Book Reviews
Truth #4: If you want to know what will work in healthcare marketing, don’t ask your customers
The Truths We Hold Self-Evident: Fourth in a Series
A few years back, we worked with a large dental practice that wanted to stand out in the market. In the initial meeting, we discovered management believed their best bet was to promote the expertise of their dentists, a decision based primarily on the results of an annual survey that showed respondents ranked “skill of my dentist” number one from a list of values they thought important when choosing dental care. Read the rest of this entry »
New book is must-have for healthcare marketers
A new book by healthcare marketing consultant David Marlowe should be required reading for anyone with any connection to marketing in healthcare provider organizations. The book, A Marketer’s Guide to Measuring ROI, does a fantastic job of outlining how and when to measure return on investment for marketing efforts, specific to hospitals, health systems and other providers. Perhaps more importantly, Read the rest of this entry »
It’s time to Zag
A new book by brand guru Marty Neumeier touts brand building via radical differentiation
As the saying goes, ask 10 people their definition of branding, and you’ll get 10 different answers. In healthcare, however, you might get 20 answers. The confusion around branding in healthcare provider organizations – particularly among leaders and physicians – is widespread: “the brand is the logo, the name, the advertising.” The confusion around what brand means most frequently leads to the misunderstanding and oversimplification of how to apply the strategy of branding. One result is the plea to “tell our story” (also known as the “hidden gem” or “best kept secret” plea). If we only told our story, the assertion goes, then people would know how wonderful we are and our beds would be overflowing with patients, our coffers with revenue. But for branding to be effective over the long haul, there has to be a story to tell, a unique story. And that’s where Marty Neumeier’s new book, Zag, comes in. Read the rest of this entry »
Book review: Surfing the Edge of Chaos
Consumer-driven healthcare. Overseas surgery. Freestanding surgery centers, mini-clinics and other new provider models. It’s not a stretch to say that hospitals and healthcare systems are competing in a more chaotic environment. Surfing the Edge of Chaos: The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business, written in 2000 by Richard Pascale, Mark Millemann and Linda Gioja, offers a nice primer for how businesses should embrace chaos as a way to innovate and compete. Read the rest of this entry »
