Posted by barbarahales

The summer is typically the time when your clients, patients and families are off on vacations, or taking time away from work to visit the seashore.

This does not mean that you have to table your promotions and news until the Autumn when you could be forgotten.  Keep your branding in the minds of both clients or patients and news media (reporters, journalists) so that your marketing does not have to start from scratch in September.  There are some great ways that you can “spread Your word” over the warm months ahead.

Four ways to promote yourself this Summer:

• Now is a great time to enter the foray of mobile marketing- send out little news tidbits or email campaigns in a mobile-friendly manner (compatible with iPads, smartphones, Kindles  and hand-held devices)  Hyperlink these short comments to your websites or landing pages to allow those interested, to view the information in more depth
• Pitch your local reporters and journalists with interesting stories. Develop long-lasting relationships with the local media.  This may be a slow time for them but they still need to come up with features.  You may be just what they are looking for- a win-win situation for both of you.  Then when things heat up in the Fall, they will remember you and you’ve got their ears.
• Invite your clients to take a photograph of themselves with your product, service or tee shirt (with your logo visible) in their vacation spot and award the most creative image with a prize.  Have them post this image on various social networking channels like Facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube.
• Create a hashtag and have your clients tweet about how your services or products have helped them this summer or have thought of a creative way to use your products/services

Posting interesting stories on your Facebook page works well to get people visits and likes.

Sign up at the opt-in box in the top left corner to get more ideas.  Don’t miss out!

Posted by barbarahales

• I never knew how much love my heart could hold until someone called me “mommy”

  - Unknown
  • • A baby asked God, “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?”

”Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.”

The child further inquired, “But tell me, here in heaven I don’t have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.”

God said, “Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel’s love and be very happy.”

Again the child asked, “And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don’t know the language?”

God said, “Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.”

”And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?”

God said, “Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.”

”Who will protect me?”

God said, “Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it’s life.”

”But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.”

God said, “Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.”

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, “God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name.”

”You will simply call her, ‘Mom.’” 
- Unknown

  ◦                      

Hello Operator, does Heaven have a phone number? Mommy went to Heaven, but I need her here today, My tummy hurts and I fell down, I need her right away, Operator can you tell me how to find her in this book. Is heaven in the yellow part, I don’t know where to look. I think my daddy needs her too, at night I hear him cry. I hear him call her name sometimes, but I really don’t know why. Maybe if I call her, she will hurry home to me. Is Heaven very far away, is it across the sea? She’s been gone a long, long time she needs to come home now! I really need to reach her, but I simply don’t know how. Help me find the number please, is it listed under “Heaven”? I can’t read these big big words, I am only seven. I’m sorry operator, I didn’t mean to make you cry, Is your tummy hurting too, or is there something in your eye? If I call my church maybe they will know Mommy said when we need help that’s where we should go. I found the number to my church tacked up on the wall. Thank you operator, I’ll give them a call 
- Unknown 







  • Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. 
- Unknown

  Have a happy Mother’s Day.  Celebrate the nurturing side in all of us.

Posted by barbarahales

New subscribers and new clients or patients need special attention when first developing a relationship.  They don’t know you yet but they have raised their hands to show interest.

It’s time for you to show interest back!

A good way to do this is with a series of follow-up emails sent out automatically.  These are called auto responders.

Benefits of Auto responders:

• Welcome the new opt-in subscriber.
• Don’t mis the opportunity to refer them back to your website for more information with subsequent autoresponders
• Use this as an educational tool.  Provide information about services and products.  Supply helpful advice and tips, answer questions that people may have
• Personalize with the name of the receiver so that it doesn’t seem like a product of a mass mailing
• Develop trust and confidence

Autoresponders are set up in a series so that they can be sent out automatically once set into action.  It doesn’t take time out of your daily day.

Are you making use of them?

Not sure of how to employ this technique or what to say?

Shoot me an email and I would be happy to review it with you on a more personal level:

Barbara@TheWriteTreatment.com

Posted by barbarahales

You have heard time and again that the money is in “the list”- your email list of clients and leads for prospective clients or patients.

