Timing Influencer Marketing Campaigns for Success in Healthcare

In healthcare, influencer marketing campaigns involve addressing an audience of an influencer to engage with potential patients who need what the influencer needed.

While many healthcare marketers believe that they can do this using social media, social media platforms are never as effective as event marketing, video testimonials and documentaries, or podcast interviews. But they do not stand alone in a vacuum. Instead, they are a terminal ending to a rather complicated marketing funnel.

Don't believe me? Try it as a one off and see if it works for you. Then try my way. I won't be offended if you call me after you have wasted time and budget on ineffective efforts. You'll be more prepared to listen.

At St George Surgical Center in Southern Utah, we have been hosting a "Lunch with the Doc" event nearly every two weeks with a brief pause for COVID shutdown, since February 21. We view each event, capped at 26 guests as a potential $1.7m in revenue (each person usually has two knees and two hips) in surgical cases. And to our surprise, in hindsight while that may seem a little exaggerated in our thinking, it has proved not to be.

People come to the event to learn about knee and hip replacements using our recently acquired Smith + Nephew robotics technology. They come as couples, neighbors, and family members usually two people per registration. They book a private consultation at the back of the room at the end of the event. When we take their RSVP registration, we ask if anyone in their group has already had a knee or hip replacement in the past. About 45% have answered "yes." Of those, about 40% are dissatisfied with the way their knee feels (kinematics), most have had them the traditional way without robotic assistance. Those are potential candidates for revisions.

How do we get them in the room to begin with? A carefully crafted funnel strategy that I created and executed. It combined the use of outdoor advertising ("blip" electronic billboards), other events where we put up a stand and had the doctor present to answer questions, along with custom produced videos, news interviews with the local television network media (for which we paid a small sum for the opportunity), magazine and newspaper advertorials (that I ghost wrote and the doctor edited for accuracy and voice).

We then followed with a direct mail campaign with a carefully filtered targeting list using post card marketing that had a few months worth of event dates from which to choose.

As registrants signed up, we collected various details about them to have primary source data so we could "know" our prospects.

Happy patients. Happy surgeons. Happy third-party payors. Happy physician shareholders.

Results. That's how I get to remain at my post. As business development director, my primary responsibility is to create opportunities to manage and maximize the business potential of patient delight.

We don't use lead sourcing services. We create leads the organic way. I am an army of one in a very sub-specialized, narrow niche. I have no sales force. I use no "lead sourcers" to find patients for us. (Brokering patient referrals is illegal and breaks five federal laws in the USA.)

At my disposal are a variety of graphic, printing, catering, and other marketing and advertising specialists. But mostly, I write the copy, create layouts, and guide brand standards. I make use of tools in Adobe Creative Cloud (Indesign, Illustrator, Spark, Photoshop, PDF, etc.) Crello, and other tools that most people with a PhD and MHA don't usually have. I serve as art or creative director on videos to ensure that B-roll and all imagery conforms to brand guidelines.

Together with the CEO and my lead orthopaedic surgeon, we decide on strategies and attach budgets, goals and metrics to what I execute. I leverage some of the assets from Smith + Nephew for inspiration and factual data, citations, statistics, and marketing claims. The outcome of all this ... as my orthopaedic surgeon describes my reputation on Alignable is only a single word: "Results".

Now remember, at St George Surgical Center, I only work part time. That's because budget isn't there for me...yet, to work full time. So all that happens is accomplished in less than a 40 hour work week. So, to fill in the other hours, I still speak, write, consult, and now I've taken another part time rule as interim business development director at a surgical hospital in Kansas.

Contrast and comparison to the ASC up the road

The ASC up the road tried holding an event for their computer-assisted technology for total knee replacements (theirs doesn't do hips or revisions or partials). They purchased a few small announcement advertisements in newspapers. No articles, no content and the only image was their surgeons' smiling mugshots. It said "refreshments" would be served and they did it over the dinner hour - where seniors like to be home or out with friends in this town. Celery sticks and cherry tomatoes, ranch dressing and fruit tidbits over the dinner hour aren't the same as a plated 3-course meal served by wait staff in a restaurant. It does make a difference! The older we get the less we enjoy driving at night.

