Hospital Billboard Advertising: Old School Or Still Cool?
In Chicago, we have a set of billboards that probably 99.9% of our inhabitants recognize. On them, former Chicago Bear football player Brian Urlacher flaunts his full head of hair, which he supposedly got thanks to a hair regrowth system called Restore.
The billboards are simple — but genius. Most of them are just larger-than-life close-ups of Urlacher and a quote like “Breaking Bald,” “Hair-lacher,” or “It’s Grow Time!”
I mean, seriously. If they weren’t so effective, I’d say they’re ridiculous. But they’re memorable, and the company has a waiting list longer than ever for procedures that bring in around $10,000 on average.
While the Urlacher-Restore partnership has flourished in the billboard industry, that’s not necessarily a guarantee they’re always an effective form of advertisement. And that also doesn’t mean they align with a hospital’s marketing goals.
Billboards can be seen as somewhat dated — and they may go ignored by potential patients.
With online ads at an all-time high, billboards are a big question mark for many hospitals. But while they may seem outdated at first, billboards can also have a certain charm and effectiveness that electronic forms of advertisement lack.
Here’s a look at hospital billboard advertising — and whether it’s old school or still cool.
An Overview Of The Billboard
Billboards date way back to the Egyptians, who publicized their laws and treaties on tall stone obelisks.
Fast forward a few thousand years, and you get the traditional billboard, which is kind of like a really big poster on the side of the road. Americans have been taking advantage of roadside advertising since the 1830s, when they often displayed the ongoings of the circus.
Over the years, there have been plenty of changes, from size restrictions to flashy digitization. For example, some hospitals are now posting live wait times on billboards to display their efficiency (which competing hospitals are snarkily reacting to by posting statements like “We’re more than just fast”).
Part of the reason these advertisements became so popular is that they’re pretty hard to ignore. This is because Americans drive — a lot. We’re fans of the vehicle and always have been. And what else is there to do on the boring old highway other than check out the billboards?
The average American spends about 51 minutes driving each day, often covering over 30 miles.
In 2016 and 2017 alone, Americans collectively made 183 billion trips and drove 2.6 trillion miles — a number that’s up from 2014 and 2015.
Not only do Americans spend a lot of time in their cars, but they also notice billboards when they have the time to think about the roadside ads they see. Over two-thirds of Americans make their shopping decisions while they’re — you guessed it — in the car.
That’s a lot of Americans — and potential patients — with the time to think about the hospital they trust with their health and livelihood. What’s more, it seems like billboards are effective in bringing the big bucks.
Apple, the top billboard advertising company, is among the many tech companies that choose to advertise on billboards. And I think we can agree that they’re pretty successful. In fact, In December 2019, Apple topped all public companies with its worth of $1.3 trillion.
But Are Billboards Safe?
It might seem obvious that billboards could distract drivers and lead to more accidents. But surprisingly, the jury is out. Some say that they are distracting and dangerous, while others say they are mildly distracting but not really that dangerous. There was even a recent Australian study that says billboards are actually improving driving — potentially reducing lane drifting (apparently because the billboards catch drivers’ eyes, forcing them to look at the road instead of the radios or their phones).
The Hospital Billboard: Effective Or Cheesy?
The history and usage of billboards is one thing — but the question still remains if hospitals should be using them for their marketing campaigns. How might they potentially bring in new patients? And how might they falter in that very same goal?
To decide that, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of billboard advertising, which include:
- On busy streets, they’re the center of attention during traffic jams (which are stable or increasing in 75% of cities worldwide). If your hospital’s billboard is in an urban area, that’s a lot of potential patients’ eyes on your advertisement.
- They’re visually-oriented — and 65% of humans learn and remember best through visual communication. As a result, potential patients may remember your hospital’s billboard when they’re searching for healthcare.
- They can reach a much broader audience base than other forms of advertising (for example, viewers don’t need to have internet access to see a billboard). This may help your hospital reach disadvantaged populations — and bring in otherwise inaccessible patients.
