Content Marketing: Your Secret Weapon

"What really decides consumers 'to buy' or 'not to buy'
is the content of your advertising, not its form."

David Ogilvy

Ok... maybe it's not that secret, but content marketing has been growing in popularity for one very important reason: it works.

If content marketing is a new term for you, have no fear, it's a simple concept. Rather than purchasing flashy tools or distracting giveaways, content marketing is a strategy of focusing your marketing efforts around quality, informative, relevant messages to your consumer. It doesn't mean that some giveaways aren't also important; they just shouldn't be the workhorse of your marketing plan. The idea is to create deeper connections with your current and potential consumers to facilitate long-term relationships. For example, a monthly newsletter filled with relevant content is much more valuable to the middle-aged sleep apnea patient than a pillow shaped stress ball with your company logo on it.

This article from Entrepreneur (written by Ann Handley) does a nice job of outlining some basic tips for developing your own content marketing. Here are a few of the suggestions from the article:

Compare: Why are you better than the next provider? That's what your potential customers are asking when they visit your website for the first time. Does your website give them an answer? Try including a downloadable PDF with your features, benefits and why you are better than the HME down the street.

Use Resources Wisely: This happens to be an old Girl Scout motto (at least when I was a Brownie!) but it works in business, too. The success stories of your current patients - and referral sources - are great stories to tell about your company. Use them.

FAQs: This an opportunity for you to create some transparency and share how you do business. Especially in health care, sometimes there are more questions than answers and giving some of those answers up front can help potential customers feel more comfortable from the get go.

Celebrate the New Year with a... Marketing Calendar?

I get the impression that most people view marketing plans as something they know they are supposed to have but probably gets pushed aside until very last minute... or until never. I'm willing to bet that most small businesses don't have have one that they actually use.
(If your company still doesn't have a working marketing plan, please send me an email. I will send you an easy, 5-step guide for creating a marketing plan!)


Today, I'd like to focus on a very under-used part of a marketing plan: the marketing calendar. Even if you're still struggling with the details of your marketing plan, a marketing calendar can help you turn talk into action.


Start by gathering your marketing team to talk about what you need to accomplish in the upcoming year and be sure to include talk about how your year is structured. For example, we know that patient deductibles are renewed in January and (usually) met by December, which means Q4 is a great time to focus on accessories and follow up with patients. We know holidays like Mother's Day, Father's Day and Grandparent's Day are great times for gift giving and may be a good time to target cash sales to caregivers/families. Also think about how your company operates: are there times of the year when certain products sell more? Are there any big events taking place this year that may require marketing? Take advantage of that information in your marketing!


Once this discussion gets going and ideas are flowing, start plugging details into the calendar. Put the important and non-flexible dates in first so you can work around them. Be sure to note holidays, marketing themes, product focuses and sales. List the marketing materials you will need, including how much production time you will need to execute them. (For example, if you are running an ad in the newspaper be sure to find out when the ad is due to the publication and how much time you need to put it together.) This will be a living document for you to use as a tool - don't be afraid to move things around and change your mind a few times in the process!


Your marketing calendar can be nothing more than a theme for each month or detailed enough to contain the whole year's media buy. The important part is to include enough information to keep your team on task and make sure it keeps you on top of your marketing. And if you have any questions, call me: 248.227.6930

Social Media: Bridging the Gap Between Rhetoric and Reality

If you had asked me five years ago, I would have had mixed feeling about social media. I would have told you about making sure you had someone dedicated to keeping up with your social media, explained the benefits educating yourself about how it works before you decide it's a good business tool and I would have asked you if your customers were actually using social media. Whether you're a tech geek or swear you'll never be tethered to a smart phone, we now live in a social media world. As with any new technology, there are new rules of engagement, vocabulary words and tools to master. Here are a few tips to feel more comfortable dipping your toe in the social media waters.

