Blog Posts - The CRAVE Group

JUNE is Men’s Health Month!

6/20/2017

Goal of Men’s Health Month?

The purpose of Men’s Health Month is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. This month gives health care providers, public policy makers, the media, and individuals an opportunity to encourage men and boys to seek regular medical advice and early treatment for disease and injury. The response has been overwhelming with thousands of awareness activities in the USA and around the globe.

Whether it is your friend, brother, dad, boyfriend, spouse, or boss, show them you care about them and their health by wearing blue. If Friday of Men’s Health Week doesn’t work for you then pick any other day of the year and start a fun Wear BLUE day at work.

Host a Wear BLUE day to raise awareness and money for education about men’s need to seek regular checkups, or testicular cancer education, prostate cancer education, or other health issues that affect men. (Cardiovascular disease, skin cancer, lung cancer, diabetes, gout, and more.)
Men live sicker and die younger. Wear BLUE was created by Men’s Health Network to raise awareness about the importance of male health and to encourage men to live longer and healthier lives.
Men’s health awareness can mean many different things.
It means raising awareness of making healthy lifestyle choices, making regular annual visits to the doctor, getting educated on heart disease or diabetes, starting general health conversations with their male friends, and much more. The information, tools, and resources on this website can help you plan an impactful Wear BLUE event where you live, work, play, and pray.

#ShowUsYourBlue

Riding for a Cure

6/14/2017

By Britni Riley | June 08, 2017

Five days into their roughly 70-day journey to Alaska, Texas 4000’s Team Ozarks made a pit stop in Houston to spend the day with pediatric oncology patients at The University of Texas MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Center and to drop off a $65,000 check to further MD Anderson’s cancer research.
Started in 2004 by Chris and Mandy Condit, Texas 4000 is a challenging 18-month program for students at The University of Texas at Austin. Not only do riders train throughout the year and cycle 4,000 miles to Alaska over the summer, but they also log dozens of hours of volunteering and raise money for cancer research.
“No distance is too great to travel, no hardship is too great to endure to achieve our goal to end cancer,” said Marshall E. Hicks, M.D., interim president of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. “That sounds familiar because our patients have the same goal. Many come from long distances and many endure great hardships in their journey and they all look to us to us to help them achieve that goal to end cancer. I thank the riders for going on this journey to help us achieve our goal.”
One Texas 4000 alumnus is personally familiar with the hardships cancer patients face. Bucky Ribbeck, a third-year medical student at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston McGovern Medical School, participated in the 2013 Texas 4000. He received cancer treatment at MD Anderson.
“I was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma when I was in high school. I went to Strake Jesuit just down the road, and I was a pitcher for the baseball team,” Ribbeck said. “This was a curveball for me. It was a solid tumor in my pitching arm, and after interviewing several doctors, Dr. Valerae Lewis at MD Anderson ended up operating on my arm. She has really become a mentor for me today.”
After recovering, Ribbeck enrolled at UT Austin and stayed very active in the cancer community, but he felt there was more he could do.
“The ride gave me back an athletic element that I had lost after baseball,” Ribbeck said. “To be able to give back to the people who made sure that I am alive here today, to be able to give back to MD Anderson and see where it’s all going is incredible.”
As a third-year medical student, Ribbeck is beginning a surgical oncology rotation at MD Anderson. He hopes to work in pediatrics when he graduates, possibly with an emphasis in hematology or oncology.
During the Texas 4000 journey, the riders split up into three groups to make their way to Anchorage by way of the Sierras, the Rockies and the Ozarks. The Sierra route takes riders through West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada, then heads north up the California, Oregon and Washington coasts and into British Columbia and the Yukon before finally reaching Alaska. The riders on the Rockies route travel through North Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. The route then heads into the Canadian provinces and territories of Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon before making its way into Alaska. The newest and final group of riders begin their journey in East Texas moving through Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, before crossing the international border into Canada, traveling through Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon.
The 4,000-mile journey takes about 70 days for the riders on each route to complete, during which time they are responsible for providing their own food, shelter and support. Along each route, riders stop in cities to share their reasons for riding, provide messages of prevention and early detection and deliver checks to cancer research institutions.
The check riders presented to MD Anderson Wednesday completed their $1.5 million donation to the hospital to continue the efforts of eliminating cancer.

March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month

2/29/2016

Get Screened

Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the United States and the second leading cause of death from cancer. Colorectal cancer affects people in all racial and ethnic groups and is most often found in people age 50 and older.
The good news? If everyone age 50 and older were screened regularly, 6 out of 10 deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented. Communities, health professionals, and families can work together to encourage people to get screened.

