How To Start Pivoting Back to Service-Line Marketing

Dan Dunlop and Jared Johnson

“Right now, our hospitals and health systems are facing far more than a public health crisis; they are facing a financial crisis that could threaten their very survival,” say Dan Dunlop of Jennings and healthcare branding specialist Jared Johnson.

Here’s an excerpt from their new article:

COVID-19 may be with us for a while, but the surge is gradually winding down and hospitals must be prepared to hit the ground running with marketing that drives patient volume to profitable services.

Organizations do not have the luxury of taking two or three months to ramp up. Hospital marketing teams must make the time now to plan for the inevitable pivot from ongoing COVID-19 communications to revenue-generating service-line marketing. The plan for moving forward must be in place, with marketing channels defined and content ready to launch.

The first step is to revisit your annual marketing plan and determine its relevance given the new economic realities your organization now faces. For example, you may have planned to market service lines or procedures that do not have significant contribution margins but bring other benefits to your organization. These plans may have to be tabled for now.

This is the time to promote services and support business objectives that are paramount to your organization’s survival. Ideally, the services will have capacity to add patient volume and significant contribution margins.

As your organization moves to revenue-generating marketing in the months to come, the shift could seem abrupt or even callous if it is not made with significant planning and finesse. Therefore, we recommend a strategic plan to guide your marketing through this transition, gradually decreasing COVID-19 communications and replacing them with traditional service-line marketing.

Read the rest of their re-ramping strategies now: Preparing Your Post-Pandemic Marketing Strategy, Part I

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President