Know It or Not, the Competition is Drinking Your Milkshake

There’s no need to remind motion picture fans—which is nearly everyone—that the 2016 Academy Awards nominations will be announced next week…or that the annual glitz-and-glamour event is next month. (February 28, 2016; Dolby Theatre, Hollywood; ABC) But I did anyway.

Hollywood, and the heart of the film industry, is just up the road from our office, so around here, “Oscar Night” is nearly as big as New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Maybe the nearly constant media hype in these parts brought to mind the American epic drama of a few years ago, There Will Be Blood.

There’s no need to remind motion picture fans—which is nearly everyone—that the 2016 Academy Awards nominations will be announced next week…or that the annual glitz-and-glamour event is next month. (February 28, 2016; Dolby Theatre, Hollywood; ABC) But I did anyway.

Hollywood, and the heart of the film industry, is just up the road from our office, so around here, “Oscar Night” is nearly as big as New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Maybe the nearly constant media hype in these parts brought to mind the American epic drama of a few years ago, There Will Be Blood.

And exactly how, you might ask, does a 2007 feature film relate to healthcare marketing? What’s the connection between contemporary healthcare and, as the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) describes it: “A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.”

The catchphrase, “I drink your milkshake,” connects to the intensity of competition in business. Admittedly, the increasingly competitive environment of healthcare today isn’t as rough and ruthless as the crude oil business. But the intensity of competition in healthcare today is growing, and someone may already be drinking your milkshake. Consider that:

• The Affordable Care Act has fueled major upheaval among physician practices, medical groups and hospitals. Individual practices roll-up into groups, groups align with hospitals, hospitals hire or buy groups, health systems acquire hospitals, and so on.

• The ramp-up of clinics and health services in retail locations—drug stores, big box locations, grocery stores and other venues—is staggering.

• The quality of competitors in the battle for market share is greater.

• Pharmaceutical advertising—for products and devices—plays direct to the consumer.

If you have any reservation about the need for healthcare marketing in this hot landscape, we can assure you that your biggest competitors do not share any misgivings about aggressive marketing. Know it or not, your competitors will gleefully take your patients. The competition is drinking your milkshake…and you may not know it.

They do it every day. Patients (now empowered consumers) who don’t find the retail-like healthcare delivery experience at a doctor’s office that they want are quite willing to leave for the open arms of milkshake-drinking competitive providers.

“I drink your milkshake.” There Will Be Blood (Intense)

“I drink your milkshake.” There Will Be Blood

If the competition is drinking your milkshake, please reach out to us today. We have helped scores of providers, hospitals and health systems increase revenue, attract and retain new patients and increase market awareness of our brand.

Stewart Gandolf, MBA

There Will Be Blood is widely regarded as one of the best films of the decade. In 2007, it was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture; winning the Best Actor award for Daniel Day-Lewis and Best Cinematography for Robert Elswit.

The post Know It or Not, the Competition is Drinking Your Milkshake appeared first on Healthcare Success.