Mary Poppins: Health Care Marketing Guru, Part II

Welcome back! (Missed earlier blog in the series? Click here.)

Jolly Holiday

In the middle of a Technicolor animated wonderland, Bert tries to (chimney) sweep Mary Poppins off her feet with a song about the wonders of quality time with the magical nanny. (It’s right before a group of penguins serve them tea. I know, it’s all coming back to you now.)

Ain’t it a glorious day?
Right as a mornin’ in May
I feel like I could fly
‘Ave you ever seen
The grass so green
Or a bluer sky?
Oh, it’s a jolly holiday with Mary
Mary makes your heart so light
When the day is grey and ordinary,
Mary makes the sun shine bright.

Now, what does a lovely date with Mary Poppins have to do with your health system? Unless it’s to see a newborn, people dread going to the hospital.  Your goal should be to make each patient and visitor experience remarkable.

Here are some ideas:

Hospital design

Making things aesthetically pleasing and easily navigated. This is a no brainer, but we forget how much enjoying the scenery actually counts in the healing process. In Evolutionary Aesthetics, Eckart Volan and Karl Grammer write about the importance of environment in mood. Based on studies and research, Volan and Grammer posit that stimuli affects aspects of our mood which in turn affects behavioral outcomes and biological functioning. Serious scientists with long titles like “habitat preference researcher” have provided evidence that our environment and inevitable emotion reaction to that environment have a seriously strong impact on our physiological and psychological health. That being said, an environment that makes patients feel safe can positively affect their health outcomes, behavioral outcomes, and overall attitude about an experience. If that takes a fresh coat of paint and a rethinking of layout, it’s worth the effort.

Patient navigators

Cancer service lines have pioneered navigators to help patients at every access point of cancer care. Now, more and more emergency rooms are starting to cater to the aging population by renovating ERs to offer no-skid floors, larger print signage, extra geriatric training for staff, and navigators to help senior citizens.

Giving people what they want

Free wireless Internet access is cost-effective and popular among savvy, mobile-phone audiences looking to connect on-line. As a bonus, you can make your access page another marketing touch point.

While your patients won’t ever consider their hospital stay a vacation, it’s worthwhile to make their experience as jolly as possible.

Feed the Birds

One of the lesser-known songs from Mary Poppins, it’s nonetheless a great source of health care marketing knowledge. (You can find it sung by both Mary and an older bag lady sitting outside the Cathedral.)

Come feed the little birds, show them you care
And you’ll be glad if you do.
Their young ones are hungry,
Their nests are so bare;
All it takes is tuppence from you.

Sometimes in the world of marketing, budgets and paperwork, our mission can be forgotten. Compassion and caring is at the heart of health care. (Isn’t that why you got into the industry?) Show your patients and the world that you care.

You can achieve this with authentic, meaningful advertising that speaks to the emotional needs of the whole person and goes beyond “treating the disease.” When reviewing your ad campaigns and messages, ask yourself:

• Will someone unfamiliar with health care understand the terms used in the campaign?
• Does the campaign address the benefits to the patient, or focus solely on the features of the technology or treatment?
• Have you given the viewer meaningful ways to learn more? (Putting the URL on the ad is one thing. Is there up to date information on the website? Can someone call and talk with a person for more information?)

And, while you’re reviewing your campaigns, apply some Random Acts of Kindness. 

Enjoying our Mary Poppins blog series? Disagree? Think health care marketing is a little more Pippin and a little less Julie Andrews? Tell us! We’d love to hear from you.