Build Your Brand via Community Outreach and Programming

Many hospital marketers have asked me “We have a very limited budget.  If there is only one area where we can focus, what should it be?”  While this if often market specific, my typical response to them is to focus on grassroots community based programs.  These are initiatives that a hospital or physician group of any size can execute for reasonably low cost and can cast a very wide or narrow net depending on the audience that the hospital is trying to attract. 

These mechanisms can vary from very simple lecture based seminars to large scale multi-station, multidisciplinary events.  They can focus on a single service the hospital provides or can take a cross service line approach to promote several areas. An event can be conducted right on campus or be taken to a strategically targeted pocket of the community.

Key benefits of this type of promotion include:
•    High touch – Low cost
•    Targets very specific populations
•    Encourages physicians and hospitals to collaborate with one another
•    Provides the public direct interaction with hospital staff and physicians
•    Highlights existing services and facilities offered by your providers
•    Promotes quality and knowledge of clinical staff and physicians
•    Gives something value-added back to consumer
•    Demonstrate the variety of care access points to the community

Identifying strategic partnerships is an effective method to leverage your community outreach effort. Types of partners on your community may include local sports teams, colleges, heath clubs, charitable organizations, vendors, etc.  These partners can help to promote, provide credibility and lend resources or facilities for programs.  These too can vary in scale from a simple co-sponsored lecture to a full scale, monetary strategic partnership.

As with any marketing initiative, measuring success is an important element. Establishing a database to capture and track participants can be valuable tool for future events and to measure marketing effectiveness.  While tracking this is not an exact science since you cannot measure the word of mouth impact, you should expect that there be a greater benefit than what is actually tracked.

Bottom line is these types of initiatives are relatively easy to plan, but make sure you do PLAN.  Give yourself enough preparation time and identify speakers that are engaging.  Advertise on your website and in outlets that directly appeal to the demographic you're targeting.  A full page newspaper ad is not likely to be very cost effective or produce the results you want for say a diabetes awareness class or sports related clinic.  Regardless of the topics, a plan to address various groups in the community on a continual basis should result in increased awareness for the organization and provide a wellness benefit to the consumer.