Presented by Jamie Verkamp, Managing Partner at (e)Merge

1. Practice Marketing 101: A Guide to Making Strategic Decisions and Boosting Patient Volumes Presented by Jamie Verkamp, Managing Partner at (e)Merge

2. Our time together… 1. Setting the platform for a holistic marketing campaign 2. Getting started on the right foot; Common marketing mistakes even successful practices make and how you can avoid them (or, fix the ones you are making!) 3. Nuts and bolts; Strategic marketing initiatives, how to speak “patient” and social media (i.e., “what are all the cool kids doing?”)

3. A few thoughts to consider… Patients are now Consumers, First and Foremost • Access to information 24/7 and share information 24/7 • Armed with the responsibility to spend more out of pocket dollars, patients will become much more discriminating purchasers of healthcare services • More and more they expect exceptional customer service with every business transaction, including healthcare – from in person, to the phone and online • They are seeking a “better” healthcare experience and know they can simply go elsewhere – to your competitor – in hopes of a better experience • Marketing initiatives must be more innovative to reach consumers

4. Patient Perception is Reality • Your perception doesn’t matter, but your patients’ perceptions do!

5. Understanding Generational Influences • The Greatest Generation • Born between 1925-1944 • “Tell me what I need” • Technology not required • Wish to be directed through their healthcare decisions • Baby Boomers • Born between 1945-1964 • “Pursue Me” • Beta testers of technology, quickly adopting new tools • Wish to be engaged in their healthcare decisions, not passive consumers

6. Understanding Generational Influences • Generation X • Born between 1965-1984 • “What are my friends doing?” • Technology a necessity • Wish to be educated so they can make their own healthcare decisions • Millennials • Born between 1985-2006 • “Interact with me” • Technology is the only way • Wish to be connected with when making healthcare decisions

7. Get Started on the Right Marketing Foot…

8. Marketing Mistake #1Failure to Define Goals and Objectives • Those who fail to plan, plan to fail! • 75% of practices with a current marketing plan have yet to define goals or objectives for that campaign. • Goals are your roadmap for the rest of your marketing • Determining factors in the rest of your marketing campaign • What should they look like? • Grow a certain patient volume, overall practice revenue, increase referrals, develop an online presence and the list goes on

9. Marketing Mistake #2Failure to Determine your Budget • “We don’t have a budget for our marketing right now, what will that cost us?” • Know your budget BEFORE you go to potential vendors, don’t let them “educate” you on how much to spend • Practices with a set budget spend less than practices without a set budget • Also see more success in a consistent marketing effort • What should it be? • General rule, 3% of practice monthly revenue (or sales) set aside for marketing efforts • What does that include?

10. Marketing Mistake #3Failure to Diversify your Marketing Mix • Don’t put all your eggs in one basket! • Research shows it takes an average of SEVEN touches for a patient to make an appointment • One marketing method alone will not create success, it’s a consistent message across several platforms that reach patients • Think about yourself and your buying habits, remember patients are now consumers of their healthcare services, you must think like a consumer

11. Marketing Mistake #4Failure to Track Marketing Efforts • You cannot manage what you do not measure! • MUST have a marketing tracking strategy in place prior to starting any campaign • Marketing can be “trial and error”....must track to know which “errors” to stop! • How should you start? • Update intake forms • Use separate phone numbers or offers • Online analytics and page views/click-thrus • Utilize software features • ASK! • You MUST know your “ROI” and “CPL” • ROI = Return/Investment = (Gross Margin – Investment)/Investment • CPL= Cost Per Lead= Total Costs/Leads Generated • Remember, it costs less to keep a current patient than to acquire a new one!

12. Marketing Mistake #5Focusing on the Mission Statement • It’s time to GET REAL and show some PERSONALITY! • Patients are seeking valuable relationships and that includes their healthcare providers • Tell the truth to your patients • “We care about our patients” Really? • Fight the urge to fit your practice culture into a box, what unique characteristics can you share with your patients? • Think authentic interactions and emotional connections with your target patients through your marketing messages

13. Marketing Mistake #6Failure to Define your Target Patient Profile • To speak patient, you must know your target patient profile • It doesn’t pay to try to be “everything” to “everyone” • What type of person drives your patient volumes? • Chances are, it’s a woman (80% of healthcare decisions are driven by women) • How are you appealing to the women in your life? • Requires more authentication and transparency in your message • What makes her life better, adds value or keeps her loved ones healthy? • Cause Marketing can be a powerful strategy

14. Nuts and Bolts:

15. Initiative #1: Tell a Story What story can your practice tell? What makes your office, your physicians, your staff unique? What successes can you share? Who are your most loyal fans? Who best to tell the story besides your patients?!

