Tag Archives: Chief Marketing Officer

The Healthcare Marketer’s Role in Innovation

Posted on April 5, 2012 | 1 comment

Scan any health system strategic plan these days and you’ll see the word “transformation.”  It’s a top of mind issue for healthcare executives trying to restructure, position and prepare their organizations for success in the new world.   Changing economics are front and center, and require new ways of thinking about care delivery, market growth, risk management and customer engagement.

But transformation does not happen without innovation.  Customer orientation, creativity, and culture are key leverage points for chief marketing officers (CMOs) to drive innovations in brand activities, service offerings, packaging, customer experience, customer engagement, channel management, pricing, and strategic partnerships that strengthen competitive performance. 

This new era will create unprecedented opportunities for marketing leaders to step up and be integral catalysts for innovations that bring about growth, increased customer loyalty and better business performance.  Creating new markets, moving market share, developing new sources of revenue, building brand loyalty, improving profitability, and sustaining competitiveness are all goals of innovation. 

Success stems from creative thinking, fresh solutions, and relevance to customers.  And that puts marketing front and center as the curator of customer intelligence. 

We know that consumers are frustrated by the complexities of access, fragmentation of care, lack of communications, and other aspects of care delivery (oh, I can tell you some stories!). Yet, most of the industry is woefully behind in providing on-line conveniences such as scheduling and customer communications.  Opportunities for innovations that take the hassle out of healthcare are sizable. 

So why aren’t more marketers driving changes in the customer experience realm?

Well, I put forth a theory (or more) in an article “The CMO as Chief Innovation Catalyst” published last month in Healthcare Strategy Alert.   Perhaps it’s the historical view of marketing as promotions and sales.  Or the lack of shared accountability between marketing and operations for achieving growth objectives.  Or the fact that innovation runs counter to normal operating procedures (and most healthcare organizations are operations vs. market driven).  Or all of the above. 

Whatever the cause, transformation does not happen without innovation.  Where will the leadership for innovation come from?

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Posted in Corrigan Partners, Innovation, Marketing Management

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Marketing Executives: Are You Ready for the Future?

Posted on April 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

I’m looking forward to the 17th National Healthcare Marketing Strategies Summit, April 29 – May 1, 2012 at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes in Orlando, Florida.  It’s a great forum for staying on top of trends and leading edge practices in the health industry, and for connecting with friends and colleagues.  And, hey, it’s at the Ritz-Carlton.  What’s not to like??

I’m also excited to be presenting with three top-notch marketing executives – Suzanne Sawyer (Penn Medicine), Ellen Barron (University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and Phyllis Marino (MetroHealth) – on the changing role of the chief marketing officer in healthcare institutions.  Here’s our session description.  Hope to see you there!

Marketing Executives:  Are You Ready for the Future!
Sunday, April 29; 1:00 pm – 3:45 pm

More than ever, marketing executives are being held to a higher standard of accountability for driving growth, innovation, customer loyalty and better business performance in health systems.  This workshop will focus on the changing role of the marketing executive in establishing the discipline of marketing as a core business competency, and in creating high performing, future-ready marketing teams and operations.  Learn how three health systems are redesigning marketing to proactively address new competitive dynamics, drive alignment to health system growth agendas and master new media fluency.  Participants will also learn key methods for assessing their own marketing operations and establishing a road map for change.

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Industry Pioneers Honored by Healthcare Internet Hall of Fame

Posted on April 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

Do you know a person or organization that has made numerous, lasting and significant contributions to the healthcare Internet field at a local, state or national level?  If so, you have until the end of day Friday, June 1, 2012 to nominate them for the 2012 Healthcare Internet Hall of Fame.  Nominations will be accepted for the following categories:

  • Innovative Individuals
  • Innovative Provider Organizations
  • Innovative Products and Services

The contributions of the nominated organizations and individuals to the industry must be extraordinary and far exceed what might be generally expected or accepted.  Candidates selected by the Board of Judges will be individuals or organizations that clearly standout from the mainstream, and whose work and accomplishments distinguish them from others working in the same field.

The Healthcare Internet Hall of Fame was established in 2011 to honor men, women and organizations that have made outstanding, long-lasting contributions to the healthcare Internet industry. The organization’s purpose, while honoring innovation, is to ensure that the “history” of the industry is preserved for future generations new to the healthcare industry.  

