Gettin’ paid
Here’s the “How to Deal With a Leadership Challenge Tip of the Week.” We’ve heard this one a number of times over the years, but it’s become more frequent recently, and it goes a little something like this:
“Why should we invest in XYZ? We don’t get paid for that.”
This often comes from a CEO or CFO of a hospital, and what they mean is that whatever it is your asking them to invest in, the organization doesn’t get reimbursed for it. For example, we’ve heard this used in regards to investing in a better patient experience. One CFO we know said the following during planning for a major expansion:
“Why do we need to spend so much on patient rooms? We could just stick them in the hall and we’d get paid the same.”
Recently, this gauntlet has been laid down in front of marketers seeking to spend marketing dollars to promote health and wellness messaging from their organization. Why spend money there, the argument goes, when the hospital doesn’t get reimbursed for helping people stay healthy?
There are some exceptions – helping diabetics meet certain benchmarks, for example, can be tied to better reimbursement from payers. But from a short-term perspective, that’s mostly accurate – hospitals and physicians don’t get paid for keeping people healthy (though federal reform could eventually change that equation).
Here’s the disconnect: you will get paid from promoting health and wellness, just not today. Investing in health/wellness messaging, or a better patient experience, are examples of investments in building stronger brands, with the goal of increasing loyalty, word of mouth, and yes, over time, revenue.
So here’s the tip: next time this comes up, use our old branding friend Starbucks to make your point. Imagine the CEO of Starbucks had once said: “why should we invest in hiring friendlier baristas, or buying more comfortable furniture? We don’t get paid for that, we get paid when people buy our coffee.”
Seems kind of silly, right? People buy more coffee because of the investment in the Starbucks experience, and more people will engage your organization more times when you invest in the patient experience, or help them stay healthier with services, communications, education and more geared toward wellness. (Remember, the beauty of promoting health and wellness is that it’s relevant to your audience, making them more likely to notice, listen, and engage when they need you.) It’s not about getting paid today, it’s about getting paid tomorrow.
It’s also about increasing your relationship and engagement with Joe Public (remember, that Joe Public that doesn’t really care about your hospital?)…measuring ROI of branding efforts (wellness or otherwise) is counter-intuitive and a slippery slope.
I sometimes wish more discretion on spending would occur with traditional forms of marketing (like billboards, radio, direct mail)…is 3% return really ROI? Or is it a huge waste of money?