Tag: healthcare marketing

HealthSparq is Redefining Transparency in Healthcare Through Bringing People Together

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Risk is too-often considered a dirty word in healthcare sectors. Transparency in healthcare industries is sadly uncommon. For this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite Drew interviews a courageous thinker in healthcare that’s changing the way people think about risk-taking in healthcare, CMO of HealthSparq Burt Rosen.

Burt’s background in hospitality and education allowed him to see the massive gap in the healthcare industry – it’s wasn’t actually about helping and connecting people. By turning his company upside down and digging into the true goal of HealthSparq, Burt has launched a movement that strives to make healthcare less confusing and more transparent.

This interview will restore your faith in the healthcare system. Learn how an insatiable level of curiosity can make you successful in any industry, as well as how to know when your brand positioning has struck gold. Finally, hear the background story behind Burt’s “What’s the Fix?” conference.

Burt and Drew tackle big issues on this episode and help you unravel the transparency in healthcare issues. Be sure to give it your full attention. Click here to listen now!

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Redefining HealthSparq’s brand story in order to identify their true niche

Burt learned about the importance of connecting with people and caring for them during his careers in education and hospitality. When he joined the HealthSparq team he recognized the need for a massive redefinition of the brand. Rather than talk about the specifics of the tools the company offers, Burt wanted to talk about the impact the tools has on the actual human using them. That’s why HealthSparq’s tagline is now “Helping people make smarter healthcare choices.” No matter how powerful research tools or cost calculators may be, if they’re not helping people feel more comfortable and confident in their own decisions, the tool is not serving the greater brand purpose. Burt’s understanding of person-first business is unparalleled and you’ll enjoy hearing him passionately talk about this idea on this episode.

Transparency in healthcare is key because it’s so personal to people and their families

HealthSparq’s marketing team realized that healthcare should not be impersonal. Everyone has a healthcare story – they should be positive and comforting tales, not riddled with confusion and frustration. Burt believes that the professionals in the industry should be framing every decision in regards to the customer and patient. This underlying belief drives everything HealthSparq creates. HealthSparq knows that people of every age and from every walk of life want the same things. They want to be taken care of, they want good service, and they want transparency. Changing a decades-old industry is not for the faint of heart and to hear how Burt is conquering this task be sure to listen to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

How a simple focus group idea turned the healthcare industry upside down

In every other industry, focus groups and panel questioning is commonplace. In the healthcare sector? Not so much. An idea for a public focus group left long-standing industry professionals baffled. When the first few HealthSparq-sponsored panels drew in massive amounts of feedback and stories it sent shockwaves through the industry. These panels soon morphed into Burt’s passion project, the “What’s the Fix?” conference. This conference, with the second one being held in May 2018, strives to connect actual people to industry leaders. Making people smarter about healthcare and the decisions they make for their families is always a move in the right direction. Burt’s excitement about the conference is contagious and this episode is sure to leave you inspired.

What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Drew’s introduction of Burt Rosen, CMO of HealthSparq, and why risk shouldn’t be a dirty word in healthcare
  • [1:40] Why Burt embraces risk in healthcare and what attracted him to the industry
  • [4:08] You can learn the skills necessary for any industry if you understand marketing and have an insatiable curiosity
  • [8:13] Identifying HealthSparq’s true niche through risk-taking rebranding
  • [12:01] Uncovering what people really want out of healthcare through public focus groups
  • [23:19] The importance of investing in face-to-face interactions with actual people
  • [26:24] Storytelling at HealthSparq and why it’s so critical for Burt and his team
  • [30:01] How a low-budget conference became a massive movement in the healthcare industry
  • [34:10] Everything starts with the positioning of the brand
  • [37:38] Burt shares what’s next for HealthSparq and the What’s the Fix? conference

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The Power of Storytelling

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It’s not easy to get a breakthrough marketing strategy off the ground; it’s even more difficult to kick start a new idea in a highly regulated industry. This roadblock didn’t stop Manny Rodriguez, CMO of UCHealth, from developing an eye-opening campaign. Through patient-centric storytelling, he managed to help the university hospital network invigorate its message. This tender approach isn’t just business for Rodriguez. He is a leukemia survivor who underwent many of the types of treatments his team now promotes.

Manny Rodriguez discusses how UCHealth embraced the power of storytelling on the Renegade Thinkers Unite podcast. If you’d like to listen to the episode, click here. If you don’t have time to listen, you can read the notes below for a summarized account of the interview.

Rodruguez’s healthcare marketing philosophy goes against the grain. Hospitals and clinics often showcase their technologies and services in advertisements, much to Rodriguez’s chagrin. “I just believe healthcare marketers in general have lost sight of what matters,” he says. “We’ve gotten away from the fact that what we do is about the patient.” Instead of explaining how great UCHealth’s treatments are, Rodriguez set out to reach patients on a more personal level.

Rodriguez wanted his UCHealth’s advertisements to focus on clients and their experiences. Being a leukemia survivor, he understands the pain patients have to deal with. Rodriguez says, “Most health care brands look at themselves as the hero. We believe that our patients are the heroes.” UCHealth decided to let its heroes tell their stories from their own perspectives. The result was a series of heartfelt video testimonies given by actual UCHealth patients, like this one:

You can’t help but cry during these 90-second flashes of affection. As Rodriguez notes, “You really feel, hear, and sense the heartache and the emotion and the feeling in the story.” Although the scripts are written internally, the patients themselves deliver the lines. Who else could?

One of the biggest challenges Rodriguez has faced is advertising services that have such a negative connotation. “Nobody wants what I have,” Rodriguez says. “Nobody is sitting there going, ‘I can’t wait to have my liver removed or my heart surgery!’” The UCHealth marketing team remedies this problem by delivering what Rodriguez calls a “lifestyle brand.” The CMO continues, “I want to provide you [with] content and resources, and talk to you in a way that prevents you from being broken more than selling you a service when you’re broken.” Warmth is at the heart of the strategy, giving patients hope and comfort in UCHealth’s message.

Enhancing patient experience plays a big part in the brand’s marketing strategy. When someone goes to a hospital, obviously the biggest goal is to leave healthy. For Rodriguez, the peripherals of a hospital visit also matter greatly. Elements like staff friendliness, parking accessibility, and cafeteria food quality make a difference in the patient’s experience. “It’s the softer side of healthcare that I think we’re looking at as an organization—How do you build the softer side?” Rodriguez wonders. UCHealth answers this question by staffing itself with sympathetic employees. While health remains the top priority, patient experience is still important.

It’s been a bumpy ride for Rodriguez, as his own encounter with terminal illness has driven him to help other patients in need. He says, “Being a survivor of ultimately a disease that takes many lives is a motivator for everything I do.” Rodriguez recalls the personal experiences he’s had with medical professionals—some great, and some not so great. Ultimately, those instances have given him the drive to connect with patients through heartfelt passion and understanding. (These show notes were prepared by Jay Tellini.)