Although initially organized by Greystone.Net, the Hall of Fame is an independent organization whose annual inductees are selected by an independent Board of Judges. Inductions are made at the Healthcare Internet Hall of Fame luncheon during the annual Healthcare Internet Conference.

The 2011 inductees were John Eudes, co-founder of Greystone.Net, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Sharp Healthcare, Epic, Estrada CMS and WebMD.  Click here to read more about their accomplishments.

So, who would you nominate?

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Investing in the Marketing Management Infrastructure

Posted on December 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

Part 4 of Prioritizing Marketing Resources Key to Return on Investment Goals.

Marketing resource allocation planning is critical to assuring that limited marketing resources (dollars and FTEs) are focused on growth and marketing initiatives that have the best potential for improving business performance and positioning health systems for long-term success.  Parts 2 and 3 of this series described the first two primary decision points in resource allocation modeling:

  • First, what businesses, clinical programs or market expansion initiatives offer the best opportunity for growth and profitability?
  • Second, within priority programs and service lines, what strategies and tactical initiatives will best achieve marketing goals?

The third decision point is “what infrastructure investments will be required to support effective growth and marketing management?”  In other words, what are the capabilities, technologies, skill sets, business partners, processes and tools necessary for the marketing team to execute marketing strategy and achieve growth objectives?  Building a high- performing marketing team and the systems to support that team are strategy-critical investments that will generate far greater returns over the long term.

What should you consider? 

  • Structure, staffing and skill set of the marketing team.  Is the team optimally organized and staffed to execute and manage against strategic priorities?  Do they possess the skills required in today’s complex and competitive world – including business analytics, strategy and critical thinking skills?  Can they mobilize and align clinical, administrative and other functions to effect marketing strategy?   Are they fluent in new media and skilled in web, social networking and mobile technology platforms? 
  • CRM and call centers.  Next, evaluate the capabilities, systems and processes to capture and respond to customer inquiries (both consumer and physician), and to capture, analyze and manage customer level data.  Today, marketers are moving toward integrated customer contact centers that better leverage call center, web inquiry and CRM capabilities in order to connect customers with services,  capture data to improve marketing decision-making, and measure the effectiveness of marketing investments.
  • Digital marketing capabilities and systems. One of the biggest challenges facing marketers today is the pace of change and shift in investments required to ramp up digital marketing strategies.  Web, search, social media and mobile marketing are no longer optional – nor should they be secondary priorities.  There is no better time to stop funding tactics with marginal returns (among my favorites are billboards) and plow those dollars into the staffing, training and systems to become digital marketing experts.
  • Decision support systems.  The key question here for marketers is “do we have the information needed to inform our decisions about strategy, investments and outcomes?”  Competitive intelligence, market research, trended performance data (e.g. volume growth, revenue, margin, etc.), market projections, industry trends, segmentation studies and other robust information sources are vital to effective marketing management.
  • Business partners and outsourced support.  What to build in-house versus what to outsource is often a tough question.  The rule of thumb is that if it’s not critical to core operations or a core competency in which you’re willing to invest and nurture, then outsourcing is probably the best alternative.  Business or outsourced partners include advertising agencies, digital marketing firms, call center operations and research firms, among others.  A periodic review of contract terms and performance is always a good idea.
  • Shorten your “to do” list.  One of the more difficult tasks for marketers is to eliminate activities and tasks that do not contribute to growth and improved competitive performance.  But in today’s environment, “squeaky wheels” must give way to an evidence-based approach to marketing investment.  The key to success is focusing your time – and dollars – on fewer, more impactful activities.

Conclusion

More than ever, chief marketing executives are being held to a higher standard of accountability for return on marketing investments.   A disciplined approach to marketing resource allocation planning is required to understand what programs, services or segments will best drive growth and improve business performance, and what activities and support systems will contribute most to those growth initiatives.  

Both top-down and bottom-up approaches to marketing resource allocation are necessary; top down for strategic marketing planning across a health system’s portfolio of service lines and market initiatives – and bottom up to develop specific marketing plans and budgets within each priority program. 

Most important, perhaps, is to use this data-informed approach to gain organizational commitment to investment decisions and staying on strategy. 

