Guest Blog: Webinar Highlights
The following is a guest blog from Anthony Cirillo, FACHE, ABC:
There is so much buzz about the social media yet when you think about it social media is nothing more than a way to amplify word of mouth. Yet word of mouth is so much more than the social media. Let's take a deeper look.
According to McKinsey, two-thirds of the U.S. economy is influenced by word-of-mouth. The management consulting firm notes that:
- One word-of-mouth referral is equal to 600 advertising exposures.
- Seventy-one percent of people prefer a friend's recommendation to advertising.
You can leverage word-of-mouth marketing and identify ambassadors, antagonists, and influencers. You can expand your team with an army of no-cost marketers. How do you attract and influence this army? First realize that word of mouth is nothing more than great experiences that people talk about. So first ensure that those who encounter your service have a great experience and spread the word.
Delivering a great experience involves three key elements:
Collect data
When you collect detailed data about prospects and customers, you collect information that helps create a better experience. You gather information that can help tailor and target your marketing programs too. The information starts to reveal loyalists and people of influence.
Audit the experience
Take an inventory of all of your audiences - residents, patients, families, donors, suppliers, regulators, physicians, referral sources and others. Then inventory every touch point you have with them. Conduct in-depth interviews with selected audiences to uncover the touch points that matter. Then start mapping their experience to what matters.
Monitor the Environment
People are talking about you, and you don't know it. Have you ever "googled" your facility? Try it and see what search engines unearth about your facility. In addition, research negative phrases related to the in- dustry, such as nursing home abuse, and see if your facility pops up. There are millions of people writing blogs, and their numbers are increasing each day. Fifty-seven million people are reading them. You need to not only find positive and negative word-of-mouth, but engage in the discussion.
Here are other word of mouth strategies employed by companies, who when you think about it, don't advertise.
Give something away
Giving something away. For example a home care provider might give a block of time away so that potential clients can see the type of care they will receive that they otherwise might never have availed. The industry offers something few people want, and it may be years before it is needed. But when they need it, people will have years of information, thoughts, and emotions about where to go. What you are building by giving something away are "tipping points" for people to choose you. In-home safety assessment to seniors, geriatric assessments are other examples.
Create community
Harley-Davidson has its road rally; Saturn has its picnic. Both companies bring together communities of people who congregate and communicate. They talk about the very thing that brought them together - the company. They then go home and talk to others about it. Find a reason to bring communities of people together and step out of the way.
Develop services that naturally extend your brand
Michelin was just a rubber company when the automobile was invented. The company created the Michelin Guide as a way to spur interest in road travel, providing drivers with help in finding good lodgings and food. As people became more interested in travel, car sales increased. They also needed rubber for auto- mobile tires. The Michelin name is now synonymous with tires. What can you naturally extend? More and more providers are offering a continuum of services and that will be attractive under health care reform.
Want more? Watch the entire archived webinar session here: Webinar: Marketing Your Facility
Anthony Cirillo is the about.com expert in assisted living. A speaker, health care consultant, senior advocate and blogger, he consults with long-term care facilities and is available for management retreats and association keynotes. He is the author of "Who Moved My Dentures?" His company, Fast Forward Consulting empowers organizations to change the healthcare experience and leverage it in their marketing. For more information go to More at www.4wardfast.com and www.anthonycirillo.com.