Marketing Your

Healthcare Organization
Is it really for YOU?
Dr. Hesham O. Dinana
 Agenda
 What is Marketing & What it is NOT
 Is it Ethical to Market Medical Services
 The Concepts of Marketing – S.T.P.
 The Tools of Marketing – the 4Ps
 The Key to Medical Marketing - Service Quality
 Conclusions
Egyptian Marketing?
Selling
Public Relations
Advertising
Promotion
What is Marketing?
The identification of
customers’ NEEDS and
fulfilling them in a
profitable manner
(Almost) Anything Can be Marketed

Consumer
Consumer Business-
Business- Not-For-
Not-For- Idea,
Idea,
Goods
Goods to-
to- Profit
Profit Place,
Place,
and
and Business
Business Marketing
Marketing People
People
Services
Services Marketing
Marketing Marketing
Marketing
Major Criticisms of Healthcare Marketing
 Marketing Wastes Money
 Marketing is Intrusive
 Marketing is Manipulative
 Marketing will lower the quality
of health care
 Marketing will cause health care
institution to compete
 Marketing will create unnecessary
demand for health care
 Why Marketing is For Everyone
“The purpose of a business
is to create a customer…
Marketing is not a specialized
activity…it is the whole
business seen from…the
customer’s point of view.”

If you focus on the patient and the patient’s needs you are practicing marketing concept
 MYTHS & TRUTHS ABOUT MARKETING
Every member of a practice is a  marketing specialist every day, whether consciously or unconsciously

What medical marketing can’t What medical marketing

do can do
 Overcome unsatisfactory  Increase awareness in your
or unpleasant experiences market area and reach
in your practice. newcomers.
 Overcome poor  Encourage current patients to
performance by you and STAY.
your staff.  Generate renewal and referral
 Create a sudden and patients.
incredible response.  Increase patient volume for
certain services and programs.
 Create a demand for  Support volume at slow times
services where no demand of the year.
exists.
 Improve the attitude and
 Produce effective results if morale of you and your staff.
the message is misleading.
“Life is too short to make
all the mistakes yourself”
 Marketing Concepts
The Three Questions:
1. Who are we?

2. Who cares?

3. How do we get our message out?

Marketing Tools: The Marketing Mix

Product
Product Price
Price
Good,
Good,Service,
Service,Idea,
Idea,Place,
Place,Person Assignment
Person Assignmentof
ofValue
Value

Tools
Tools that
that Are
Are Used
Used Together
Together toto Create
Create aa Desired
Desired
Response
Response Among
Among aa Set
Set of
of Defined
Defined Customers
Customers

Place
Place Promotion
Promotion
Availability
Availabilityof
ofProduct
Product Activities
Activitiesto
toInform
InformConsumers
Consumers
 Product Mix length
Inpatient Ambulatory Health
Services Services Promotion

Medical / Emergency Health

surgical (4 examining education
(45 beds)* rooms)* sessions (5
Staff)*
Product Obstetrics Walk-in clinic
line (20 beds) Health fair
width (30 exhibits)*
Outpatient
Pediatrics therapies
(15 beds)

Cardiac (ICU)
(8 beds)
 Five Patterns of Market Coverage

M1 M2 M3 M1 M2 M3 M1 M2 M3

P1 P1 P1

P2 P2 P2

P3 P3 P3
Product/market Product Market
concentration specialization specialization

M1 M2 M3 M1 M2 M3

P1 P1

P2 P2

P3 P3
Selective Full coverage
specialization
Resources of Medical Services
 Technical Quality
– Physicians’ knowledge
– Ability to make correct diagnosis
– Therapeutic procedures
– Quality of the medical equipment
 Service Quality.
– The physicians’ willingness and ability to communicate
with the patient.
– A culture of sharing information, and systems enhancing
a long-term doctor-patient relationship
Service Quality is IMPORTANT
 Business with High Service Quality
have:

– 12% higher return on sales

– 6% faster growth rate
– 10% price premium
 Patients as Consumers
 The majority of your patients are (or will be) sophisticated,
comparison-shopping consumers of health care, who are
armed with facts, ideas, and concerns that they have
reaped from different media, and from their friends,
associates, and family. Your patients will assess your
medical practice and compare it to other practices where
they have previously been and will evaluate your practice
against standards THEY consider important.

 How patients "rate" your practice will influence patients to

stay with you even if there is a problem.