16. Tell a Story How do you get your patients to tell YOUR story? • WOW them in your office! • Stay on top of their minds! • Utilize tools to help you get the word out… • Social Media • In-Office education • Patient testimonials don’t work, think VIDEOS!

17. Initiative #2: Engage Your Patients • 74% of medical offices do not connect with patients on a regular basis. How are you doing? • In-Office Experience • “SCORE” • Avoid the “processed” approach • Out of Office Experience • The fortune is in the follow-up! • Create opportunities to connect online 24/7 • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube

18. Initiative #3: Get Real • With more clutter in the marketplace, patients (consumers) are now gravitating to making real connections and interacting on a personal level with their healthcare providers • Tell the truth to your patients • “We care about our patients” …Really? • Fight the urge to fit your practice culture into a box, what unique characteristics can you share with your patients? • Share these with your patients • Patient Experience • Social Media Outreach

19. Initiative #4: Be Memorable Homogenized is for Milk! • Become a health resource • Develop a practice calling card • “Thank You for Your Business” • WOW Experiences • Top of mind awareness • If patients are not talking about you after they walk out your doors, you lose • Take your customer service to the next level to increase word-of-mouth marketing (the CHEAPEST form of advertising!) • “Walking Billboards” are the goal!

20. Initiative #5: Patients = Guests • Perception is reality…how do your patients perceive you? • Replace the word “patients” with guests, watch the attitude shift • House Guests are: • Welcomed • Served • Escorted • House Guests have rules • Prepare your practice for your house guests • Staff training and attitude shift • Make it an “All Five Senses” experience

21. Create Conversations to Increase Referrals

22. The Social Media Effect

23. The Power of Engaging and Interacting • If Facebook were a country, it would be the 4th Largest in the World • 78% of people trust recommendations from friends and family • 14% trust advertising • Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months • YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine • Social Media has taken over Porn as the #1 activity on the web • Women 50-60 year olds are the fastest growing population on Facebook

24. Social Media Popularity: Google Trends global warming sex facebook

25. Authentic interaction Genuine Engagement Trust Influence Why Social Media? The Harlow Group LLC • Because your patients are doing it! And, so is your competition! • But remember, it’s only ”arrow in the quiver”

26. What are your Options? • Facebook • Twitter • Practice website/blog/videos • Online patient and health forums • Association websites and forums • LinkedIn • YouTube

27. Your Patients are Talking, Where are YOU?

28. Patients are Now Looking for Recommendations Online • I

29. Patients are Now Looking for Recommendations Online

30. Challenges and Legal Considerations • Patients requesting medical advice • Negative comments • Growing the participant base • Patient privacy • Keeping up with posts/contests • Internal and external policy development

31. What are All the Cool Kids Doing?

41. Tell a Story

42. Getting Started with Social Media • Questions to ask yourself: • What are our strategic goals? • How can social media help us achieve them? • What resources will we or can we devote to this effort? • How will we structure this effort?

43. Measuring Effectiveness • General Rule: Give it 3 months! • Engagement Quotient (# posts,likes,comments by fans / total #fans) • Update intake forms • Survey patients • Remember: Quality over quantity!

45. Where do we go from here?

46. What can YOU do right away? • Revisit your practice’s marketing plan—get a clear picture on what you are • currently doing and how much it’s costing you. • Check your patient intake forms and current patient database. Are you collecting email addresses? • 3. Spend five minutes in your waiting room to observe your patients and your • staff; Spend five minutes listening to your staff members interacting with • your patients on the phone. What opportunities do you observe to create • a WOW Patient Experience?

47. A Few Final Thoughts…. • Cut the junk! Focus on the overall patient experience and look at your practice on a holistic level: what are you doing to WOW your patients, not just spend your marketing budget. • These new initiatives may not fit into a spreadsheet easily, but they do have a direct correlation to your practice’s patient volume and bottom line. Think about measuring the perceptions of your patients (including their referral rates), not their satisfaction level, to gauge your level of success. • Success in shifting the attitude of your practice and creating WOW patient experiences does not come overnight. But with small, consistent steps, you will make a positive change in the patient perception of your practice and become successful in attracting more REFERRALS and LOYAL patients through your doors. These small actions repeated over time, have the biggest impact.

48. Resources • #HCSM homepage healthsocmed.com • Found In Cache (hospital SM) ebennett.org/hsnl • SMUG social-media-university-global.org • HealthBlawg social media posts j.mp/HealthBlawgSoMe • (e)Merge on Twitter twitter.com/eMergeMD

49. www.emergewithus.com Toll Free:1.877.362.6584 Jamie@emergewithus.com