Read the series:

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Get Ready for the Self-Directed Healthcare Consumer

Posted on December 8, 2011 | 1 comment

By guest blogger Susan Lilly

So I’m Susan Lilly, recently “outed” on this blog as a breast cancer patient, and now, a survivor.  My experience over the past year has given me some fresh insight into trends that we’ve been talking about here at Corrigan Partners, most notably the rise of the self-directed health care consumer.

After my diagnosis last spring (Stage 2, invasive ductal carcinoma), I pretty much created my own treatment path by assembling a disparate, but top-notch medical team.  Why does this matter to health care marketers?  Because I did this without the sway of traditional marketing messages.  In fact, I decided to go out of area for part of my treatment because I found out about a unique surgical procedure from a top hospital’s online forum for breast cancer patients.

The irony is that the hospital’s discussion board was nothing fancy, but it was moderated by a nurse practitioner who counsels newly diagnosed breast cancer patients from all over the country.  Yet, by suggesting the out-of-area hospital as a destination for a second opinion – and touting its unique approach to a common illness – she planted the seed in my mind to go out of area to have a look.

This is why the digital space can be so effective at growing the business.  From the comfort of home, during a frightening time, people are searching for the best, most compassionate care after a serious diagnosis.  They (we) do this by searching for answers online, and seeking others who are going through the same thing.

Looking for a digital welcome mat, really . . .

Hospitals, with their mission to serve and available resources, are perfectly positioned to put out such a welcome mat.  Every single institution, from the rural community hospital to the academic medical center can set up such programs by building on their unique strengths in caregiving, and supplementing their internal resources with outside expertise – anything from marketing assistance to more technical matters.

The self-directed consumers are out there, and they’re looking for your help.  Will they feel welcome when they find you?

Next post – a challenge to the oncology field, and how marketing can help.

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The Healthcare Marketer’s Dilemma? Too Many Projects. Too Few Resources.

Posted on November 29, 2011 | 2 comments

Part 2 of Prioritizing Marketing Resources Key to Return on Investment Goals.

How do healthcare marketing executives allocate marketing resources? In today’s complex environment, determining what gets funded and what doesn’t, how much to invest and what your team should be spending time on can be a daunting task.

Marketing resource allocation decisions must be made across multiple dimensions. What services offer the best opportunity for growth, profitability and improved competitive performance? Within those programs, what specific marketing strategies and tactics should be used to achieve goals? What staffing and infrastructure investments are needed to improve marketing performance?

While it’s not an exact science, the process of marketing resource allocation modeling will help CMOs better invest limited marketing resources in initiatives that improve business performance, build brand equity and position the organization for success.

The first decision point is determining what lines of business, clinical programs, market expansion initiatives and customer segments offer the best opportunity for growth, profitability and competitive advantage.

ESTABLISHING TARGETS AND OBJECTIVES

Effectiveness of the marketing resource allocation model is supported by the discipline to target and select the FEWEST, MOST IMPACTFUL programs in which to concentrate resources. Priority growth program investments are derived from the analysis of key elements such as:

  • Volume, revenue and profitability contributions of by lines of business (e.g., inpatient, ambulatory, physician services, etc.), service lines (e.g. cardiovascular, orthopedics, etc.), new market initiatives (e.g. joint venture partnerships, facility development, etc.) or customer segments (e.g., geographic, demographic, psychographic, etc.)
  • Overall utilization, volume and demand projections
  • Rate of market growth for encounters and procedures
  • Reimbursement and profitability rates and trends
  • Organizational capacity for new growth
  • Physician supply, access, capacity and alignment
  • Health system competencies, technologies, facilities
  • Patient experience and satisfaction
  • Quality indicators and rankings
  • Competitive positioning, brand strength and market distinctiveness

This will require some work but the outcome will be well worth the effort. By comparing this information across major business initiatives and service lines, it becomes obvious that a focused subset should be targeted.

The following is a simple framework for ranking business lines, services or segments in accordance with their potential for contribution. Tier one programs are those with the greatest potential for financial or strategic returns on investment. Tier two and tier three programs are supported at lower investment levels. In this example, the health system allocates 60% of marketing resource investments to tier one projects and the remaining 40% is spread across tiers two and three, with three receiving a minimal amount.

These percentages can be adjusted up and down – keeping in mind that the objective is to adequately resource those projects most important to organizational performance.

I’ve found this process to be particularly helpful in arming the marketing team with an effective, data-driven platform to ward off requests that that seem to fly in from left field on an all too frequent basis. You know the ones I’m talking about. It also helps the CMO build agreement with his or her peer executives on a focused growth agenda.