They didn't study their customer. When you ask their patients about that group, the patients say, "Oh he's so cute!" Rarely, have I heard anything positive about their skills, bedside manners, technology, or anything impressive other than "they are so cute." Well, okay. Yes, they're cute. But I've been a patient in their practice. Past tense. I don't care much about how "cute" they are. There are lots of good looking orthopedic surgeons. Our longest interactions with most of them is when we are asleep on the operating table. Otherwise, we get between 3-7 minutes per visit ... if that much. So the value of "cute"? Meh.

They built no funnel. They tried a modified one-off on a single event. How many attended? Who knows? I thought about parking in the parking lot to watch and count, and then decided it didn't matter.

Now, compare our brand blitz, continual top of mind appearances, and laser like messaging: Surgeon's experience. Robotic-assisted technology. Quick rehab. Precision. Alignment. Balance. Kinematics. 30-year prosthetic. Partial or Total. Ceramic. Exparel /Low Opioid pain management. Low infection rate. PICO-7. Surgeon approachability.

And as for their surgical results? I only know what I've observed from family and friends... and people who attended our Lunch with a Doc after they had surgery "elsewhere". (Stop there was intentional. I didn't forget to write more.)

Fast forward to "patient delight" after surgery

Each of the people we entertained for lunch and subsequent consultations and surgery are now potential "influencers". They return to golf, pickleball, tennis, cycling, hiking, kyaking, fishing, boating and playing with their grandkids here. They return quickly to their Southern Utah active senior lifestyle after a few short weeks of rehab and PT and people say, "I thought you just had knee replacement!" When they answer, "Yes I did, and they used a robot only available at St George Surgical Center." The organic, earned influencer funnel begins at that point.

I say "potential" influencers but in reality, they are influencers. And these influencers are creating organic growth. Their Customer Lifetime Value (a metric that is huge in joint replacement surgery due to the nature of osteoarthritis) is important when calculating the cost of consumer acquisition or in healthcare, patient acquisition.

How long does it take to recoup the investment required to earn new patients? We'll let's inventory the costs:

• The technology investment as a focal point
• The surgeon's time to meet and greet and present, as well as the development of his brand, reputation and skill using the robot featured as a focal point
• The surgery center's reputation and brand as a focal point. (Can I tell you about our wonderful nurses?)
• My salary
• The graphics and other ancillaries I use to produce content and collateral
• The website a a supporting cast member - on duty around the clock
• The paid placements in magazines, newspapers, billboards, television, etc.
• Mailing lists sorts and selects, design and print, postage, and staff to answer RSVP calls and manage logistics, confirmation call backs and rescheduled events or changes in attendance plans
• The event production costs, catering, banners, PowerPoint licenses, printed materials and AV equipment.

That's recovered across the margins over several cases. It seeds itself. It is sustainable.

Customer lifetime value is the metric that indicates the total revenue a healthcare provider can reasonably expect from a single patient. It considers a patient's revenue value, and compares that number to the facility's predicted customer lifespan. I use this metric to identify significant customer segments that are the most valuable to the facility and its surgeons. The guests at our Lunch with a Doc who go on to consult the surgeon and schedule surgery are already converting to influencer status now. We only started the program February 21st and paused for 2 months during lockdown.

To calculate customer lifetime value I calculate average surgical case value, and then multiply that number by the average purchase frequency rate to determine customer value. Then, once you calculate average customer lifespan, you can multiply that by customer value to determine customer lifetime value. As each person comes in with the usual two knees and two hips (and two shoulders), they also bring their invisible (at the moment) friends, family and acquaintances who know they are having a knee replacement or hip replacement.

So as I sat in the surgeon's office last week discussing marketing and other topics, the phone rang several times. Each call (fluke or not) was a call that mentioned that an "influencer" had robotic surgery and these callers wanted what they got. Call after call. Scary isn't it? That you can see the transformation right in front of your face? What scared me more was "How will he handle the exponential growth?" Will longer delays ensue? "Will we need an additional surgeon with robotic skills?"

