By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: New School Marketing Shifts That Boost Service Line Profitability [Part Two]
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > New School Marketing Shifts That Boost Service Line Profitability [Part Two]
Business

New School Marketing Shifts That Boost Service Line Profitability [Part Two]

Stewart Gandolf
Stewart Gandolf
Share
6 Min Read
increase profitability service lines
SHARE

Editor Note: [Conclusion of a two-part article] Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, authored this article for print and online publication by Strategic Health Care Marketing. It is presented here with permission.

Editor Note: [Conclusion of a two-part article] Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, authored this article for print and online publication by Strategic Health Care Marketing. It is presented here with permission. Part One– New Marketing: Improving Service Line Profitability — is available here.

increase profitability service lines[Part Two] In the constantly changing world of healthcare marketing, success, and the continued profitability of services lines, requires adapting to change and setting a new course for success.

There are several concepts that can drive greater success for existing and emerging hospital strategies. Most require rethinking past concepts where hospital “service silos” were narrowly based on individual medical specialties.

More Read

No, This isn’t a Hotel
Physician Practices Revisit Telehealth to Monetize Time and Differentiate
Consumer-Directed Tax Shelters
Do You Check Online Doctor Ratings?
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Impact on the Future Healthcare Workforce

If you have been relying on the ways and means of doing “business as usual,” carefully consider the following ideas and shifting to a new course for going forward.

Shift: The strength of a strategic concept beyond revenue alone…

Historically, marketing and advertising direction is revenue driven, and early forms of hospital promotion focused exclusively on the immediate criteria to feed high margin services.

One of the things that changed in this paradigm, however, is how strategic thinking—and the message that’s presented—can foster enhanced revenue with a target audience.

Obstetrics presents a natural opportunity (beyond transactional thinking) to establish rapport with an entire family. The circumstances present a happy, positive reason to come to the hospital, and it becomes a first step in fostering an enduring relationship.

A “healthy mommy and me” concept, as one illustration, acts as a gateway for current and future needs. And, since women make most healthcare decisions in the home, they are likely to choose future services for the family because a trusted relationship already exists.

Shift: Growing one service line to enable a greater good…

I like to share the true story of a client that engaged our company to target growth in spinal surgery and orthopedics. But, beyond growth for this important service area, there was a “greater good” objective to the plan.

Historically, serving poorer patients was a vital part of the mission of this long-established hospital. The strategy—which ultimately was successful—was to use the doctors they had recruited and the more profitable orthopedic surgery as an enabler.

This hospital applied revenue that came from one service area to help fund programs that serve the poor but generate little or no revenue.

Shift: Branding from bland to benefit…

Hospital branding evolved fairly recently and most organizations have embraced the concept enthusiastically. Although long-term branding has a valid and appropriate place in the overall plan, some facilities may be missing the greater value.

Early stage branding messages were stand-alone ideas that leaned heavily on warm, feel-good concepts about the facility or organization. As such, the well-intended, but lofty, concepts failed to connect with producing meaningful and measurable results.

“New School” brand building in a complicated healthcare environment is a complex, multi-faceted and long-term endeavor. The objective is to be top-of-mind, consistently presenting the public, patients, referring doctors and others with a unique and memorable reason to choose you over the competition.

Service lines are the brand experience territory that delivers on the brand promise. Branding must be closely integrated with—and not independent of—producing measurable results for profitable service lines.

Shift: The wellness model…

An innovative model is service line marketing to keep patients out of the hospital. Promoting “wellness” appears counterintuitive to “filling beds.” But with revenue increasingly tied to prevention, traditional service department marketing, and the spectrum of care, take on a new starting point.

This new school model embraces wellness, prevention and lifestyle. The Kaiser Permanente Thrive program has become a system-wide, wellness-driven theme that appeals to health-aware, proactive patients and employers who appreciate that prevention trumps catastrophic care.

The Thrive campaign and others like it engage patients through promotions such as health screenings, nutrition, education and prevention. This extends the patient care continuum, creates trust for later clinical needs, and shifts from episodic, transactional encounters to a relationship-based environment.

The nation’s healthcare delivery system continues to reinvent itself, and to be successful, hospital marketing plans need to regularly evaluate new “new school” concepts that grow your most profitable service departments.

Stewart Gandolf, MBA

© Copyright 2014 Healthcare Success Strategies

 

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

dental care
Importance of Good Dental Care for Health and Confidence
Dental health Specialties
October 2, 2025
AI in Healthcare
AI in Healthcare: Technology is Transforming the Global Landscape
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
October 1, 2025
Choosing the Right Swimwear for Health and Safety
News
September 30, 2025
sports concussions
Concussion In Sports: How Common They Are And What You Need To Know
Infographics
September 28, 2025

You Might also Like

Healthcare Consumerism

June 28, 2011

“Healthcare” versus “Health Care”: The Value of a Space

May 11, 2011

Quality Improvement Using Patient Self-Management: Video Debate

December 10, 2011
part time doctor couple
BusinessNews

Part Time Doctor – Physician Schedule Flexibility and the “New Normal”

April 10, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?