In the next post, I’ll discuss decision point two: within priority programs and service lines, what strategies and tactical initiatives will best achieve marketing goals?

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Prioritizing Marketing Resources Key to Achieving Return on Investment Goals – Part 1

Posted on November 26, 2011 | 3 comments

Someone once asked me what the difference is between ‘focusing’ and ‘prioritizing’ – focusing is knowing what to do; prioritizing is knowing what to do first.  These are the decision points faced by marketers every day. And especially when planning and budgeting for a new fiscal year.

For those healthcare marketers managing to a calendar-based fiscal year, the mad rush of the holidays is compounded by winding down current year activities and preparations to launch newly-funded projects.  Hunkered down with marketing teams, plans and spreadsheets, most CMOs are trying to conjure up ways to achieve more with less.  Unfortunately, too many times we end up spreading scarce dollars over too many projects.

When stuck between a rock (the health system’s need for profitable growth) and a hard place (the drive to cut costs), how do marketers prioritize marketing investments and gain organizational commitment to those investment decisions?

First, clean house.  Use this opportunity as a time to take a stand and stop funding those activities that have no or minimal impact on strategic growth, customer acquisition, customer retention and financial performance.  Specifically look at non-marketing activities that sap resources and work with your colleagues across the health system to eliminate or move those deeds elsewhere.  Make sure your team is performing at its best; while it’s always difficult to move people out, when you are being asked to do more with fewer FTEs, each has to be a stellar performer.

Second, use a marketing resource allocation methodology to prioritize limited marketing resources (dollars and FTEs) to those growth and marketing initiatives that have the best potential for improving business performance and positioning the organization for long-term success.

In prioritizing marketing resource investments, there are three basic decision points:

  1. What businesses, clinical programs or market expansion initiatives offer the best opportunity for growth and profitability?
  2. Within priority programs and service lines, what strategies and tactical initiatives will best achieve marketing goals?
  3. What infrastructure investments will be required to support effective growth and marketing management?

In other words, what will you choose to invest in to drive growth and improve profitability, and what activities and support systems will contribute most to those objectives? Both top-down and bottom-up approaches to resource allocation are necessary; top down for strategic planning across a health system’s portfolio of service lines and market initiatives; bottom up to develop individual marketing budgets within each priority program.

I know that some of the toughest issues marketers face are cutting others’ pet projects, sunsetting outdated communications tactics, navigating the politics of competing priorities, and so on and so on.  Just saying ‘no’ has not been an option for some;  a marketing resource allocation method can better arm the CMO with data-driven rationale for investment decisions.

In upcoming posts, I’ll explore the components and key questions to delve into for each of the three decision points listed above.  In the meantime, let me know some of your toughest budget challenges — together let’s find a way to stop doing more and focus on achieving more. 

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Marketing the Power of Pink

Posted on October 29, 2011 | 2 comments

True confession: I dislike pink. And the marketer in me winces every time I see another pink ribbon etched, woven, stamped, hung or printed on everything from yogurt cups to kitchen appliances to clothing and even pet food. Don’t get me wrong – I get it. Breast cancer has taken the lives of people I treasure. And I wholeheartedly believe that physicians, healthcare marketers, organizations like the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and even all of the consumer products and services brandishing pink have saved countless women by raising awareness of the importance of early detection.

So what’s the beef? I wish I could offer up a rational argument for my stance on pink, but admit it has more emotional than rational origins. Perhaps it’s what appears to me to be the over-commercialization of the cause. Or maybe something more deep-seated, like fear.

Six months ago, Susan Lilly (one of our colleagues at Corrigan Partners) learned she had breast cancer. She found a lump under her arm and soon discovered that it was a particularly aggressive form of the disease. The past six months have been an endurance race of chemotherapy, surgery and recovery for Susan, her husband and two young daughters. The good news is good! While she still has a couple more surgeries to go, she is now re-entering normalcy – whatever that is.

I remember the stomach-sinking dread felt when Susan first called to say she had breast cancer. And can only imagine what it must have been like for her and for thousands of other women who hear those words coming out of their physicians’ mouths. But Susan taught us much here at the office. How not to give into fear. How to take control of your illness. How to be a smart healthcare consumer, not just a patient. How to keep going through the chemo treatments. How to embrace the fashion possibilities when she lost her hair. How to keep your humor – and your faith – through it all. 