Know How to Use Your Tools

Facebook. Twitter. Blogs. LinkedIn. Forums. If you aren't familiar with any one of the social media tools you have been hearing about, it's time to do a little homework. Start by searching online: visit the websites, read articles, watch "how-to" videos. I also recommend a tutoring session from your kids, niece or nephew, tech-savvy friend, intern, co-worker, IT guy, etc. They use this stuff everyday and know how it works! Though each avenue of social media is similar, each one works in a slightly different way - which is part of what makes things confusing. All the more reason to do your homework! Once you understand the "what" of social media, it's time to figure out the "how." Find out how your customers and competitors are using social media. Between the "what" and "how" you will start to see how social media fits into your marketing plan.

Remember To Have a Conversation
It's very easy to start treating social media just as we've treated traditional media: output only. Successful social media is a dialogs between people and businesses so try to think of your Tweets as ice breakers, conversation starters and stories rather than billboards, advertisements and hard sells. Don't expect to post bath safety product coupons on your company blog and find an instant spike in cash sales. Your goal should be develop relationships that will translate into sales. You may also want to ask your customers for feedback: check out these 7 tips!

Get a Smartphone
If your budget permits, arm yourself with a smartphone. (If not you, whoever handles your social media.) Trust me, this will help make you a social media mogul!

Cross Your T's, Dot Your I's
It's important to understand a few of the responsibilities that come with social media. For example, business Facebook pages are slightly different than personal Facebook pages. Using a personal Facebook page for business violates the term of use and could potentially shut down your page. Also, the same marketing guidelines outlined by Medicare apply to social media so be sure any coupons or promotions you tweet/post are compliant. When in doubt, check with your lawyer!

Put Yourself Out There
For years we've been warned about the risk of sharing information online but this in one case where I urge you to share some of yourself with the internet. If you haven't already, get a Facebook account. Get a Twitter account. Subscribe to a blog or two. Comment in a forum. You will learn much more quickly by doing than observing so just start doing! It's only a few clicks away...

Internal Marketing Works

Internal marketing refers to the way you "sell" your company to its employees. Communication is the foundation of successful internal marketing. Your brand is created by all the people who make your company work from day to day: customer service reps, drivers, sales reps, receptionists, clinicians, purchasing, warehouse... Every interaction they have with a patient/referral/vendor is an opportunity to enhance your brand. It is important that each person understands the brand positioning of the company they work for and what it means to them - and that can only happen when it is clearly communicated.

Take the time to think about how marketing translates to each department. Obviously your sales reps will be armed with marketing materials to explain who you are and what you do. What about the receptionist? When patients or referrals call, are they greeted in a way that is consistent with impression the sales rep created? Try making small changes in the way you communicate branding throughout your company by simply paying attention to the details of everyday business. It can help to put yourself in the place of the patient, referral, vendor or co-worker and ask: "How would I want to be treated/spoken to/managed in this situation?"

The best bet is to make the internal marketing train-of-thought part of your everyday routine. If you make a marketing decision that affects your customer service department, don't forget to keep them updated. If your drivers will be handing out marketing materials on their route, help them understand the role they play. I like the way Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson explains internal communication in a recent article about time management:

"You can build good communications into your company's DNA by ensuring that discussions are built on openness, clear language, and a willingness to listen to everyone who has something to say, from the person at reception to your top manager. Make sure that people's curiosity is encouraged. If they have made a good suggestion and have seen results in the past, your employees will ask questions and be persistent, which will help them to solve problems they encounter."

This type of communication is a long term investment into the culture of your company. If you're hesitant about applying the idea of internal marketing, just start small and you will get the hang of it. And if you would like some help getting started or would like ideas for how to incorporate your marketing efforts company-wide, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me! 

(P.S. I recommend reading the rest of the Branson article. He doesn't have his own Caribbean island because he's bad at business!)

iSad / Remembering Steve Jobs

Yesterday the world lost Steve Jobs.

My heart goes out to his family, friends and colleagues who are, no doubt, feeling his loss the most. Steve Jobs was no ordinary man and in death, as in life, his legacy is felt by thousands. 