How can Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month make a difference?
We can use this month to raise awareness about colorectal cancer and take action toward prevention. Communities, organizations, families, and individuals can get involved and spread the word.
Here are just a few ideas:

Encourage families to get active together – exercise may help reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.
Talk to people in your community about the importance of getting screened for colorectal cancer starting at age 50.
Ask doctors and nurses to talk to patients age 50 and older about the importance of getting screened.

Why Digital Marketing Has Become the Health-Care Industry's Rx for Revenue

1/5/2016

Hospitals Take Business Where the Patients Are -- Online and on Mobile Devices

Could digital marketing help cure the health-care industry?
Before the recession, nonprofit hospitals were posting revenue growth of 7% or more, but that slid to 3.9% last year, the smallest increase during the 23 years Moody's Investors Service has collected the data. Hospitals brought in an average of $11,299 in net revenue per adjusted patient admission in 2012, up 7.6% from $10,497 the previous year, according to the American Hospital Association. But admissions are falling as higher insurance rates prompt patients to seek more affordable care outside of hospitals and crimp the demand for elective procedures.
That's left hospitals, clinicals and medical centers -- which Kantar Media said spent about $1.8 billion on U.S. measured media last year -- scrambling for ways to attract revenue-generating patients while also controlling spending.
Many are turning to search, mobile and social for cost-effective marketing that reaches the growing number of consumers who look online for health-care information. Paired with advice from referring physicians, the internet is helping patients make more informed hospital choices. "The consumer-to-patient journey is largely a digital journey at their moment of need," said John Weston, CMO at Mayo Clinic. "If I were diagnosed with something tomorrow, one of the first things I would do is go online."
Search is key
Marketers used to cast a wide net through TV, radio, print and out-of-home ads to build brand awareness, but search-engine marketing is becoming a more significant part of plans as hospitals take a more-targeted approach. TV and newspapers still reap the largest hospital ad budgets because of their cost, but search is at the forefront of many campaigns.

Health-care chief marketing officers say digital's measurability helps them defend their budgets. "Return on investment is on the top of everybody's agenda," said Paul Matsen, CMO of Cleveland Clinic, which uses an aggressive digital strategy built around search that includes banners, patient testimonials, health guides and service-line-specific ads. He says about 80% of patients who are diagnosed with an illness go on the web to find information about their condition. The clinic works with Boathouse, based in Boston, for its digital creative and the Cleveland-based Adcom Group handles its media buys.
Mobile
Health-care marketers like Mayo Clinic are building responsive sites that emphasize the mobile experience as consumers look for quick and easy access to wellness advice. Its pregnancy app, for example, is designed to be a companion for mothers from childbirth through their babies' first few months. And the clinic's patient app allows people to book appointments and access their health information.
Telemedicine, in which patients receive treatment via video calls, also has a growing presence in the industry (see story below). Smartphones with advanced video capabilities, like high-definition cameras, make it increasingly possible for patients to connect with quality doctors outside of their region and receive diagnoses. Telemedicine also cuts costs for hospitals and patients, which is why more health-care companies are offering this type of support.
Social
Perhaps more than in any other field, the power of the testimonial is key in health care, as patients and families researching diagnoses often turn to patients with similar experiences. Social media gives hospitals and clinics the chance to share patient stories and connect consumers. "Patients really want an outlet for telling their stories and social is such beautiful way for people to do that," said Margaret Coughlin, senior VP-chief marketing and communications officer for Boston Children's Hospital, which has a strong presence on Facebook.
Boston Children's Hospital's annual marketing budget has been flat at about $5 million for the past few years, said Ms. Coughlin. But its net patient services revenue grew from $1 billion in 2011 to $1.4 billion in 2012, according to annual reports. Ms. Coughlin said the hospital's integrated marketing approach, which includes TV, print, digital, earned media, social and other types of direct marketing, contributed to the growth.

June is Men's Health Month

6/17/2015

June is Men’s Health Month

Men’s Health Month was created to address and highlight preventable diseases among males and increase overall health awareness with males. Men are less likely than women to go to the doctor or deal with health issues when presented, so the month of June has been designated for health professionals, the media and more to encourage males, both young and old, to pay more attention to their health.

According to Men’s Health Network, men have a lower life expectancy than women and it continues to decrease as the years increase. Due to preventable diseases such as obesity and hypertension, males tend to be plagued with more health issues that seemingly go unaddressed. Males also tend to have higher rates of heart disease and diabetes. With the exception of heart disease, the other diseases can be managed and are preventable to a certain extent which is what health professionals would like to do. Throughout the month of June, the campaign will consist of seminars and health fairs in an effort to increase awareness.

