Internet Management, Marketing, Analysis and Intelligence

Volume 13 Number 9 • September 2011 www.strategichealthcare.com

Hospitals Tap Online Communities for Market Researchby Un Grensing-Popha/

Healthcare or-ganizations havelong recognizedthe value of mar-ket research togain insights intothe attitudes,

preferences, and perceptions of bothpatient and general consumermarkets. Traditional research, ofcourse, can be expensive and time-consuming. In a rapidly movinghealthcare environment that is be-coming increasingly competitive, it is

more important than ever to gatherrelevant information quickly andinexpensively. Social media applica-tions can help.

As director of digital marketing andcommunications for Inova HealthSystem in northern Virginia, ChrisBoyer has been able to capitalize onhis educational degree in mathe-matics. At Inova, says Boyer, socialmedia is used in a number of ways tosupport market research efforts, in-cluding online polls of both nicheand broad audiences and analysis of

Hospital Cafeterias Go DigitalMore than a Menu

by DianeAtwood

From themultiple foodstations to thevibrant colors

to the high-tech digital menu boards,it is apparent that considerablethought went into designing thePhoenix Children's Hospital caf-eteria, which opened at the end ofJanuary. "The main thing we wantour customers to realize is that this isnot your normal hospital cafeteria,"

asserts Mike DaShiell, director offood and nutrition services. "Ourfood quality, value, and selection aresecond to none. Our customersenjoy their total dining experiencewhen they come through our caf-eteria. The menu boards enhancetheir dining experience."

A digital menu board hangs at eachfood station and in the Bistro Cafe.In addition to these 10 boards, twoother boards, called greeters, are onthe wall outside the cafeteria. One

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fan behavior through Inova's cus-tomer relationship managementsystem. For instance, Boyer recentlyused a proprietary algorithm tomatch Facebook fans and Twitterfollowers with Inova's back-endCRM database to evaluate demo-graphic information and behavioralpreferences. Then he compared thisaudience with a control group ofthose not engaged in social media.The results will help to frame com-munications that resonate mosteffectively with each audience.

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2 eHealthcare Strategy & Trends September 2011•Hospitals Tap OnlineCommunities for MarketResearchcontinued from page 1

The use of online information toinform marketing decisions doesn'thave to be that sophisticated.Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women& Babies in Florida is usinginformation gleaned from sitevisitors to learn about the interestsof its target audience, womenages 25 to 54. Visitors towww.AccordingtoWinnie.com canask questions and interact with oneanother and the hospital. They alsocan access a series of videos onvarious topics of interest to women.According to John Marzano, chief .communications officer at OrlandoHealth, the hospital's parent organi-zation, there were more than 5,000unique visitors to the site in threemonths. The hospital was able totrack the popularity of the videosoffered, finding that minimally inva-sive surgery, hysterectomy, and in-continence were the most accessedtopics. These insights will direct thecontent of the next phase of thehospital's marketing campaign,Marzano says.

Marzano notes that the ability to usethe organization's website and socialmedia activities to gain perspectivesand insights about patients and po-tential patients has value that is im-mediate and instructive. ''We call itvirtual research," he says. ''Everyday we learn different ways to useelectronic means to not only engageour communities, but to get somevery real feedback to help us givethem what they're looking for."Based on both responses and onlinebehaviors, he says, Orlando Healthcan see what online stories generatethe most feedback, which videos aremost often accessed, and which pro-viders receive the most positivementions.

Even those hospitals that have notyet built online communities haveopportunities to gain insights online,says Boyer. He points to com-munities that already exist onlinesuch as www.theBump.com for ex-pectant mothers. Inova first becameinvolved with the site as an observer,listening and learning from the par-ticipants (about one million strong).Inova is now working to build uptrust in the community through itsresponses to questions and throughcomments it posts on the site.Eventually, says Boyer, Inova plansto launch some surveys through thegroup to learn more about themembers' healthcare needs duringpregnancy and birth.

One of the challenges of gaininginsights through online comments ishow to manage and filter the vastrange of information available.While many online monitoring ac-tivities can be grass-roots, somehospitals are taking advantage ofmore formal listening tools tomaximize the value of online inter-actions.

Online tools boostsophistication of listening effortsAbout two years ago, Hill CountryMemorial Hospital in Fredericks-burg, TX, began considering newways that it might generate feedbackfrom its patients to increase inter-action and yield actionable data. SoHill Country began looking at somesuccessful business models used bycompanies, such as Amazon, whereconsumers rate and review productsonline.

''Everyone wants to talk about theirhealthcare experiences," saysMichael Williams,:MD, the hospital'sCEO. ''We wanted a way to capturethose conversations - whether goodor bad." While Williams acknowl-edges that many healthcare organi-zations may be concerned about theimpact of negative comments posted

for anyone to see, he says that HillCountry's culture is one of trans-parency. ''We were actually hopingthat we wouldn't see only positivecomments and would get somethings that would help us get better,"he says. "[people] are going to talk... whether it's going online or at thegrocery store."