- They allow your hospital’s marketing to be geographically-targeted to one specific area, such as near the exit to your hospital.
- They are usually cheaper than other forms of advertising (starting at $250 a month in rural areas).
Some cons of billboards include:
- They’re not a targeted form of advertising, meaning you can’t alter the advertisement to cater to a specific audience based on age, health condition, or other targets.
- They are usually rented on a month-to-month basis, which can become costly over time.
- The message can get monotonous for people who see the billboard day in and day out (hello Brian Urlacher billboards) — and you can’t update them frequently based on trending healthcare topics.
- They’re prone to weather-damage, considering they’re tall and generally unprotected.
- They’ve been banned in a few states, including Vermont, Maine, Hawaii, and Alaska, partially due to visual pollution (a disturbance of the natural scenery).
Just like any other form of advertising, hospital billboards have some draws — and some drawbacks. In order for them to be effective, they require a purposeful marketing strategy, including a well-thought-out location, a memorable message, and maybe a new ad every once in a while.
Perhaps the best thing about hospital billboards is that they’re unavoidable. If a potential patient is driving on the highway, their eyes will (hopefully) be open. They may only notice your hospital’s billboard for a moment — but that’s all it takes to bring in a new patient.
Looking to improve your hospital’s marketing game? We can help!
Patients Vs. Consumers: Why The Word Doesn’t Matter — But The Argument Does
There’s nothing that gets my blood pressure going like calling the cable company.
Chock-full of scripted apologies, sales pitches, and roundabout conversations, the customer service of cable companies is notoriously awful. I’m almost certain that if half the companies didn’t have a semi-monopoly in their respective areas, they wouldn’t stay in business.
Customer service pervades all areas of our lives from who we begrudgingly choose as our utility providers to where we shop for clothes or groceries. Now, the concept of consumerism has made its way into one of the largest industries in the country — healthcare.
Healthcare is no longer just about the well-being of patients. Patients don’t stop being opinionated consumers once they put on that hospital gown, and they certainly don’t stop being Twitterers, Yelpers, or Facebookers.
The debate on whether to call them patients or consumers is a hot one. And the answer is that it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that the conversation is even being had — and that good customer service in healthcare depends largely on the patient/consumer experience.
Whether you choose to call them patients, consumers, or pat-sumers, improving their experience should be high on your list of priorities. Here’s how you can do that.
Show Your Patients You Care — And Help Them Understand Their Condition
When I was 15, I went to my annual eye doctor appointment, during which my optometrist noticed my pupils were two different sizes. A few eye tests and an MRI later, my doctors were able to say that this condition (which I now know is called anisocoria) isn’t caused by a brain tumor and is also nothing to worry about.
Now, over a decade later, my primary care provider starts every annual visit with a quick check of my eyes. Every. Single. Visit. Maybe she has an awesome memory or maybe she references my medical records (more likely), but it doesn’t matter. This 60-second action makes me feel noticed and cared for.
It doesn’t take much to show you care — a friendly greeting, an empathetic tone, even a few extra minutes answering questions. In fact, a study that was done in Germany, the UK, and the US showed that for about 3 out of 4 patients, the top contributing factor to perceived better care is time left for discussion.
Keep in mind — patients might come in already believing they know what’s wrong. In the era of the internet, self-diagnosis is rampant, and almost 44% of Americans actually self-diagnose rather than visiting a healthcare provider.
While a patient’s idea of their condition may be a little off base — if not all the way in the outfield — the goal of healthcare remains the same. They should leave their physician’s office with a solid understanding of their health and why some websites can sometimes be misleading.
When a patient walks into your office, they’re putting their trust in you. Maybe it’s a few extra minutes of discussion or maybe it’s remembering a patient’s obscure medical condition. Either way, seemingly tiny gestures can have a huge impact on their experience in this consumer-driven healthcare world.