The list is what you will use for email campaigns, or promotions, information or promotion of goods and services.

The thing is, how do you get people to give you their email nowadays?  People are overcautious about you crowding their inboxes with unwanted verbiage or selling unwanted services and products.  Worse yet, people are leery about you selling their email information to others.  So how do you get people to willingly part with their precious email addresses?

Simply put, by offering something that people want or by allowing them to interact with you and others, the address will be more forthcoming.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Offer them a white paper, free guide, tip sheet
2. Offer a free consultation to review their website, email campaign, etc.
3. Let them download a free ebook with sign-up
4. Have them opt-in to your blog or to get your newsletter/ezine
5. Offer certification or an award
6. Run a contest
7. Have a guest book that the visitor can sign in exchange for a gift
8. Allow them to give a byline or link to you with their services so that people can see who they are
9. Offer a free course, tele seminar or webinar

Try one each month and see what works best for you.

If you need help, contact me for a free consultation and we can discuss your needs and specific program tailored for you.

Posted by barbarahales

Believe it or not, there are a lot of people in the public who are confused over who is considered a medical doctor.

Two surveys done for the AMA prove this point.  Telephone surveys were done by Global Strategy group in 2008 and Baselice & Associates in 2010 polling 850 adults throughout the country.

Results of the study showed only 46% in 2008 and slightly more than half in 2010 concurred with the following:

“It is easy to identify who is a licensed [medical doctor] and who is not by reading what services they offer, their title and other licensing credentials in advertising or other marketing materials.”

 With holistic practitioners opening their doors along with alternative therapists and nurse practitioners with Ph.D’s introducing themselves as doctors (and taking on the role of doctors), it is easy to see how the confusion will become even more widespread.

Truth in Healthcare Marketing 2013 Bill

This bill cosponsored by Rep. David Scott from Georgia and Rep. Larry Bucshon from Maryland hope to clear up any confusion so that consumers have a more educated choice for their healthcare services, and know the credentials of those professionals who are advertising their services.  The bill was sent to the Energy and Commerce committee .

You are On Notice

The Healthcare Marketing Bill specifically makes it illegal for a healthcare provider to make false claims or incorrect statements in marketing materials regarding their degree, license, clinical background and training.   Any licenses that are held must be clearly mentioned.

If you are “stretching the truth” a bit or inferring information that may be misconstrued, you are on notice.  The Federal Trade Commission will charge you with violations.

Are You Confused About Your Brochures or Ads?

Don’t open yourself up to criticism or violations that you will have to defend in court.

I would be happy to give you a free evaluation of your healthcare marketing pieces and we can discuss them further at your convenience.

Avoid being made the “test case” or chump!

Contact me at: Barbara@TheWriteTreatment.com

Information from Industry

Posted by barbarahales

Perhaps you are guilty of saying or making the following mistakes:

• “I don’t need to market my practice.  Doctors are becoming scarce and patients will be happy that I accept them”
• “With reimbursements declining, I don’t have the money to budget for marketing.  This is not a priority”
• “I participate in the insurance plans- they’ll refer their clients to me”
• “My peers and colleagues at work will refer their patients to me”
• “I don’t have time for a marketing plan”

If you think that it doesn’t really matter what patients think of you and your practice as long as they get their needed healthcare, think again!  As we transition into your payments based on patient satisfaction and a more patient-driven market, you will shrivel and die as a healthcare facility or medical practice unless you drastically alter your thinking.

A referral source can be fickle.  If there is a greater benefit to referring elsewhere, that will be the end of your business affiliation.  Then too, if patients return to an office and complain about you, you can anticipate a loss of recommendations from that office.  They simply cannot afford to ignore the feedback. In terms of insurance participation, unless you are the only doctor for 50 miles around, there are other doctors in those referral directories and patients will travel further to those professionals that better meet their needs.

