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Is it Time to RETHINK your marketing organization?

Written by: Candace Quinn

Article Overview: Are you looking around at your healthcare organization's marketing team and wondering, are these the right skill sets to carry us through this economy? Do you have GROWTH as your driving goal? Are you focussing your activities today to achieve that growth? Or, are you still taking brochure and ad orders? Today's marketing organization has to be the Growth division of every company. And more.

Free Download - Healthcare Reform: beyond Quality and Cost Cuts: The Brand By Candace Quinn

Is it Time to RETHINK your marketing organization?

Is it time to rethink your marketing organization? Are you prepared for the new social media world? Is your website performing? Does your staff have the skill set and mind set for the new challenges the organization is facing? Do they recognize the new consumers? Are they ready for the new shape of healthcare reform? And, who, if anyone, owns growth in your organization?

The healthcare marketing world is changing. New times call for new tools, new methods, new mediums, new messages. Is your team organized to support each other, drive growth for your company, embrace the new social media tools, and maximize the effectiveness of both messaging and reach?

Many healthcare teams have evolved over the years, with staff skilled in writing, journalism, public relations, graphic design, strategic planning, analysts, sales teams, and general marketing staff. Today, most of us have at least one or more staff proficient and skilled at web design, delivery, and content development. But is this what we’ll need going forward?

Where do you get the data that tells you where the growth potential is for your organization? Can you find the critical few service lines that have a high margin, and build the relationships you need to meke them a key focus for your organiation? Are you able to convince your leadership team that the noisiest doctor with the most expensive technology isn't necessarily the most important focus for your organization?

Combine these pressures with the fact that consumers are being asked to grasp and make critical choices regarding their healthcare and it is more and more obvious that no one is taking the lead on helping consumers with this daunting task. As the growth champion, senior communicators and business developers, we have a new opportunity within our marketing organizations. Redefining the relevance of our role in educating consumers, informing staff, engaging patients, setting service line priorities, and enlisting physicians as partners should be the gist of our job descriptions.

But these opportunities are surrounded by challenges. Do you have the right talent base to help you with these? For instance, which tools will be most effective? How can you leverage your current media messaging and placements to allow you to maximize not only the return on those directly, but to also allow you to break into new medias? Do you have a facebook page for your hospital? Videos on UTube? Do you twitter breaking news, important reminders? Are you relevant to today’s decision maker? Are you at the table along side the CMO, CNO, COO, CFO, CEO?

It will take new talents and new thinking to succeed in the next ten years. Will healthcare reform open up access in ways never-before contemplated? Are you ready? How will you reach these people?

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Article Tags: healthcare marketing, healthcare organizations, marketing organization, marketing team

About the Author: Candace Quinn
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Ms. Quinn is a nationally known, Healthcare Brand Strategy consultnat and has over 25 years experience in the senior and chief marketing role for major health systems and hospitals around the country. As an early pioneer in the field of healthcare marketing, she has developed competitive strategies for small stand alone hospitals as well as major academic medical centers: for systems as small as two hospitals to regional systems as large as 9 hospitals; for integrated delivery networks with annual revenues of $1Billion to ones with revenues in excess of $2Billion.

Additionally, she has consulted with numerous hospitals, including serving as an interim CMO, reviewing the marketing operations for 42 hospitals in a large integrated delivery system, and conducting marketing assessments, market assessments, and brand assessments.

Among her accomplishments while serving these organizations is the successful launch of several integrated brand strategies. Using a disciplined, inclusive approach, she has helped organizations successfully identify their competitive brand position, articulate that brand promise, and create award winning advertising strategies embraced by employees, physicians, management and trustees to launch the same.

Candace is a frequent speaker and an experienced facilitator. She received her Masters in Management from Kellogg Graduate School of Management and holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from Rockford College.

Learn more about Candace and her consulting firm, Brand=Experience at www.brandequalsexperience.com. Take a look at her product BrandCheck and see how she and her team can help you position your organization for Healthcare Reform.

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