Preventable is the key word for the month. Because the most common diseases that kill men can be prevented through a proper diet and exercise regimen, seminars and workshops held throughout the month will highlight the various steps that can be taken to do so. It is recommended that men go to the doctor once a year at least and increase the visits to at least twice as they get older. Most of the diseases that men have only become a problem because they go undetected.

The Center of Disease Control lists heart disease as the leading cause of death among men and obesity and diabetes are listed as conditions and lifestyles that put men at higher risk of obtaining the disease. Because of obesity is considered controllable, health officials do believe that maintaining a healthy weight lower the chances of getting the disease. Persons with diabetes can maintain a healthy lifestyle as well by keeping their sugar low and monitoring their diet.

10 Shocking Facts About Content Marketing Today

5/19/2015

Every day, more than 27 million pieces of content are shared on the Web. If there was ever a question as to whether content is still king, this statistic speaks volumes. However, the content marketing industry is just beginning to bloom as more people turn to it to exhibit their company brand and message. Content marketing has revolutionized what it means to showcase your business to the world. With social channels such as LinkedIn and Twitter, it's quick and easy to get the word out about your goods and services. Now, content marketing has evolved into an art – every marketing team is attempting to create the next unique, wildly successful campaign to propel their company to the top.

As marketers find new ways to reach their target audiences and technology continues to evolve, the future of content marketing continues to get brighter. Here are 10 shocking facts about this revolutionary marketing strategy that shapes the way we make purchases, evaluate services, and use the Internet each day.

1. Companies with an active blog generate 67 percent more leads per month This statistic highlights one key factor that anyone who uses the Web can't ignore – people love blogs. They love them even more when they happen to find them on their favorite company's websites.

Related articles

Why? Because blogging provides consumers with a down-to-earth view of what a business is all about. Furthermore, company blogs can quickly become a go-to resource for other people in the industry, assuming posts are always educational and relevant. Marketers can utilize the company blog to entice readers with calls-to-action and content offerings for lead capture. Why not cast a larger net when there are plenty of fish in the sea?

2. On average, content marketers are using 12 different tactics Multitasking is an understatement for marketers, as this statistic from the Content Marketing Institute implies. Every year, more channels of communication open up for marketing teams – think of all of the apps and social networking sites that have exploded onto the scene in 2014 alone.

That being said, content marketers are taking advantage of many of them – most have an average of a dozen in their arsenal. Virtual conferences, videos, and research reports are among some of the most popular ones, and they may be worth incorporating into your own strategy.

3. About 86 percent of B2C companies use content marketing It's no longer just the B2B companies that are taking a stab at content marketing, according to this statistic. With the number of consumers turning to social networking to make buying decisions, B2C companies are viewing content marketing as the key to expanding their client base. The value of content marketing continues to expand across multiple industries.

4. B2B marketing teams spend 33 percent of their budget on content marketing This statistic indicates one key point: content marketing is valuable – so valuable that it's worth 33 percent of the marketing budget.

Resources such as content management systems and email marketing software come with a price. That being said, you can make up for the cost with the ROI of the product. Automating certain marketing tasks can save your team valuable time that they could put toward other tasks such as lead nurturing.

The value of content marketing continues to prove itself in the number of leads that are brought in, which have the potential to translate into deals.

5. Social media sites and blogs reach eight out of 10 Internet users in the U.S. This is a large number, even when you aren't taking into account the number of people who may be using these sites to make purchases. Whether your buyer persona is most frequently on LinkedIn or Facebook, content marketers need to have a presence on social media and develop a blog strategy for outreach purposes.

6. Email is the most popular form of communication Despite the prominence of social networks and their relevance in content marketing, email is still the winner. For this reason, marketers need to continue to place value in their email marketing campaigns, as well as the content that they are distributing to their target audience. These days, email automation and tracking software make it easy for marketing teams to tackle this portion of their job.

7. Approximately 47 percent of B2B marketers regularly use LinkedIn Even if your target audience primarily uses Facebook or Twitter, it's a good idea to utilize LinkedIn as a marketer. Business professionals turn to this website to make connections with other people in their industry and build their network.

If you still aren't convinced, consider this statistic – top salespeople spend approximately six hours per week on LinkedIn. The social networking site has evolved into a powerful sales and marketing tool that continues to grow in popularity.