Becoming privy to those conversa-tions has already proved valuable.Through a recently launched tooland its online ratings and reviewssystem, Hill Country has access toreal-time consumer feedback tieddirectly to its website atwww.hillcountrymemorial.org.

''We've had a lot of very positivefeedback as it relates to not onlysome of our processes, but some ofour staff," notes Williams. The hos-pital has received constructive feed-back as well. Although there is noidentifying information for thoseposting comments, Hill Country isable to respond to ask whether par-ticipants would like to talk to some-one.

Important stepsBoyer points out that hospitals needto build a high volume of followersonline before they can begin to minethe perspectives of those followersto gain market research insights."You have to get the interest ofpeople before you can actually talkto them and start asking them ques-tions," he says.

In addition, clearly understandingvarious online audiences and whichones will be most relevant and ap-propriate for a particular effort iscritical. For instance, Boyer recalls, apoll of Inova's 1,500 Facebook fansyielded "some insight" into the typesof topics they might be interested indiscussing at "ask the experts"events, but it wasn't as successful asthe results Inova gets when pollingmore specific online groups.

September 2011 eHealthcare Strate & Trends 3

Through its www.FitForSO.org site,for instance, Inova is able to connectwith and learn from about 7,200registered users who are age 50 andolder and have a specific interest inwellness.

Having a plan even before buildingcommunities online, and tying thatplan to the organization's overallstrategic and marketing plans, is agood way to ensure that activities arefocused and will help identify po-tential operational and marketingopportunities. Hill Country firstconducted a pilot, using its ratingsand review tool on a limited basis,before rolling out the initiative.

Hospitals also should have guide-lines in place for responding to on-line feedback. With Hill Country'sprogram, individual identifying in-formation is removed from publicposts, but Hill Country can still fol-

low up as needed with posting indi-viduals.

Some caveatsIt also is important for hospitals torecognize the potential drawbacks ofusing online commentary to drivemarketing decisions.

Philippa Gamse, a Web strategistand author of the upcoming book,42 Rules for a Web Presence That Wins,encourages hospitals to exercisecaution in their interpretation of theinsights they gather online. For in-stance, there is a tendency for peopleto post comments that are at theextremes in terms of either satisfac-tion or dissatisfaction.

Still, she says, such information canbe valuable and provide an indica-tion of trends or issues that deserveto be explored further. In addition,she encourages healthcare commu-nicators to follow up either individu-

ally or collectively with those whorespond to let them know how theinformation will be used, changesthat may be made, and other actions."One of the biggest frustrations iswhen people feel like their opinionsjust went into a void," she says.

Clearly, there are opportunities toconnect with and capture informa-tion from the growing number ofpeople who are online, many ofwhom are seeking health care infor-mation. Having a clear plan, target-ing specific audiences, and takingsteps to ensure the effective use andanalysis of information can helphealthcare organizations save timeand money and, ultimately, improvetheir programs and services to bettermeet market needs.

Lin Grensing-Pophal is a businessjournalist located in Chippewa Falls,WI. You can reach her at/Ipophal@charter.net. 1:1

Hospital Cafeterias Go Digital - More than a Menu continuedfrom page 1

lists all the daily specials, and theother displays hours of operation, aslideshow of the hospital, and well-ness tips. "The second board istotally informational," DaShiell ex-plains. "It's a nice fun way to com-municate anything we want to. Wefeature wellness information, such asfood safety tips or facts about obe-sity."

Marketing more than the menuHendricks Regional Health inDanville, IN, also has two digitalgreeter boards outside its new hos-pital cafeteria - Copper Grill, whichopened a year ago. The first one isidentical to a board inside the caf-eteria. It lists menu items, prices,and nutritional information, such asnumber of calories; icons are used todesignate whether an item containsnuts or is vegetarian or high fiber.At the center of the second boardare large rotating images of the hos-

pital. Bordering the images are adaily nutrition tip, the Copper Grilllogo and hours of operation, a newsfeed, a Starbucks Coffee promo, thedailyweather forecast, and the hos-pitallogo and general marketinginformation. The hospital's publicrelations department oversees thegeneral marketing section.

''We're always looking for anotherway to communicate with people,"states Becky Wardzala, public rela-tions manager at Hendricks. ''Noteveryone will read an email or anewsletter, so we like a lot of dif-ferent options for communicating.Because the board is in a publicspace, this gives us a medium that isa little more geared toward patients,families, and visitors as opposed tostrictly employees."

Examples of recent marketing mes-sages include an announcement

about the opening of the newHendricks Regional Health YMCA,a pitch to sign up for free health e-newsletters, a promotion for thehospital's orthopedic services alongwith a free pain assessment, and areminder about the weekly farmer'smarket.

''We choose what we put up [on thegreeter board] based on what ourbusiness plan is calling for us tomarket from a business standpoint,"says Wardzala. "Sometimes we'reable to put up something that is alittle more timely and not necessarilydriven by our strategic plan. Some-thing about breast cancer awarenessmonth, for example."

Visitors who walk into the FountainCafe in the Providence Cancer Cen-ter at Providence Portland (OR)Medical Center are apt to see thefamous ''Pink Glove Dance" playing