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VOLUME
1 APRIL
2009
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10
STEPS FOR EFFECTIVE HOSPICE MARKETING |
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Follow
this road map to success
Through
nearly a decade of experience, Transcend Hospice Marketing
Group has developed, practiced and refined a 10-step process
that has proven highly effective for promoting hospice programs
with dignity.
This
premier issue of our newsletter provides an overview of our
10-step process, with brief explanations of the individual
steps. Subsequent issues will address each step in more depth.
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Research.
The heart of hospice marketing centers on educating
key audiences. To educate effectively, it's vital to identify what
your audiences already know or don't know —
about hospice care in general and your hospice program in particular.
It's also critical to assess how knowledge or opinions are affecting
behavior in making hospice decisions. Researching potential patients
and referrers in your specific service area is essential. Using scientifically
significant sampling methods provides a solid foundation for strategic
marketing, as well as a baseline for measuring your success going
forward. |
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Analyze.
A well-constructed research study will give you
data for areas in which you should focus. But it takes analysis and
experience to "connect the dots" and understand what the
data imply. For example, we often find that about half of survey respondents
say they would rely on their doctor to bring up the hospice discussion.
Yet a much smaller percentage of physicians readily mention hospice
as an option, especially at the first evidence that a condition is
terminal. This set of responses shows that 1) families need to be
instructed and empowered to seek hospice information on their own;
2) physicians need education on making hospice referrals sooner; and
3) successfully changing these behaviors can fuel increased admissions
and longer ALOS. |
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Strategize.
Proper
analysis of the research data will provide the cornerstones of a strong
marketing communications plan. A powerful strategy will encompass
specifically who you need to address, what messages
to deliver to each audience, where to connect with them, when
they may be most receptive to your message, how to reach each
audience cost-effectively and why your approach is likely to
evoke the positive responses you seek. Your strategy will also establish
defined goals, budgets, metrics and timing for the marketing plan. |
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Prioritize.
Typically, hospices discover that their communities
need to be educated on a wide variety of topics. But you can't educate
all key audiences on every topic at the same time - that would be
confusing from a messaging standpoint and expensive from a cost perspective.
Research data can help tremendously in qualifying which topics need
to be addressed first. Accordingly, your marketing strategy can prioritize
the order of messaging to be addressed, helping to structure a timeline
for a long-term campaign (3 to 5 years) with budget allocations to
match. |
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Verbalize.
After you've identified your audiences and determined
what key messages they need to hear, it's time to craft exactly how
you want to say those messages. A crucial factor in this process —
one that many hospices overlook —
is in stating those messages from the audience's perspective.
Take a look at your current communications materials. Do most of your
statements proclaim what "we" do, or explain what the benefits
are to the audience? For a simple example, instead of saying, "We
provide pain management" the attitude of your message should
be more like, "Your loved one will be more comfortable and better
able to enjoy time with the family thanks to our expertise in managing
pain." The majority of your messages should be "you"
statements rather than "we" statements. |
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Personalize.
As
competition continues to heat up in the hospice arena, you'll want
to distinguish your organization from other hospice programs. This
process begins with objectively identifying areas of your program
that are stronger than your competitors'. Using your distinctive strengths
as a foundation, you can build a consistent look and feel to all of
your communications that are uniquely your own. Aligning your strengths
with how you educate your community on topics revealed through research
is a powerful approach to building a successful hospice brand. |
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Distribute.
Even the most brilliant messaging will be ineffective if it doesn't
reach the right eyes and ears. A strategic media plan is essential
to making sure that a vast majority of your key audiences not only
sees and hears your messages, but sees and hears them repeatedly.
(Advertising industry research shows that, on average, consumers have
to see an ad nine times before it sinks in!) |
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Our
TV
spots for Treasure
Coast Hospice captured first prize in the film category of
the 2008 competition hosted
by NHPCO.
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Internalize.
By definition, marketing must be outwardly focused
to fulfill needs of the audience. But that outward effort will be
exponentially more successful when it is backed by strong internal
support. In fact, your staff, volunteers and board members are prime
resources for sharing examples of how your everyday actions deliver
on your key messages. Make sure to inform your entire team of your
marketing plans and expectations. This is essential to "walking
the talk" of your marketing messages - and your team will become
unparalleled advocates and ambassadors of the plan. |
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Evaluate.
At defined intervals —
usually once a year —
the results of your marketing plan should be measured to see how you're
progressing toward your goals. An effective way to do so is to conduct
the same scientifically significant survey used to establish the baseline
research. This approach provides an apples-to-apples comparison and
clearly shows where education is taking root, where behaviors are
starting to change and where more work needs to be concentrated. |
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Repeat.
Your evaluation provides the research to begin
the process over for the next phase of your campaign. The good news
is that subsequent phases typically aren't as labor-intensive as the
launch —
because many aspects of your approach and branding have already been
established. Nevertheless, the latest research results will provide
the fuel to go through the process again, fine-tuning your focus to
continue effective community education, build your brand and work
toward achieving your goals. |
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PRIOR
LAKE, MN