Hospitals Market to Decision Making Consumers
By Gail Appleson,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
March 27, 2009
Amanda Burt's young son suffers from cerebral palsy, and she was determined to
find a way to help him walk.
So the Decatur, Ala., mother began searching her son's symptoms online and
discovered a procedure called selective dorsal rhizotomy that had yielded
positive results for children with her son's type of cerebral palsy.
She then Googled selective dorsal rhizotomy, "The first thing that came up was St. Louis Children's Hospital. Their website
was absolutely great," said Burt, whose research led to her son's surgery at
the hospital and his ability now to use a walker.
click to watch video
It was no accident that the children's hospital came up first in Burt's search. The
hospital's marketing strategy employs "search engine optimization" to make sure
that parents looking for information about SDR will immediately be led to its
site and, like Burt, use the hospital's services.
St. Louis Children's Hospital also has a Facebook page. It uses Twitter, runs videos on
YouTube and is a sponsor of Momslikeme.com, a website used by mothers to share
information (see social media markting). That's along with traditional types of advertising, such as TV
commercials, radio spots, direct mail and print.
"We feel it's important to share our story and make parents aware of the
services we provide. We want to be out there," said Steve Kutheis, director of
marketing at Children's Hospital.
Being "out there" is key to hospitals across the country as they hone efforts
to attract growingly assertive consumers who are deciding what procedures to
undergo and where they will have them.
"A lot of it (increased hospital marketing) is being driven by patients and
what they are looking for and where they are going for their information," said
Cynthia McCafferty, senior vice president and partner at St. Louis-based public
relations firm Fleishman-Hillard Inc.
Since an increasing percentage of consumers are turning to the Internet for
health care information, many hospitals are boosting their presence with
everything from their own sophisticated websites to online video sharing.
For example, Barnes-Jewish Hospital has reallocated its marketing resources to
put a greater investment online, said Kathy DeVries, director of marketing. She
said that among advantages is that the hospital can post videos that consumers
will seek out, yet they cost far less to produce than TV commercials.
"People online are looking for you. That's the beauty of web marketing," said
Jennifer Arvin, marketing manager at Barnes.
As part of the push to reach consumers, the average hospital marketing budget
grew 18% between 2004 and 2007, according to a survey published by the
Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development, a unit of the American
Hospital Association.
That figure is even higher within certain hospital segments. For example, the
average marketing budget at hospitals with fewer than 101 beds rose 56%
during that period.
The reason, marketers said, is that community hospitals are trying to raise
their profiles as they compete against large teaching hospitals that offer
cutting edge health care.
"[Community hospitals] tend to be underestimated by their communities.
They are often more capable than people understand," said Jerry Hobbs,
executive vice president of Kansas City-based health care marketing firm
Prairie Dog/TCG. "Our job is to help educate people about what's available
closer to home."
Marketing by hospitals is much more than advertising, said Neil Kiesel,
executive director of marketing and communications at SSM Health Care-St.
Louis. Items included in marketing budgets can vary widely between hospitals,
but they often provide funding for community outreach programs such as free
screenings and health fairs.
For example, SSM's marketing budget encompassed direct mail invitations to last
weekend's open house at the new St. Clare Health Center in Fenton. Some 13,000
people walked through the hospital over a two-day period.
Another driving force behind marketing efforts is the increasing number of new
health care players like physician groups and stand-alone imaging centers that
attract insured patients. In contrast, hospitals have exorbitant costs that
they often cannot fully recoup, thanks to a rising number of uninsured and
underinsured patients along with government reimbursements that don't always
cover expenses.
So what can hospitals sell in order to win patients to fill their beds?
Expertise and image, marketers say.
"I cannot create demand for my services. Nobody wants to use a hospital," said
Tess Niehaus, vice president of marketing and communications at St. Anthony's
Medical Center. "My job is to inform the public about my services. I want
people to know about me and to think favorably of me so when the need presents
itself, I am in their consideration."
To view the original article and readers' comments click here.
tSunela has provided search engine marketing services to various health professions companies, including
- St. Louis Children's Hospital
- Alabama Allergy & Asthma Center
- The Infertility Center of St Louis, and
- Western Lane Emergency Medical Services.
For a complete list of tSunela's current clients, visit our results page. |