There's a reason why in my Handbook of Medical Tourism Program Development textbook (2009, Informa - CRC Productivity Press) I included an entire chapter on patient delight. It outperforms "patient satisfaction" every time. Patient delight creates influencers and brand ambassadors who are happy to extoll the virtues of a surgeon and a health facility that did right by them. And they are thrilled to have the story to tell - on the golf course, at the bridge table, on the pickleball courts, or hiking a slot canyon or in church as they kneel in prayer.

Patient delight is the one thing that converts former and current patients into influencers. These "people" want to help us grow. They want to brag on their surgeon. Give them a reason to do so and watch the magic happen.

But patient delight takes the entire platoon, not just the surgeon; not just the facility and the nurses. It is a reflection of how the receptionist treated them and made them feel special. It is a reflection of how the anesthetist comforted and reassured them that they would be kept comfortable. It is a reflection of caring and compassionate nurses working as a team from pre-op to PACU and beyond. It is a reflection of the pharmacist who fills prescriptions. It is a reflection of all who participate in the continuum of care.

Social Media and Influencer Marketing

Classic influencer marketing is personal. It's face to face. It isn't Facebook or Instagram driven. None of this can be accurately be measured by social media analytics, likes, views, etc. Why? Because with joint replacements, delighted patients are back among the active, enjoying life. They aren't giving testimony on social platforms to any great extent. They are back to playing, doing, and enjoying the results of a great surgery experience.

I tend to scoff at bloggers who state that, "When engaging with influencers, analytics and tools can show you data points of your interactions to help you refine your influencer campaign." That isn't true if the influencers aren't posting on your social outlets! No data in = no business intelligence information out. And for this particular psychographic category - patients of the age to undergo joint replacements - they don't post influencer stories on social media outlets. They use Facebook to learn what's going on in their families' and grandchildrens' lives.

To calculate true influencer impact and metrics, one only need start monitoring the funnel outputs of how new patients were referred. If you don't track "how they found you", you lose out on this valuable information. No hashtag analysis or engagement metrics on YouTube or Facebook will inform you as well as simple, primitive polite questions.

And mind your manners like Momma taught you! Remember to say "Thank you!" to your influencers and show gratitude! Kind, heartfelt acknowledgement is all they require.

So the next blog post or book you read or podcast you listen to on influencer marketing - especially in healthcare - take all the social media marketing push with a grain of salt. It may work for McDonald's and Starbucks, or Hubspot or KissMetrics. But as for "massive" website traffic, Facebook likes and shares, and other social platforms, don't be surprised if the retail and food and beverage tactics don't translate directly for healthcare.

Next steps

Plan your marketing and advertising campaign funnels for healthcare services from initial brand blitz and awareness through surgery and on past patient delight and onward into influencer marketing. Plan on exponential organic growth that is solid, sustainable, and gratifying.

Don't try to land like a parachutist and zero in on a drop zone target. Don't attempt to "buy influencers" or skip the other funnel steps. Healthcare marketing isn't the type of activity where a celebrity influencer with a milk mustache in a magazine works to convince strangers about the virtues of your brand.

Do assume that with delighted patients you'll be able to grow and multiply customer lifetime value and scale exponentially through influencer marketing strategies and tactics. Two delighted patients can equal ten organically grown new patients quite easily in the right population. And it's marketing and advertising that is paid in kindness, compassion and servant leadership in medicine and surgery that comes from within and costs you zero dollars. Through service and humility, surgeons and health facility administrators build communities in which nurses, administrators, anesthetists and other supporting employees are committed to putting your patient's interest and delight first and organizing all hands to provide high-value patient care.

About the Author

Maria Todd PhD, MHA is the Director of Business Development for St George Surgical Center in St George Utah and a handful of select private clients in the USA and in 117 countries as time permits. She teaches Master Class seminars and workshops on branding, healthcare marketing, advertising, managed care contracting, physician-facility integration and alignment, price transparency, business development, and health tourism and patient redirection for insurers and TPAs. She's passionate about helping others grow their healthcare business and watching the fledge into sustainable and profitable eagles that soar above the clouds in the business of healthcare through the art of healing.

Dr Todd is the author of 23 internationally published books on a variety of topics in healthcare business administration and operations, and has presented more than 2700 seminars, webinars, and Master classes in her 40+ year work history in healthcare industry. She is available for consultation, coaching and guidance by calling +1.800.727.4160.