8. Nearly 87 percent of B2B companies use social media to distribute content While it's completely acceptable to offer content on areas of your company website, there's a greater chance of reaching the masses through social media. That being said, publishing your content on websites such as Facebook and Twitter isn't always enough.

Your content marketing team needs to build a following on these social networking websites by providing valuable, insightful updates. This may take some work – and an employee who is dedicated to social networking efforts. However, the ROI will come in the form of more prospects and leads, who may eventually become customers and contributors to your overall bottom line.

9. Companies that blog 15 times per month get five times more traffic than those that don't This number indicates one simple fact – build a blog, and people will come. Active blogs can create a breadcrumb trail for more leads and set the sales team up for success; pointing to an expert and in-house-written blog post that answers a lead's question thoroughly and intelligently is a very helpful sales tactic. It's up to the marketing team to ensure that the blog is always full of insightful, fresh content, and although this may take some work, the potential benefits are hard to ignore.

10. Only 44 percent of companies outsource their content marketing efforts While it may be easy to outsource tasks such as blogging and social networking, companies are showing a preference toward keeping content marketing in-house. There are pros and cons to doing so, but the biggest benefit is that in-house teams generally have greater access to primary data, company voice, and other brand nuances that outsourced writers don't. However, in-house teams are commonly more expensive than outsourced solutions.

Conclusion Content marketing isn't just a fad; it has firmly established itself as a core facet of the marketing industry. Its seemingly sudden increase in popularity is due to its significant benefits to other disciplines of online marketing, such as SEO and social media marketing. Clearly, marketers have embraced content marketing and the statistics prove its value.

How NOT to promote your practice

2/12/2015

Tony Edwards and Bill Champion

The ability to attract new patients is vital to a practice’s success. To do so effectively and efficiently, partners in an orthopaedic practice need to have a shared vision and to align the practice’s objectives with that vision and the needs of the market.

Although each market is unique and each orthopaedic practice should have a customized strategy, most practices make the same mistakes in their marketing efforts, resulting in a significant waste of time and dollars, producing few results, and distracting the practice’s focus from proven strategies. The following are the 10 most common marketing mistakes made by orthopaedic practices.

Spending more money on advertising and sponsorships
On average, the number of people who have heard about an orthopaedic practice is 4.5 times greater than the number of people who would choose that practice for care. In short, it isn’t about generating more awareness; it’s about generating meaningful reasons why patients should choose a specific practice.

Most practices typically engage in and justify random advertising activities to “get their name out.” With few exceptions, these efforts rarely assess and align the right variables to achieve meaningful results, let alone produce a return-on-investment (ROI) that makes them worth continuing.

Treating all marketing activities alike
Doing a “lunch-and-learn” at a primary care office, sponsoring a local road race, participating in a call-in radio show, sending out a patient newsletter, serving as team physician for the local high school football team, and sending out press releases are all completely different tactics and should never be categorized together. At a minimum—and assuming that changes in patient volume are tracked—practices should segment efforts designed to attract new patients from those that don’t.

Random tactics don’t contribute to an effective marketing strategy. A strategy is comprised of integrated tactics that can be measured to produce either a positive ROI and/or a strategic return on objective.

Purchasing media packages
Usually, media packages aren’t tailored to the buyer’s need; they just reflect available media inventory. The same package can be sold to the local dry cleaner, restaurant, or auto garage.

The first rule of thumb in buying traditional media is not to buy a package, but a specific audience. Purchasing traditional media correctly is difficult and expensive; media packages make it easier, but don’t deliver value.

Equating sponsorships with business development
Most practices use sponsorships for two reasons. The first reason is to support a good cause or further a relationship. The second reason is for ease and convenience.

Although being a good corporate citizen is important, it’s not a marketing strategy. Doing something because it’s easy or convenient is liable to deliver a negative return because no reasonable patient would choose an orthopaedic surgeon based on a logo on a sign or t-shirt or an ad in the high school outfield.

Relying on patient satisfaction
Orthopaedic practices regularly use patient satisfaction as a way to measure the level of service being provided. Although a satisfaction rate of 85 percent to 95 percent is not uncommon, patient satisfaction has little correlation with practice growth.

Practice growth is derived from patient advocacy, which is the percentage of patients who would highly recommend the practice to their friends, family members, and co-workers. A recent national study showed that, on average, only about a third of orthopaedic patients would highly recommend the practice they visited.

Engaging in social media with no strategy
Social media can be a powerful tool for orthopaedic practices and many are engaged in social media to some level. Few, however, have a clear strategy or develop a social media platform large enough to leverage.

