Aligning referring and staff physicians to your brand
Engage and inspire physicians as marketing partners
Physicians are valuable partners in the marketing process, as well as an important audience for hospital marketing messages. As advocates for the brand, they can drive patient volumes through referrals and association with the hospital. Yet, like other stakeholders, physicians have their own issues and motivations that influence their behavior.
Doctors’ first responsibility is treating patients. Like most of us, they have goals and numbers to hit each quarter, and they expect marketing to help attract patients to their practices. Unfortunately, this can lead to some unrealistic expectations of the marketing team (usually beginning with a request for an ad featuring the physician’s photo). While they may understand the strategy behind brand building and awareness, they expect to see an increase in traffic to their office.
Busy doctors aren’t thrilled when marketing makes demands on their time, asking to shuffle patients or reschedule appointments to make room for a marketing interview, photo session or video shoot. At the end of a 12-hour shift, they want to get home to their families, not sit down in front of a camera.
Why marketing relies on physicians
Physicians’ skill and expertise is the product the marketing team is sanctioned to sell. When the doctors understand the marketing strategy and feel inspired by the brand, they are more likely to participate in marketing efforts and act as advocates for the brand. This makes it easier to recruit physicians for marketing projects, and helps eliminate criticisms and unreasonable requests.