With reimbursements being reduced, you will need to see more patients.  Even if you convert to a concierge model, you will still need to generate new patients to the practice.  Having a marketing plan or advertising will let people know that you are accepting new patients, that you have the expertise to treat particular ailments and that you are up on the latest in both medicine and technology.

Get the buzz going about your practice.  If you don’t have the time for this now, you’ll have all the time in the world later as your waiting room stands empty!

Reach out to Barbara@TheWriteTreatment.com and contact me for a free consultation so we can discuss how marketing can help you.

Posted by barbarahales

Information collected and  compiled by Frost and Sullivan and QuantiaMD in 2011 showed between “87 percent to 90 percent of physicians used at least one social media site for personal reasons, with a further 67 percent to 75 percent opting for more professional postings.”  This has dramatically increased since then with the most commonly used sites as YouTube (which is becoming even more popular as a search engine than google search), Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

So, if you are not using social media portals for your medical business, you are already two years behind!

The good news is that you can correct this…starting today!

Start with the profile page for each site and complete the information in such a way that people are excited to “hear” from someone as important as you (and yet still down-to-earth)  Put in your list of medical publications and accomplishments to add credibility to the information that you will be providing.

Start a blog with a plug-in so that any posts that you publish will automatically publish to all your social media sites.  This will save time so that you don’t have to enter information separately on each type of media or site. It is a great opportunity to place photographs or diagrams that act as teaching aids to further aid in understanding.  Make a short 1-2 minute video  of you as though you were talking to a patient (as will be the case when viewed) of a medical problem and solution.

Comment on the latest medical devices or latest techniques so that your patients can bond with you and not only get helpful information but see how you stand with it.

Allow patients to interact with you by asking questions and allowing you to stay in touch with what your patients are interested in reading more about.  Addressing this will also vastly increase patient satisfaction.

Putting out the latest information shows that you as a healthcare provider or physician are knowledgeable and up-to-date on the latest data and techniques further maintaining your current patients as well as generating new patients to your practice or healthcare facility.

Share with us what you have been doing and the success that you have achieved by it.  Comment in the box below.

Posted by barbarahales

Today is my husband’s birthday. I wanted to give him a special treat (as many of you try to do yourself for those you love)  I also wanted it to be a surprise.

Where better than Washington D.C. for a surprise trip?  As one reflects on our humble beginnings at birthdays and how far we’ve come, one may also wonder that about the wonderful country that we live in.

So, we’ve gone back to the beginning- to view the memorials of our forefathers and read quotes from them to inspire us and remind us about what they thought, what they endured and what we have become.

Our forefathers would be shocked to see how medicine and health, technology and every aspect of our daily lives has evolved, along with our society.  Yet, from all those years ago, their wisdom seems to transcend all the transformations and evolutionary cycles.

So, today in honor of my husband’s birthday, take a moment to reflect on your own life and the small but wonderful ways that you have touched the lives of others.

Posted by barbarahales

According to Gartner, Inc (website at www.gartner.com/predicts. see Gartner highlights key predictions for IT organizations and Users in 2010 and beyond) certain trends will continue to alter the nature of business which includes the business of healthcare.

The purpose of Garter’s predictions is meant to “compel readers to action and to position themselves to take advantage of coming changes, not to be damaged by them.”

See the following  predictions and then we will discuss how this is going to affect you…and what you can do about them.

“Facebook will become the hub for social network integration and Web socialization. Through Facebook Connect and other similar mechanisms, Facebook will support and take a leading role in developing the distributed, interoperable social Web. As Facebook continues to grow and outnumber other social networks, this interoperability will become critical to the success and survival of other social networks, communication channels and media sites.”

“Internet marketing will be regulated by 2015, controlling more than $250 billion in Internet marketing spending worldwide. Despite international efforts to eliminate “spam,” marketing “clutter” is abundant in every marketing channel. Pressure for greater accountability means the backlash from annoyed consumers will eventually drive legislation to regulate Internet marketing. Companies that focus primarily on the Internet for marketing purposes could find themselves unable to market effectively to customers, putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage when new regulations take effect. Although experiencing high growth, vendors who focus solely on, and sell predominately to, Internet marketing solutions could find themselves faced with a declining market, as companies shift marketing funds to other channels to compensate.”