Technology has become so prevalent in our lives these days - we argue Apple vs. Microsoft, iPhone vs. Droid, laptop vs. desktop - yet we rarely stop to remember the minds behind the machines. For me, the imagination and determination of Mr. Jobs directly affects my life every single day. I create marketing pieces on my Apple laptop, I communicate with an iPhone, I stay motivated by my giant music collection in iTunes. Quite frankly, many of his ideas are what made it possible for me to start my own company! 

While for some it may be about these products alone, I choose to recognize the innovation behind them. Innovation that changed the world. Steve believed our purpose in life is to "leave a dent" in the universe - he certainly accomplished that one! I'll go ahead and take that as a challenge to make my own dent and challenge you to join me by making yours.

Thank you Steve Jobs... you will be missed.

(Note: The photo above is a screen shot from Apple.com )

Element #4 - Don't Get Bullied By Your Budget

It's the six-letter word that can feel like a four-letter word: BUDGET! Planning a marketing budget can be difficult, especially if you're just getting your feet wet. But don't let your budget bully you into making poor strategy decisions for your marketing plan. Below are a few tips to help you be boss of your budget:

1. Set a budget early in the process. Once you start spending money on marketing, it's easy for expenses to snowball. Make sure you (and your team) are on the same page about your budget. Is it annual? Quarterly? Is it solely for marketing costs? Who approves expenses?

2. Shop around. Once you have an overall budget in mind, it's important to research the cost of materials. (You may want to do with while creating your initial budget figure...) Remember that design, printing and advertising costs will vary greatly. Keep in mind that many of the vendors you work with for your marketing materials could have extra fees for revisions, design work or proofreading. Try to contact at least 3 vendors for each new project to compare pricing and services.

3. Your budget is not too small. Don't get me wrong... there will be times when your budget will limit what you can do, however, doing zero marketing because of a small budget is no excuse! From social media to online printing, technology has been great for marketing; it means you have many tools available with cost-effective solutions. Don't let your budget keep you from greatness.

4. Ask a lot of questions. Marketing is a very diverse and creative field which means there are a lot of ways to do the "right" thing for your business. If you have questions, ask. There are no dumb questions! VGM is a great resource and, as always, you can contact Anna at Laboratory Marketing.

The Devil in the Details: Keep Marketing Pieces Focused

"I don't have a lot of money to advertise so I'm just sending out this one flyer."

"That's ok," I replied to this small business owner, "What are you trying to accomplish with this flyer?"

It seems like a simple question with a simple answer: get more business! Yes... and no. 'Yes' because growing your business is the entire point of marketing in the first place. 'No' because "getting more business" is much too general for the outlined goal of a specific marketing piece. Let's use football as an example. Much like each play on the field is part of a strategy to win the game, each marketing piece is a tool to reach your marketing goals. One play won't accomplish enough to win an entire game. One flyer won't communicate everything about your business at once.

Though it is tempting to "get more bang for your buck" by cramming every piece of information possible onto the postcard or flyer you are sending out, the reality is that a cluttered or unclear marketing piece can fizzle out fast. Remember that you are trying to carefully lead people to your business, not ambush them! When it is time for you to develop a new marketing piece it is important to define its purpose:

1. Who will be receiving this?

2. How will they be reading it? (email, in your office, online, mailed to their home?)

3. What do you want them to do with it?

Questions 1 and 2 are easy. Question 3 requires a bit more effort. The best rule of thumb is to decide on a singular purpose for the marketing piece. The are 4 basic categories I recommend using for HME or Home Care companies:

- Brand Awareness: Who you are, What you do, What sets you apart

- Promotional: Sale, Raffle, New Patient Offer

- Event Planning: Grand Opening, Open House, Fundraiser

- Educational: Condition Specific Products, Product Awareness, Accessories

Putting out more focused marketing pieces will provide more effective communication to customers as well as force your marketing team to be clear about their goals. If you need some help jump-starting your marketing materials or have some questions about streamlining, please let me know! I'm always happy to talk with you...