The Power Of The Internet: How To (Effectively) Stay In Touch With Your Patients
Listen. People go online. A lot. Nearly 30% of Americans say they are online “almost constantly” (
) — and over 80% say they go online daily.
This means they’re frequently checking their email, going on social media, and generally surfing the web — all places you can develop an online presence. A robust online presence is great for helping you build your organization, as over 80% of patients look up a doctor online before making a decision about their care.
As for your current patients, the internet can help you connect and communicate with them to drive loyalty. There are plenty of options to stay in touch, including an email newsletter, a Facebook/Twitter/Instagram account, a wellness blog, or a podcast.
No matter the method of communication, the key is to make your content valuable for patients. Nobody wants to read boring healthcare content, which can make patients quickly leave the page or never even open it at all.
Some ways you can make your content more beneficial and relevant to patients include:
- Providing general — and timely — information about staying healthy and common conditions, such as how to avoid the flu during flu season
- Choosing an enticing title that encourages them to open the content in the first place (think “5 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight” vs. plain old “Weight Loss”)
- Encouraging interaction by asking patients their thoughts and feedback via comments or reposts
- Connecting them with the right resources if they have more questions or want to set up an appointment
Don’t forget — you can start small. For instance, you might want to choose just one platform to build your online and social media presence (most hospitals use Facebook) and go from there. After that, you might feel more comfortable branching out to other modes of communication.
The patient/consumer experience exists both within the walls of your building and online, and it’s up to you to take advantage of opportunities in both worlds.
The healthcare experience has the potential to be enjoyable, and whether you’ve landed on the term patients, consumers, or something else entirely, it’s time they get the attention they deserve.
Does your organization cater to healthcare settings? Not sure where to start when it comes to improving patient satisfaction? We can help!
Crisis Management 101 In The Healthcare Space: Is Your Organization Prepared?
Clean, orderly, and efficient — these are just a few of the words that probably come to mind when you think of the healthcare setting. But what happens when things go awry and a crisis hits your hospital, medical office, or other healthcare organization?
From security breaches to natural disasters, managing a crisis is a major test for any healthcare setting — one that no one wants to deal with. And while the problems may vary, the solutions remain largely the same, and it’s critical you’re prepared.
In order to avoid exacerbating a crisis, it’s key to have a plan and get back to caring for patients as soon as possible. Fortunately, many of the solutions are surprisingly simple.
Here are 5 key concepts to managing a crisis in your healthcare space.
1. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
On a normal day, communication is important. But when a crisis strikes, it becomes even more critical. You need to be able to relay information quickly, clearly, and efficiently.
And in a healthcare setting, there are plenty of forms of communication to consider from pagers to intercom systems all the way to pen and paper.
Take all of your systems into account and make a plan for how you’ll use them. When will you utilize pagers, emails, or the intercom system? Will certain information need to be relayed on multiple channels? Remember — many of your employees may not necessarily be by a desk phone.
For many organizations, the telephone is the go-to tool for communication in a crisis. However, secured messaging comes in close second. Whatever your preferred method, just make sure it’s encrypted if it involves patient health information.
You may want to consider a system that allows you to funnel communications to multiple systems so that one operator can send out emergency information without taking the time to log in to each one separately.
The bottom line is that you need to establish how you’re going to communicate — and what needs to be communicated to your staff. Once you can manage the communication aspect, the rest of your crisis management plan will come along much smoother.
2. Be ready to be left on your own island (literally).
During a crisis, you may be partially — if not completely — cut off from the outside world. Don’t take offense (it’s not purposeful), but do make sure you’re prepared.
Events from floods to power outages to closed roads can make it difficult or impossible to communicate externally. For instance, in 2017, Hurricane Irma threatened to physically isolate Tampa General Hospital from the rest of the city on its own temporary island.
As a result, the hospital couldn’t rely on the internet, and it needed to use its data recovery servers to continue to stay online. The hospital also needed to resort to backup generators and diesel fuel for 4 days — all to keep caring for patients.
