Time to Open the Kimono

Although I work daily with CyberKnife cancer centers and know some medical terms, I try to never act like I know as much about radiation oncology as a doctor or physicist. The other day I met a physicist who thought he knew more about marketing than I. Why do people think our profession is so simple, so easy? Perhaps it’s because we don’t, as they say in Silicon Valley, “Open the kimono.”

ME&V recently produced a multimedia campaign for a new CyberKnife center. We are totally transparent with why each creative element was chosen. The clinic’s phone began ringing the morning after the first TV commercial aired. Patients are making appointments.

As a profession, this is rocket science. We make every decision with calculated strategy. Marketers need to be more transparent with the thought process and presentation of the creative. It’s time to open the kimono.

While Bob Foster is on medical, please contact Bryan Earnest: Bryan@meandv.com.

Simplicity

Somehow, “wicked” is now a good thing, if you are 14 years old. Find yourself unaware of something, and a teenager might say, “Out of touch, much?” Every generation has its own language. Each profession also has its own terms and expressions. It’s tempting to use clinical terms when writing about CyberKnife. A less sophisticated, frightened person will understand more of your message if you write like they think.

Doctors prescribe the BED: best effective dose. Patients want to hear, “what’s right for you.”

Doctors may recommend five treatments or fractions. A patient prefers “five visits.”

To a patient, gray (Gy) is not a unit of measure. Gray is a color.

Using medical terms during a consultation (oops, "visit") with a patient is often unavoidable. However, when writing brochures, commercials, ads or Web pages for patients, explain CyberKnife simply. What you do as a clinician is sophisticated. The person learning about you for the first time may not be.

See Baby? Say "Baby"

It was a beautiful TV commercial. The hospital obviously spent a lot of money. The photography made the birthing center look like a luxury resort. The soothing voice of an unseen mother sang about her beautiful baby. Wow. It was so cool; almost.

A good portion of the audience will never know what the commercial was about. The commercial didn’t tell the viewer what they were seeing.

People often hear television while not seeing television. People are busy getting their day started. Few have time to actually sit and watch programs like “Today,” they listen to them. Others multitask like going online with the TV as background sound.

Fifty percent of people having seen a voiced TV commercial, upon hearing the audio alone, will imagine the video. No one who hasn’t seen the video will get the message if you don’t tell them what is on the screen. If there is good voice-over, one hundred percent of people only hearing the message will be reached. Pretty simple, isn’t it?

See baby? Say baby.

It was a beautiful commercial. What a shame it will only be partially effective.

Bob Foster, cyberknife@meandv.com

Iowa is Not Florida

This Isn't Beach Sand

This blog was written from my office in Iowa. Mercifully, the Iowa caucuses have passed. The political TV commercials have vanished, for now. Have you noticed that candidates modify their messages from state to state? One candidate just began a Hispanic campaign in Florida. He used no Spanish-language advertising in Iowa. At the risk of overstating the obvious: Iowa is not Florida. Our lawns turn white in January.

Politicians know cultures are regionally nuanced. Competitive situations also vary market to market. This is why “cookie cutter” CyberKnife marketing campaigns are less effective than original creative. The most effective CyberKnife marketing reflects the brand of the hospital, clinic or strategic partner. Good creative also shows viewers people like themselves and their local area. What works in California might not resonate with patients in Georgia.

ME&V is preparing a CyberKnife go-live campaign for a center in the Midwest. Although our campaigns have been effective in other Midwestern markets, this go live requires a unique approach.

So does yours.

You Will Become What You think About

Earl Nightingale’s classic motivational series “Lead the Field” was a big influence on me. Although it is now somewhat dated, the message is timeless: You will become what you think about.

As you can imagine, I think a lot about marketing CyberKnife to referring physicians and patients. When prospective clients ask, “How did a marketing firm in Iowa get to be the leader in this area?” My answer is straightforward, “Because it’s what we think about.”

What do you think about? If you think about internal office politics, getting a promotion or how somebody else should be doing their job, you will never be fully effective at selling your CyberKnife program.

Stay focused. Keep thinking about:

• Why your CyberKnife program is a better choice
• What you want a doctor to do
• Why they should believe you

Everything else is just noise.

Want to get better at selling to physicians? You will become - you must become - what you think about.

Close the Deal - Set an Appointment

In a previous existence – it seems like another lifetime – I sold radio advertising. Good sales people are selling the minute they connect with a prospect. The first thing they must sell is an appointment. It’s no different for the person answering the telephone at your CyberKnife center. They must gently sell a first-time caller on setting an appointment with a doctor.

People who call, but don’t choose to set an appointment, fall into two categories:

1. Need more information – Get it to them ASAP

2. Don’t see the value – Emphasize the benefits of CyberKnife over other protocols

Once your patient services person has handled these two issues, it is time to “close the deal” by asking to set an appointment. There are many ways to do this. Here are three:

1. Assume the caller wants an appointment – “You can see Dr. Jones on Wednesday morning at 9:30, if that works for you.”

2. Present Alternatives – “Which works best for you – Wednesday at 9:30 or Thursday at 2:15?”

3. Plus or Minus – Some call this the Benjamin Franklin close. Give many good reasons for scheduling an appointment today and the downside of waiting. (Be careful with this one. Don’t appear pushy.)

All your direct-to-patient marketing will go for naught, if the point-of-contact person doesn’t “close the deal.”

Bob Foster, cyberknife@meandv.com

Try Reversing Techniques

Did anyone ever say to you, “There is a website I have got to visit before I die"? When was the last time somebody excitedly showed you pictures of their favorite search engines? The answers are obvious: “no” and “never.”

Yet, many marketing people are intently focused on drive-to-Web strategies. How about taking the opposite approach: reverse-engineering what has been learned on the Web and applying it to traditional media?

• The re-emergence of 15-second bookend commercials came from roll-out ads on the Web.
• Pop-up ads on ESPN were inspired by pop-up ads on the Web.
• TV news and opinion shows ask viewers to Tweet. The show’s hosts read the viewers' Tweets over the air.

The Web now drives communication styles. What have you learned from the Web? Are you applying Web techniques to your traditional media platforms? It’s the new phase of integrated communication strategy.

Want to better close the communication loop with your target audience? Try having your traditional media presence emulate what viewers see on the Web.

Bob Foster cyberknife@meandv.com