So there it is. I’ve outed Susan with her full permission.  She has incredible strength of character and is much loved and admired by her colleagues for ‘just being Susan.’

And yes, she and I share similar views on pink. But maybe we just need a little more distance from the tribulations of the past six months to embrace its power to heal.

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Posted in Corrigan Partners, Oncology Service Line Marketing

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The Future of Healthcare Marketing

Posted on October 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

I had a chance to talk with Bill Moschella Co-founder & CEO of eVariant about the future of healthcare marketing at the SHSMD conference this past September.  Here’s that interview.  What advice do you have for marketers seeking to improve marketing performance and build future ready marketing operations?

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Improving CV Volumes, Revenue and Operations

Posted on October 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

Join Art Sturm, president & CEO of SRK, by webinar on Thursday, October 20 as he discusses how top heart programs are benefiting from the “strategic halo effect” in growing volumes and improving business performance for cardiovascular service lines. You’ll learn strategies and tools for growing CV service line revenue and improving collaboration across multiple specialties. Key topic points include:

  • Growing new and returning patient revenue.
  • Optimizing resource utilization, including physician alignment.
  • Developing strategies to build collaboration among multiple service lines.
  • Streamlining operations by creating a common view that focuses the enterprise.
  • Tracking revenue and cost performance of individual service lines and individual physicians.

The Strategic Halo Effect also addresses the essential question: how to thrive in this new era of healthcare reform? 

Follow the link below to learn more about this complementary webinar.

The Strategic Halo Effect:  the Science of Improving CV Service Line Volumes, Revenue and Operations; Thursday, October 20, 10 AM Pacific, 12 Noon Central, 1 PM Eastern.

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One More Thing . . .

Posted on October 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Thank you, Steve Jobs, for your many gifts.  Because of you, we’ll also be looking forward to that ‘one more thing.’

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Number of Consumer Health Apps for iPhone to Reach 13,000 by Next Summer

Posted on September 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

MobiHealthNews’ newly released report Consumer Health Apps for Apple’s iPhone reveals that the number of health apps for consumers has grown at a steady rate over that past 18 months and projects that by next summer there will be more than 13,000 health apps intended for use by consumers.  The study is based on an analysis of 18 months of data from Apple’s AppStore and also shows that the average price of a paid health app is trending upward from $2.77 last February $3.21 in July 2011. Of the 9,000 health apps available for consumers today, slightly more than 16% are for cardio fitness and around 14% for diet.  Other categories include women’s health, sleep, chronic disease, medication management and mental health.

Click here for more information about the study (full report available for a fee).

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Heading Out to SHSMD

Posted on September 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again. Beginning tomorrow, hundreds of healthcare executives, planning and marketing professionals, communications leaders and other experts will be pouring into Phoenix for the annual conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development.  The conference officially kicks off on Wednesday morning, September 14 and continues through Saturday morning, September 17 at the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge Resort.

Personally, I’m looking forward to reconnecting with long-time colleagues and friends, meeting and getting to know new people, learning new things and having a little fun along the way. 

This year, I’m honored to be speaking with Terri Goren of Goren & Associates and Phyllis Marino, vice president of market development at MetroHealth System in Cleveland.  We’ll be presenting on Thursday, September 15 from 1:30 to 2:45.  Our topic – Can’t We All Just Get Along?  Marketing and PR Professionals Uniting for Winning Results — will address the challenges executives sometimes face when trying to get their marketing and PR teams on the same page, and offer insights into driving better and more collaborative performance.

At Corrigan Partners, we’re also excited about our new partnership with Brains on Demand, a unique collaborative offering seamless access to leading healthcare research, brand, marketing, communications and social media experts that can help you address a multitude of needs and projects.  We’ll be in the Exhibit Hall during exhibition hours at booth #813.  Stop by and see us, and register for a free day of consulting from one of our experts.

I hope you will also join us at the Corrigan Partners Sunrise SIG Breakfast on Friday morning from 8:00 am to 9:00 am.  Join a table discussing a topic of interest and meet some new people over coffee and breakfast. 

For a list of all the great topics, speakers, events, exhibitors, etc., click here to visit SHSMD’s website.  And thanks also to the SHSMD staff for the hard and expert work they put into making this a great annual event.

See you there!

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