Connection with others isn’t just about communication. You should also plan for reduced access to supplies and equipment by having an emergency supply on hand at all times. Being left without protective gear or medicine will make it harder for your team to provide care to patients.
Finance experts always say that you should keep emergency funds in your bank account for a job loss or another personal crisis. In the healthcare setting, being prepared for an emergency goes way beyond just money — patient lives are on the line.
3. Use current technology that works.
Fifty years ago, you may have been cut some slack if you weren’t totally up to speed with the most recent technology. Now, there’s little excuse for lacking the latest technology, and you should make sure to stay up-to-date with what’s out there to help you through a crisis.
For instance, it may be critical to know where everyone is during a crisis, including employees as well as patients. The quicker you can reunite patients with their loved ones the better — but a campus that sits on millions of square feet can make that challenging.
The technology-based solution to this may be as simple as using smartphones linked to a secure communication platform that allows staff to share pictures. These can be temporarily available on your server — and they can be restricted from being uploaded or sent to anyone without access.
The right technology can keep everybody in the know, including critical members of your response team and first responders. The sooner everyone has the information they need, the more efficiently they’ll be able to respond.
It’s time to say out with the old and in with the new — especially if it’ll save the lives of people within your hospital walls.
4. But don’t rule out low-tech solutions.
Technology is great and all, but sometimes the best solution may require zero machines. High-tech solutions may be the most effective option much of the time, but don’t disregard simpler — and sometimes more effective — approaches to a crisis.
When Princeton Community Hospital was facing a security breach, they went back to the safest form of documentation for the time being: pen and paper.
While they worked on leveraging their cloud crisis, they used a basic — and unbreachable — model. In the meantime, they were able to keep patient data as safe as possible.
You can also use old-school forms of communication, such as a printed phone tree or walkie talkies. After Hurricane Irma, Tampa General took an interest in ham radios (also known as amateur radios) for communication. Now, they have a ham radio in their command center — complete with antennas that communicate to other parts of their campus in case other forms of communication become unavailable.
Technology can be helpful, and it certainly shouldn’t be ignored. But you may need to take advantage of the tried and true processes that used to keep healthcare situations functioning effectively in the past.
5. Teach, train, repeat.
During a high-pressure basketball game, players rely on their muscle memory to dribble, shoot, and block. A crisis in the healthcare setting is no different — your employees should be able to rely on muscle memory to get them through the chaos and confusion.
Knowing exactly what to do comes from training and drills — which help everyone react reflexively and know exactly what’s expected of them.
Update your training and testing methods frequently, preferably at least once a year. Then, make sure you give your team members the time to practice their roles during a crisis. This should involve everything from how they should communicate to what they can expect from leadership. The few surprises, the calmer everyone will be.
Crises in healthcare spaces can take many forms — but your reaction should have similar key components to ensure patient and employee safety is prioritized. The environment may get a little hectic, but control chaos is acceptable — and possibly necessary. As long as you’re prioritizing the safety of your patients and staff, the rest will follow.
Does your organization cater to healthcare settings? Learn how a post like this can help them improve performance and stay engaged with your team. Contact us today to set up an intro call.
When Your Employee’s Personal Crisis Become Not-So-Personal, Support Can Go A Long Way
From managing workloads to putting out fires to watching your employees shine — you’re frequently called on to navigate your employees in plenty of work-related situations. But sometimes, you may need to guide an employee through a personal crisis — especially if it begins to impact their work.
Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a divorce, or a family member’s illness, one of your employees is bound to face a challenging time in their life. How you handle this situation is an important test of your leadership.
It’s critical to be sensitive as your employee takes care of their emotional needs, but it’s also important to keep workflow moving. Your clients aren’t going to stand by idly as your employee takes some extra time off.
Finding the right balance between support and work can be difficult, but it’s essential to avoid more — and often avoidable — complications.
Here are 4 ways to support your staff during a personal crisis — without sacrificing productivity.
