitter via @mspeir or #chprms.

 

CHPRMS Recap – Day 1

Is it ironic that within a century-old hotel, there’s so much discussion of new media?  The Carolinas Healthcare PR and Marketing Society (CHPRMS) annual conference kicked off today at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.  Steve Crescenzo led a two-part track on social media followed by a panel discussion on the same.  So many different opinions created a great dialogue – like social media itself!

Some things we discussed:

• Some said most healthcare companies are first wading into social media internally - working out kinks, then moving into external channels.  Others said the data isn’t there to show intranets work at all, so external channels are the place to start. 
• There are three internets for social media: research, social and multimedia. 
• You can’t just have a social media plan; it must be integrated into an overall communications plan.
• Sounds basic, but we heard over and over about making social media conversational, engaging and authentic.  There are still too many examples of overly-cautious, heavily-lawyered corporate speak that goes nowhere. 
• Crisis communications via social media are much more effective when audiences are already comfortable with you in that space.

What do you think?  What’s most effective for you?  Share you input with us here, or shout out on Twitter via @mspeir or #chprms.

Day 2 will address healthcare reform, then patient experience with the folks at Henry Ford Hospital.

Quality Care As Viewed By Consumers

A constant frustration in hospitals is how consumers define “quality care.”  When you talk with caregivers, they believe their focus should be on clinical issues.  After all, a patient enters a hospital for treatment, right? 

While I can’t disagree with caregivers’ priority here, I also know it isn’t that simple when dealing with consumers – if you want them to come back.

In our recent Pulse360 survey, we asked insured women across the Southeast what the term “high quality care” in a hospital meant to them.  In the open-ended question, 18 percent  defined high quality care as courteous, personable doctors and staff while 8.4 percent  said accurate care and diagnosis.  That’s over twice as many choosing the softer side of care. 

Another 13.2 percent defined high quality care as state of the art technology and cleanliness.

To probe further, we asked them to choose between specific statements in defining “high quality care.”  28.3 percent still chose personal interactions  over correct diagnosis and treatment.

We’ve seen this same response in other research we’ve conducted, even in the ER.  When consumers talk about quality ER care, they talk about their desire for better communication and feeling that they are important to ER staff.

Why would anyone choose personal care over competent care?  It’s obviously not because they don’t want the competent care.  I think it’s because of two things: one, they expect the correct care – after all, that is why they go to the hospital.  But, they expect competent clinical care anywhere they go, otherwise, they wouldn’t go.  And anyway, how does a patient really know that she is getting competent care at the time of treatment? 

Secondly, they easily understand how to judge personal care.  They see it every day, everywhere they go.  Why wouldn’t they expect the same personal and courteous attention at their hospital that they find at Disney or Nordstrom? 

That’s how they are conditioned.  And, that’s how we’ve got to connect with them.

Dear Social Media Fan: Don’t Talk, Just Listen

While Facebooking yesterday, I remembered there’s a reason one-way friendships rarely last.  The friend who always calls the other and listens patiently usually loses interest when he or she doesn’t feel the relationship is reciprocal anymore.  (And does the other friend ever figure that out?)

I’m a FB fan of some great healthcare organizations.  I check in often to see what they’re up to, and they always fill me in on their latest news.  I love to hear it and comment to find out more.  But some groups don’t allow fans to post comments.  There seems to be little or no real dialogue.

It reminds me of folks on Twitter who follow you, but then block their own updates until they approve you.  It’s like a virtual “talk to the hand.”

Isn’t that missing the point of social media?  Isn’t it about sharing and connecting with people more than ever before?

One-way relationships lead me to think the organization doesn’t really care about its fans – or they’re trying to control the conversation – or both.

Hopefully, that’s not the case.  No one wants to push off the same relationships they’re trying to build.  Sure, there’s always risk in opening up, but aren’t the rewards worth it?