COULD AN ORTHOPAEDIC SURGICAL PRACTICE BE POSITIONED AS A “LIFESTYLE BRAND”?

#LifestyleBrands embody the values, aspirations, interests, attitudes, or opinions of a group of patients or a culture in its promotions, imaging, and messaging. These brands inspire, guide, and motivate people and employers and case managers and patient redirection firms. Their products and services resonate with the targeted personas.

Successful lifestyle brands don’t just compile past and current patient demographic?data into a user persona?and begin to churn out content. They dissect every aspect of their audience until they know exactly what makes them tick.

As administrator and chief marketing officer of Robotic Orthopaedic Institute St George, a “lifestyle brand” #strategy is the direction I executed.?What's more, I don't entrust this important analysis and execution to an outsider. I have my finger on the pulse of the practice and I know the patients who come to us and why they came and what they want to achieve as the outcome of their care.

My strategy took form after a desk research analysis that was interpreted into these 5 key points:?

1. Few #orthopedicsurgeons and groups have an active marketing and #brandingstrategy. In this approach I would have very few actual competitors. I now know I was right. The data proved it. This analysis can also benefit my orthopedic readers, but if I expanded the research to other specialties. I would take bets that it proves out across most specialties.?
2. For the most part, their websites are digital brochures. Like a guy in a trench coat on a Manhattan sidewalk selling knock-off watches, they “hawk” orthopedic sub specialties: joint replacement, sports medicine, pain management, physiatry, chiropractic, hands, spine, knees, shoulders, hips, wrists, podiatry, robotics, physical medicine and rehab, radiology, injections, stem cells, prolotherapy, etc.. They list the specialties and services like McDonald’s posts menu choices.?
3. The practices merely exist on a map among others. Little distinguishes them from local or regional competitors. Unless you say or type, “orthopedic surgeon near me”, they aren’t findable on Google unless you type in their name. If they are listed in the search engine return, the listing is pretty blasé.
4. Rarely do specialists post blogs or “vlogs”(videos). It takes time and effort to create content. One either writes their own or hires an agency to ghost write for them. Most sites I’ve reviewed prove the attributed author or his/her ghost writer don’t understand blogging or vlogging. Their content doesn’t perform as intended; there’s no apparent strategy.
5. Few academic practices and health systems feature individual branding of surgeons. The overarching brand are the institutions and health systems. Worldwide, employed surgeons are rarely featured as individual superstars or authorities. They remain under the health system’s brand by design. More on that in another article.?

For lifestyle branding strategy for your practice, begin with a competitive analysis. Next, in the context of the competitive situation, do an internal analysis. Determine the persona(s) of your patient population.

How will you use the information I've shared above to improve your marketing and promotion efforts? Do you need a little help to get started? If so, please reach out.