Suppose you gave a party - and no one came?
That's the situation in which many newly merged or created healthcare systems sometimes find themselves. After the new name and the launch of the advertising program, PR and marketing executives find that consumer response to the great new entity is at best tepid ("heard about it but have no idea what it means"), non-existent ("never heard of it"), or, at worst, negative ("don't like the idea").
"I guess we assumed people would understand how great our new system is going to be," said one bemused and confused marketing VP. "But they either don't get it, or, as my CEO is horrified to discover, they question the motivations behind the merger, and aren't sure it brings any value to the community."
Clearly, after a group of healthcare organizations invest the dollars, time, sweat and tears needed to create a new system, the preferred outcome is for the community being served to understand and welcome the new entity.
Making that happen involves as much advance work as negotiating the system formation - along with a solid understanding of consumer perceptions and community relations.
Avoiding Merger Shock
The most important first step - one that should be managed by the chief PR/marketing officer - is to look from the outside in by viewing the proposed system through the eyes of the public.
It doesn't matter whether the hospital is owned by a for-profit company, the county, a religious order or a private foundation - local citizens see it as "our" hospital.
Consumers have their own lifestyles, habits and patterns -including how and where they get their health care. They perceive change - especially involving their doctor's practice becoming part of "some system" or suddenly having letterhead with a new corporate name on it - as a potential threat to the way things have always been for them.
People tend to distrust change, simply because it's change. When the change involves healthcare services, the distrust factor is multiplied. And when the change is "sprung" on them with a huge ad saying "Good Old St. Mary's is now part of Pinnacle System" it's a jolt.
Fortunately, this scenario can be avoided with careful upfront planning that begins before the merger or system discussions take place.
The core strategy involves having in place an effective and ongoing community relationships program, that involves:
This PR strategy keeps leaders apprised of the merger as it progresses. If the negotiations are being kept confidential this approach still can be applied to announcing the merger.
When the decision to form a system is made, discussions about what to say to the community should be conducted during the planning and negotiations process, NOT after. Positioning and packaging the merger ensures that the new system will have perceived value for the community.
It's important to remember that an "integrated delivery system," even when explained in lay terms, isn't a product that automatically will make sense to a consumer, let alone sound like a great idea. Instead of extolling assets (1,100 beds, 500 doctors), the messages have to focus on benefits - how the new entity will be good for the community and good for individual consumers.
Rolling Out The Announcement
Getting the word out should involve a simultaneous announcement to internal audiences (employees, physicians, volunteers, etc.) and key external audiences - first opinion leaders, then the media. The timing of this process is critical - in many areas where the media closely watch hospital happenings, the PR staff may have to do the major announcements in one day, starting with internal audiences in the morning, opinion leaders mid-day, and the press late in the day.
The media coverage should be followed by an ongoing process of packaging and pitching the value of the new system to opinion leaders, including one-on-one meetings with the powerful (political leaders, major employers, media owners) and small group briefings with the rest of the influential audience. This process of seeding merger messages to opinion leaders helps to validate the new identity's value to the community.
Kathy Lewton is director of the National Health Care Practice at Porter Novelli in Chicago. She is author of Public Relations in Health Care: A Guide For Professionals. She can be reached at 312/856-8888 or email at [email protected].