6 Ways to Drive Patient Volume, Revenue

Money talks. In healthcare, it can say much about the value of marketing in a hospital or organization.  

In my column last week, I described how the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Marketing Officer should be best friends. Many of their strategies align, including drawing patient volume and revenue to a hospital or healthcare organization. Marketers are always looking to prove their worth in the numbers – the number of patients, return on investment, cost per lead, the list goes on.

This week, I'm sharing a list of golden rules for golden results on your bottom line. John Luginbill, CEO of The Heavyweights, an IN-based marketing communications firm, first presented these ideas to a group of communications professionals armed with laptops and notepads at the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD) Annual conference.

1. Spend money to make money. Spend money wisely.

Of each dollar that comes into your facility, 65 cents has a government obligation attached  to it. What this means is that healthcare is heavily reliant on government regulation and reimbursement. In order to make money, marketers must spend money; cheap platforms will get you what you paid for.  Don't believe me? Track it and see.

One of the best ways to track progress is by recording cost per lead. "You need to know the cost per lead or you're fired in the consumer world," Luginbill said. "The same goes for healthcare."

Setting up a method for tracking cost-per-lead doesn't need to be complicated. It can be as simple as setting up a chart in Excel with the following categories:

• Tactics
• Audience size
• Leads (with contact information)
• Cost
• Cost per lead