1. Check In With Your Employee Regularly — But Respect Their Privacy
Whether you noticed your employee walk into the office without their normal pep in their step or they came directly to you with their personal crisis, checking in with them will go a long way in making them feel supported.
Once the loss, diagnosis, or other major life event passes, your employee may be left with emotional after-effects, such as feelings of sadness or depression. A simple check-in from time to time lets them know you care about them — and not just about their work output.
Regular check-ins have another less obvious benefit — they can help you keep an eye on how their crisis is affecting their work. You can ask them if they’re feeling overwhelmed and determine what level of assistance they might need to avoid frustrating work delays down the line.
These check-ins don’t have to be formal, scheduled meetings. You can drop by their desk periodically (when other employees aren’t around) or send them a brief email to let them know you’re available if they need anything.
That being said — keep in mind that you’re their boss, not their therapist. Don’t pry unnecessarily into their personal life and make them uncomfortable in the process.
2. Provide Accommodations When Necessary
Everyone’s human — and it’s important to remember that when one of your employees is facing a challenging time in their life. They’re probably trying to navigate the work-life balance like never before, and you may need to give them a little extra flexibility for the time being.
There are a number of ways to provide temporary flexibility for your employee, such as:
- Reducing their workload
- Allowing partial or full work from home options
- Providing alternate work hours
- Allowing periodic breaks throughout the day
Try to get creative with these accommodations. Consider your team’s workflow and what unique opportunities you may be able to provide.
Offer up some of these options when you think they’re necessary rather than waiting for your employee to approach you. They might not know that these accommodations are available — or they may be too nervous to ask.
If any other employees need to take on extra duties during this time, make sure to acknowledge and reward their contributions in order to avoid a disgruntled employee who feels underappreciated. A day off when things get back to normal — or even a simple “thank you” — can mean a lot.
Make sure you know what you can provide before actually offering any accommodations. Your company may have strict guidelines about time off and workloads, and it could make things worse if you provide flexibility, only to take it away.
3. Establish A Clear Timeline And Expectations
If you can allow your employees some flexibility as they manage their personal life, by all means, do. But remember that you’re running a business, and there’s a limit to how much flexibility you can provide to maintain productivity.
Consider the needs of your team and how much work others can absorb. Also, look at what projects can be moved around to accommodate your employee.
Once you have a good gauge on how much flexibility you can provide, communicate that to your employee. Let them know that you support them taking the time they need — but you also need them to fulfill their obligations to their job eventually.
Try to remember that they have a lot on their plate, and a discussion about deadlines right away might feel overwhelming. You may want to wait a day or two before having this discussion.
It may be a good idea to let the rest of your team know what this timeline looks like so they’ll know when to expect things to go back to normal. The waiting game is no fun — especially when you’re working overtime.
If you have a healthy relationship with your employees, it’s normal to want to provide extensive accommodations. This is particularly true when it comes to smaller companies and startups. However, you have just as much of a responsibility to your other employees to make sure no one gets burned out.
4. Connect Your Employee With Other Resources
You may pull out all the bells and whistles to make sure your employee feels supported and cared for, but sometimes, they may need more than you can — or should — provide.
If you have a human resources department, connect with them as soon as you learn about your employee’s situation. This is the type of situation they’re there for, and they can guide you through a potentially delicate situation. HR can even provide you with a script or talking points if you’re not sure how to have a particularly tough conversation.
There may also be outside resources that you can direct them to, as well, such as non-profits that give money to families battling cancer or programs that provide rides to doctor’s appointments. HR may keep a list on hand — or a simple search on Google may do the trick.
Be Supportive — And Be A Boss
When an employee is facing a tough time in their life, empathy is imperative. If you can provide them some extra support, that can go a long way toward building respect and understanding in your relationship and even your team.
At the same time, boundaries and guidelines are critical. It’s important not to let employees take advantage of your kindness or weigh down the rest of the team.
The line between support and productivity may be fine — but it’s certainly there if you look hard enough. Once you find it, you’ll encourage a healthy environment and build a work family that can be counted on.
