Marketing Know-How Revs Physician Recruitment Strategy

Working together, marketing and the physician liaison created two key recruitment messages.

"The first was that this is a fantastic practice environment and you don't have to give up anything in intellectual or technical quality to practice at a small rural hospital," explains Kevin Robinson, communications director. "[The second message was] we have highly trained physicians and trained staff and a collegial atmosphere. It's a fantastic place to live for a certain type of person—for a person who likes to know their colleagues and practice in a team environment."

Robinson and his team decided that the best vehicle to communicate this message was through a recruitment microsite featuring video testimonials, physician profiles, and benefit highlights.

"To carry the message through on our website, we profiled some of our physicians and [asked them] why they chose to practice here," Robinson says. "And in the videos we interviewed top physicians and asked what drew them here."

Integrating social media
The recruitment strategy eventually expanded to include direct mail, online advertising, and social media campaigns. Tactics like these are key to targeting the younger generation of physicians, or even younger boomers.