First, Toby, Elisa and I would like to thank all of the kind people who attended our session. Your engagement in the session made it a resounding success. We hope you found the discussion valuable.

As promised, we have made the slides available on our individual websites. A list of webpages that were discussed is forthcoming. I was tapped with that job, but I got back home around midnight and haven't had time to cypher my notes and pull them together yet.

So now -- what you've been waiting for... the links to where you can find the slides:

Referral of patients to appropriate care is a key tenet of the every medical practice law and ethics code that direct the provision of healthcare services across the US. Subsequently, peers and colleagues are very important resources to physicians and healthcare providers.

On an informal basis, healthcare providers develop a network of colleagues with whom they can consult with and collaborate on the management of certain cases. There is no offical submission of expertise, training, and knowledge that starts the relationships. Instead, they grow over time as cases come and go and advise and feedback is given and accepted.

Niche marketing is the process of finding a specific group of consumers and targeting services toward them. One of the big pay-offs of niche marketing is that, if done correctly, it can result in a loyal customers that come back often and refer friends.

Niche marketing is not often discussed in healthcare. I think this is because of a few reasons.

• Our system in the US is focused on integrated delivery systems that try to be one stop shops.
• To date, healthcare marketing does not focus on customer retention.
• Healthcare providers are afraid if they target specific audiences that they will have to develop special programs.

Rather than creating new programs to attract patient/consumers, a good niche marketing strategy starts with assessing the services you provide and determining the ones in which you really excel. Examine why you are good at providing those services and quantify the keys to your success.

During my Christmas break, I had a few moments to sit down and indulge in some absurd hours of quality TV time catching up on all of my missed episodes of Poirot and Midsomer Murders. During that time, commercials came, were muted and then I was returned back to my indulgent, guilty pleasure of doing nothing and watching TV.

At that time, once series of commercials always scared me and made me gasp-- even after the second and third run. I have not seen them since, but I still remember the company and product. They were Volkswagon commercials where there are a car full of people driving along talking about mundane things (the funniest being the men talking about the side effects disclaimer of DTC advertising of ED medications) and then from out of nowhere-- CRASH! Head on, side impact-- in the filming the other car just appears. Then the commercial closes with everyone out of the car, shocked but ok--- illustrating the safety of the vehicles. Click here and select "Like" to see one of the ads.

In a new spin on using the unexpected, State Farm has started the "Now What" ad campaign. They are using a series of short films where bad things unexpectedly happen to people's property and then you see the logo and webaddress for the "Now What" campaign. Which in no longer than it took to fire up old bessie, had me typing in the web address and seeing what all of this is about.

Why does this work so well and how can we use it in healthcare?

This weekend the TV has been tuned to the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction.
You see the Hubby and friends are quite the car enthusiasts but I must
admit that watching the auction proceedings was a bit addictive. I
suppose it is just my age, but I was a bit aghast at the crazy money
that was paid for cars I distincly remember double dating in.

Anyway, for those of you who did not tune in or who are not regularly
subjugated to its proceedings-- there was an interesting sponsor of the
events--- Ford Motor Company.

I've just finished the rounds of the “umpteenth annual” Christmas and New Year parties that have become a real tradition with my set of friends.Actually in our busy lives we look to these traditions to set aside time to get caught up on the accomplishments and goals. When discussing what I’ve done in the past year, the responses were quite interesting. Specifically, it is interesting that when I mention this
"Medical Marketing" column I got one of three responses:

• a puzzled look  

• a "I'm not sure I like the idea of doctors and
  hospitals marketing to me" or

• a “Great…Those weight loss advertisements and
  pharmaceutical commercials are bad enough. I’m getting tired forwarding through those ads when I’m catching up on
  my Tivo-ed shows.”

As we approach the conference, it is interesting that that Josh over at hyku posted this interesting note about an situation unfolding in Florida and now within the blogosphere that addresses one of the key values of having a blog...

They are an avenue for publically telling your side of the story- even if it is that you can't make a comment because of confidentiality reasons.

Thanks to Mack Collier over at The Viral Garden for his post on Monday, 11/28
that discusses things to consider before starting a company blog. It is
actually a summary of a 10 step article he has written for Marketingprofs.com (paid subscription required).

It has been a while since I have specifically talked about the role of blogs in your marketing plan.  Given that I have been working with Dmitriy Kruglyak, Toby Bloomberg, and Fard Johnmar on the upcoming Healthcare Blogging Summit, my own attention has been turned to why people blog and what they get out of it.

What is the single greatest point of value you receive from blogging?

Over the last 5 weeks, I've been consulting with a specialist physician on improving the overall operation of his practice. Since we have been discussing individual and practice goals, I've learned that this physician is really interested in a number of diseases and he also feels that he is also a better manager of some diseases and age groups versus others within his specialty. 

Interestingly, one thing that I've learned is that most of the practice's new patients
come from insurance company referrals.  In fact, the most frequently
used phrase on the phone is "I found your name in the insurance book." Unfortunately, that is really all the callers know about the practice.  In this office, this often results in referrals that do not match the patient or the practice needs. Not to mention, this can also cause increased patient frustration with healthcare services.