3 Secrets to Successfully Marketing Robotic Surgery

In 2006, the first year that Southwest General began conducting robotic-assisted surgery, about 24 were performed. Last year surgeons performed nearly 200 robotic-assisted procedures in gynecologic, urologic, and general surgery specialties. In 2012, the first single-incision general surgery procedure (a Laparoscopic Robotic-Assisted Cholecystectomy) was successfully performed.

At Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, MD, a January 2012 online campaign promoting its minimally invasive surgery offerings served up some serious results. The campaign delivered 42,000 impressions over the month and generated 51 clicks, a click-through rate of .12%. (The national average is .03%.)

Marketers also ran a print ad campaign promoting minimally invasive surgery in local weekly papers from January through June. All of the ads promoted the benefits of minimally invasive procedures: a smaller incision, less blood loss, and less down time:  patients typically get back to their regular lives quickly.

So messaging across multiple channels is key. But that's not all.