Establishing a Facebook page is free and easy, so many practices have one. The difficulty lies in gaining a following large enough to justify the time to manage the account and in creating content that is engaging enough to get patients and prospective patients to comment, which should all be part of the strategy. In most cases, practices set up a Facebook page and fail to manage it properly.

Measuring effectiveness by activity
Most orthopaedic practices measure their marketing and communication results by the amount of visual activity they generate. The more money they spend, the more advertising they see, the more they feel they are influencing patient volume. Yet few can provide tangible numbers, metrics, or documented patient volume.

Practices that advertise should have a strategy to measure the ROI. This will help avoid frustration and give the practice solid data to make better decisions on allocating resources.

Mirroring competitors
Often, several practices in a single market make the same mistakes because they promote themselves like mirror images. If one group advertises or increases sponsorship spending, others follow suit.

In many cases, it makes sense to be first and to be the leader in the market. However, being first is only an advantage if it generates value. For example, does it increase the right mix of patient volume? Does it truly differentiate the practice in a meaningful, important way to referral sources?

Instead of following competitors, practices should get a better understanding of why patients choose the orthopaedic practices they do. Talking with patients and primary care providers will provide a sense of what really matters. Following the market instead of competitors will produce greater results at less cost and better position the practice for long-term success.

Relying on the hospital
Current healthcare changes are bringing orthopaedists and hospitals closer together. In some instances, orthopaedists can partner with a hospital to promote the orthopaedic practice. The most important element of these partnerships is clearly identifying the orthopaedist and the practice name, rather than positioning the orthopaedist as a hospital employee.

Hospitals commonly view themselves as the entry point for providing orthopaedic care, disregarding that patients choose their orthopaedist, who admits them to the hospital. In some markets, practices have allowed the hospital to promote orthopaedics only to find themselves competing with the hospital for patients.

Conclusion
Most mistakes orthopaedists make in promoting their practices are due to the following three root causes: no clear direction, no specific budget, and no metrics for measuring success. Without a clear direction, all activities fall under the same strategy. Without a specific budget for the promotion and growth of new patients, efforts cannot be prioritized, and everything is deemed important. Without measures, practices cannot make good decisions or effectively allocate money and efforts moving forward.

Tony Edwards is senior vice president and Bill Champion is president of Venel, a marketing communications firm focused exclusively on orthopaedic providers. They can be reached at Tony@Venel.com and Bill@Venel.com

AAOS Now
February 2014 Issue
http://www.aaos.org/news/aaosnow/feb14/managing3.asp

The CRAVE Group Portfolio

10/28/2014

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Growing with Marketing

10/21/2014

Without marketing, your firm won’t grow

Imagine that you decide to drop all your firm’s marketing efforts today – no more website, marketing brochures, social media or community sponsorships. Picture what your firm would look like 10 years from now.

My prediction: It would look the same as it does today.

It might even look worse.

If you’re lucky, you will have a little organic growth from a few client referrals, which will make up for any clients you lose. In a worst-case scenario, your firm will be doing a lot worse than today, since you wouldn’t have made any efforts to make up for the natural attrition of clients.

In today’s competitive environment, marketing is an essential component of a strong business plan. It’s the way that you let people know about you, your firm and the services you have to offer. Most advisory firms want to attract more clients, yet few firms can achieve the results they want unless they make a concerted effort to let people know about their business. Savvy firm owners realize that they cannot survive without marketing. Competition is fierce, and it is too easy for quiet voices to get lost in the noise.

Be Relevant

8/13/2013

Being relevant is everything in today’s world. Think about all of the large companies that are relevant in the eye of today consumers, Apple, Android, Hybrid Cars and even the newest restaurants in town. If you take a step back and ask yourself, “How did they become relevant?” What would you say? Most likely marketing and self-promotion would be at the top of the list. Utilizing marketing and today's social media outlets can make you RELEVANT too!

Healthcare marketing is mandatory to gain your relevance. If you’re a new practice or an established one, you still have to compete to be relevant. If you don't put your name out there no one will find you.

For example, I know 2 doctors that went to medical school together and graduated at the same time. One believed in marketing and promoting his practice to be relevant. The other believed that referrals and word-of-mouth marketing was good enough. Five years later the physician that believed in promoting and marketing himself has 3 offices around Texas and is doing very well. The other doctor recently started marketing and promoting himself because he was in need of more patients.

Guess what? He is five years too late. Don't wait the time is NOW.

Check on some great articles on being RELEVANT!

http://www.customerthink.com/blog/the_battle_to_stay_relevant_personalizing_marketing_content

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130719/SCBULLETIN/307290310