Marketing Health Care Clients

Providing marketing for health care clients can be challenging and rewarding at the same time. The reward comes from being able to create credibility and compassion as quickly as possible so that the public can make a personal connection to the facility or practice. Our health care clients have much to offer those who are in need and we take a personal interest in making sure the extraordinary services our clients offer are conveyed properly to their prospective patients. But we also enjoy the collaboration of working with the marketing directors for these facilities and their knowledge is key for a joint successful marketing plan and execution. The challenge is being up to date on all of the changes this industry is encountering and staying in front of the curve when creating the right message. I found a great blog that supports the health care industry and this could be a valuable resource for both agencies and marketing directors. http://bit.ly/Hg4D

How Important is an Agency’s Culture?

From my point of view, that is all an agency truly has, its culture. And this so-called culture changes ever so slightly over time as the agency grows, shrinks or even plateaus. The change of such culture is not a bad thing, it’s just evolution. So what exactly is your agency culture? How is it defined? Is it the dress code? Or is it the color of the walls? Is it the absence of walls? Or is it the flexible office hours? The answer is, yes. And there are plenty of other characteristics that help define your agency’s culture. But there would be no existence of culture without the actions of the employees. From upper management down to the interns, the culture is lived out everyday. And that culture only survives if the people responsible for it continue to feed it. The culture is the ‘glue’ that keeps your agency unique and your employees and co-workers connected. And that is a powerful intangible force. So, how important is an agency’s culture? Rhetorical? You bet!

Accepting Reality Should be your Strategy

It may be pride, it may be stubbornness, but not facing reality can be detrimental to your business moving forward. Business owners recognizing the challenges the business faced in the recent past and accepting what lies ahead is invaluable to any business. It is easy to assume that ‘reality’ in this economic wonderland means something negative. For some businesses, facing reality during these times might be opportunistic. This is business’ opportunity to re-evaluate the company’s employees. Are the best people in the best positions within the organization? There is a flood of talent sitting out there who would jump at the opportunity to make your business better. This is a chance to come out of these economic times as a more polished organization. If your business has been slowed outside of your control (economy) and you continue to run your business as if nothing different is happening (ignoring reality), you may suffer financial consequences too large to overcome. The quicker business owners accept that what is actually happening is real, planning ahead is easier and positive results are much more likely to occur. The downfall of most companies is when the leaders of the organization plan ahead when they are already behind.

Death from Powerpoint part 2

I am sick and tired of seeing seasoned well intentioned sales executives butcher a dialogue with a client because of their crutch, freaking Powerpoint. I swear some Business Executives really rely on it as their only way to communicate with clients. It is a drug for them. They have to have it in the room or heaven forbid they might actually have to be so prepared for the meeting that they could just talk. Remember just talking and figuring out a need, a pain point that the client has and then trying to work up a solution that would make that pain point go away?

Now that I have left the Corporate sales world and am in the Advertising space I see even a worse travesty of justice happening. Creative people, designers, Architects, Advertising pitches and Web Designers all using Powerpoint to convey a creative solution. That is like trying to show the beauty of the Grand Canyon using LightBright.

So my soapbox for the day. Put Powerpoint away. I mean it. Do not use it for the next 6 interactions you have with clients be it a small meeting or a huge presentation. Get that pad of paper out or get that Whiteboard ready and start a dialogue during the meeting. Be so prepared that you are ready to brainstorm and or show the final solution in a dynamic and innovative way. Be creative again and even the most complex problem can be figured out with the old marker and paper. I promise.

Adam and I were tasked with finding out who a new client “really was” both internally and externally. Who were they? What did they stand for? What made them stand out in the marketplace? After over 25 interviews and over 130 pages of notes we simply began white-boarding everything we heard. We drew it out and looked for the parallels. 18 large whiteboards full of information later we saw the “Ah-Ha” moment. We saw who they were.

So try it. Push away the latest template with the headlines and 3 bullet points per slide. Draw it up and talk through it. You will be free my friend!

Death from Powerpoint