 Consider very carefully what messages you convey about

yourself, your practice, and the importance of your patients
to your practice.
 How to develop your medical
marketing plan
 Define your target audience
 Research your service areas
 Know your competitors
 Define your Goal
 Develop your plan
 Implement your plan
 Follow up your plan
 Who are your Target audience
Any group or individual that affect the revenue and profitability of your practice.
 Patients---your current revenue base and major source of referrals.
 General public---especially those who do not have a doctor and might
need your practice someday.
 Referring physicians---send your practice patients needing your services.
 Special groups---targeted for future services, such as HMO members
(managed care).
 Media contacts---need to know what is newsworthy about your practice.
 Area Employers---pay for health insurance plans for patients, also have
employees with occupational injuries, or have applicants needing pre-
employment health assessments (preventative AND industrial medicine
services).
 Government/regulatory agencies---their decisions effect your business.
 Staff members---whose performance greatly determines patient
satisfaction and practice productivity
 Providers---all important to your business, such as laboratories,
pharmacies, hospitals, civic groups, salespeople/vendors, etc.
 Researching your Service Areas
 How many people live in your service area? How is the population
distributed?
 Age distribution: has the birth rate increased or decreased during the
last ten years? Where are certain ages most prevalent? (for example:
young families concentrated in newer subdivisions, and older people in
established, older neighborhoods)
 Composition of families: Singles, married couples with and without
children, single parent families, etc.)
 Population expected to grow or change? 
 New industry or new housing expected in your area soon?
 Median income of those living in your service area
 Percentage of the population is employed:  percentage of white
collar / blue collar
 Industries: types most prevalent, major employers
 Stability of the community and the economy (old and established
area VS upwardly mobile living temporarily here
 Physicians: Dr. to patient population ratio, location of doctors,
populated areas around the physician locations
 Know your Competitors
It is important to know:
 HOW MANY physicians of your specialty are there
in your community or service area, where they are
located, and in what concentration.
 WHAT SERVICES your direct competitors
provide; in this way you may be able to provide
needed services.
 WHAT VOLUME these doctors have; accepting
new patients or are they "closed' to new patients?
(OPPORTUNITY!)
 Key to Patient loyalty
“feeling for staff and patients that PATIENTS ARE YOUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY
is the only way doctors can make sure they keep their patients by cultivating
relationships with them. ”
 The actions of the entire staff can make or break a practice.
An excellent doctor with mediocre staff will not prosper. How well the office does is
up to both the physician and the staff. You have joint custody of your practice's
patients.
 Respect your patients. 
– Go out of your way to do something nice for each one. 
– Memorize names. 
– Jot down on sticky paper and place in the chart any personal info you would
like to remember (such as a new grandchild, likes to garden, son in college,
plays tennis, etc. ) People love to hear someone else remember things about
themselves.
 Focus your attention on the patient, as much as you are able. 
– Avoid doing three things at once while you are talking to the patient. 
– Wait until they are finished talking to speak. 
– Be a good listener.
 Show empathy.
How would YOU feel if you were going through the same situation?
 Keeping your current patient
“On an average, every happy patient can bring you six happy referrals. And
conversely, on an average, every disgruntled patient will relay his or her negative
message to 26 other people ”

WHY PATIENTS LEAVE THEIR PHYSICIANS

 Doctor vague and evasive

 Poor or no bedside manner (physician)
 Chronically not seen on schedule
 No diagnosis given
 Doctor discourages second opinion
 Doctor does not respect confidentiality
 Unpleasant office staff
Some ideas on keeping your patient
 Small assessment cards to be filled by the
patient on what he liked most about the
service and ideas to improve it
 Reminder calls or cards for their next
appointments
 Birthday cards
 Reminder notes to yourself that would help
to ask about personal stuff your patient
cares about
 PRINTED MATERIALS AS A
MARKETING TOOL
 Printed materials are can be an effective image-maker and a positive
marketing tool, if your choices are made with care. The printed
materials that you present to your patients and other contacts are a
reflection on the quality and image of your office.
 Things you will need to be custom printed:
– Letterheads---letterheads should be of letterhead-weight paper, with
an impressive look and texture Business cards---business cards
likewise should be of heavier weight with impeccable typesetting.
Remember that these cards are passed on to others, especially
potential patients and referrals.
– Patient brochures-
– Appointment cards---
– Prescription
– Direct mailing brochures. .
– Cards: birthday cards, appointment reminder postcards,
preventative care reminder cards, thanks you cards for public
relations purposes and for follow-up continuity.
 PRINTED MATERIALS AS A
MARKETING TOOL
 PRINTED EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION MATERIALS
– Many types of patient information materials can be obtained free
from pharmaceutical suppliers. Information sheets can also be
created in your office to meet the specific needs of your practice.
– Written explanations given before testing or specialty services are
done are especially useful for patients, as well as written
instructions regarding medications and prescriptions. Hospitals,
clinics, and outpatient services often provide specialty
information and instructions.
– Written home going instruction sheets can be created in your
office, and these help to cut down on the number of phone calls to
your office relating to forgotten or misunderstood instructions.
– Computerized patient instruction software is also available for the
office. These provide written instruction and diagnosis
information, and can be customized to include the patient's name
and the name of the ordering physician.
The circle of positive outcomes of a good
patient-physician relationship.
MARKETING
Rapport + Results
=
Retention + Referrals