“By 2014, over 3 billion of the world’s adult population will be able to transact electronically via mobile or Internet technology. Emerging economies will see rapidly rising mobile and Internet adoption through 2014. At the same time, advances in mobile payment, commerce and banking are making it easier to electronically transact via mobile or PC Internet. Combining these two trends creates a situation in which a significant majority of the world’s adult population will be able to electronically transact by 2014″.

“Gartner research predicts that by 2014, there will be a 90% mobile penetration rate and 6.5 billion mobile connections. Penetration will not be uniform, as continents like Asia (excluding Japan) will see a 68% penetration and Africa will see a 56% mobile penetration. Although not every individual with a mobile phone or Internet access will transact electronically, each will have the ability to do so. Cash transactions will remain dominant in emerging markets by 2014, but the foundation for electronic transactions will be well under way for much of the adult world.”

“By 2015, context will be as influential to mobile consumer services and relationships as search engines are to the Web. Whereas search provides the “key” to organizing information and services for the Web, context will provide the “key” to delivering hyperpersonalized experiences across smartphones and any session or experience an end user has with information technology. Search centered on creating content that drew attention and could be analyzed. Context will center on observing patterns, particularly location, presence and social interactions. Furthermore, whereas search was based on a “pull” of information from the Web, context-enriched services will, in many cases, prepopulate or push information to users.”

So, one of the first things that you can do is have a Facebook page.  Doing so will enable you to:

• put out information that is interesting to your patients
• attract new patients
• establish yourself as an innovator
• answer the most commonly asked questions
• become a resource by highlighting the latest medical breakthroughs

Next you can format your website and digital content for viewing on mobile devices.  If everyone is getting their information through their mobile services, you want to be able to be read.

Sign up for more helpful tips in health marketing your practice at the opt-in box above.

Posted by barbarahales

As the link between physician reimbursement and patient satisfaction becomes forged, so too will the importance be of marketing to your patients.

The patient of today is informed, empowered and interested in finding not only solutions to her problems but also how best to achieve health in a proactive way.

Patient-centered Healthcare marketing

We all live in a technical world now where 90% have smartphones turning their cell devices into mini computers, internet service and health apps for these smart devices numbering in the thousands and increasing daily.  Though not all the health information online is accurate, patient access is readily available and there is an obvious desire by patients to get this information.

With Pay-For-Performance being heralded in to replace the old pay- for- services rendered model, it will be paramount to promote yourself as the “one who cares” and the ones who can set themselves up as authority figures in the specialty.  This is done with “marketing”.  The word marketing may seem distasteful to you, or maybe even a bit nebulous.  But, it is just a method of strategies and  ”spreading the word” communication about who you are and why your services or practice is unique.  The first ones that establish communication will be the ones that set themselves apart from the pack and will ramp up their practice…and revenue.

With the mandate for physicians to digitalize their records with patient access highlighted in the Affordable Care Act, it is a natural transition to communicate digitally as well.

Consider having a “disease of the week” on your website where there is a little discussion regarding symptomatology, diagnostic tests and treatments.

Put out a blog where people can read about the latest breakthroughs in health and technology.  Why not be the one that patients come to as a source!  You will be the one in their mind to come to if you provide value.

Consider having a forum on your site where patients can go to see how others have been helped by following your suggestions and advice.

Put out a tip sheet of the ten most asked questions in your practice and the solutions. (this will help you in the long run because these questions won’t be asked of you, taking away valuable time)

So, why is it that you are not the one providing this information?  Why are you not harnessing the power of digital technology and making use of a stellar website for your patients (and perspective patients)? Ask yourself why you have not adopted new ways of communication.  Not doing so will have patients wondering what else you have not been keeping up with!

Sign up for more helpful tips at the opt-in box at the top left of the screen.

See you at the next post!