By: Jeff Walter, Editor
You know that old trees just grow stronger
And old rivers grow wilder every day
Old people just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say, “Hello in there, hello”
— John Prine, “Hello in There”
Like countless Nashvillians and music lovers (we happen to be both), we mourned the loss of singer-songwriter John Prine to COVID-19 on April 7, 2020. Prine, also a Music City resident, released his self-titled debut album a half-century ago in 1971, gracing the world with such now-standards as “Sam Stone,” “Angel From Montgomery,” “Paradise” and “Hello in There,” that last song an unflinching first-person depiction of the loneliness suffered by many senior citizens (written with jaw-dropping empathy by a 22-year-old).
We think Prine would be happy about the way his family is remembering him—and doing some good in the process. “You Got Gold: Celebrating the Life & Songs of John Prine” is a series of special concerts and other events planned for various Nashville venues Oct. 3-10. Proceeds will benefit The Hello In There Foundation, newly established by Prine’s family “to honor his memory and continue the love, kindness and generosity he shared with the world.” The foundation’s mission is “to identify and collaborate with individuals and communities to offer support for people who are marginalized, discriminated against or … otherwise forgotten.”
Two Nashville-based nonprofits will receive this year’s inaugural grants from the foundation. Room In The Inn provides shelter, emergency services, transitional programs and long-term solutions to help homeless people rebuild their lives. Thistle Farms provides safe housing, healthcare, counseling and employment for women survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction.
The Prine tribute concerts, which wrap up on what would have been his 75th birthday, represent a beautiful example of content marketing, a frequent topic of the Idea Email. While they honor the memory of the beloved singer-songwriter (and perhaps sell some CDs and merch in the process), they also serve a higher purpose not directly tied to sales.
We have previously written about the various forms that content marketing can take—from blog posts and e-books to sales presentations and customer welcome kits, from onboarding material and internal letters to employees to bylined articles for industry publications and public events. Earlier this month, we discussed preserving your company’s or organization’s history and future. Thanks to the Prine family for an outstanding example of how this can work. And thanks to John Prine for all the timeless and wonderful music (along with the love, kindness and generosity).
Photo credit: Laura Fedele
About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email | This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here . To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here.
By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO
This week 26 years ago, I moved to Nashville. My first job here in town was as a healthcare reporter. Let me say that healthcare as a beat is a massive undertaking for anyone to cover adequately, but particularly someone without experience in the industry. I moved from covering school board meetings to covering the most dynamic industry in our city.
In those early days, I would read about some specialized segment of the industry, say physician practice management, then go and conduct an interview with a CEO of the leading company in that space. To say I was outmatched and outgunned is an understatement. Like a lot of young people, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
After a few years, I went to business school at night to understand more about the business of healthcare. More than 20 years later, the experience I’ve gained and the schooling I’ve had make healthcare more comprehensible, but healthcare remains a dynamic and complex business. At least now, I know what I don’t know.
Building a content company that serves the healthcare market is fueled by the fact that we know what we don’t know. Our team of experienced healthcare content professionals possesses a great deal of domain expertise. The value we deliver to clients is based on the acquisition of expertise in the areas where more specialized knowledge is required. For Hammock, that means we work with a whole host of contractors and specialists.
People come to us because we understand their space. But our clients remain the experts in what they do. We assist them in developing content to support their business objectives. Our best relationships are based on this mutual understanding and respect for each other’s specialized knowledge and expertise.
Do you know what you don’t know about how to maximize your healthcare business with content marketing? Let us know.
Image: Getty Images
About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email | This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here. To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here.
By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO
I heard a great question this week from a prospective client: Why do customers choose you and why do they stay with you?
It’s a great question because the person who asked it recognized the fundamental value of how a relationship works. A good business partner offers more than what you sought them out for in the first place.
Developing recurring content, across a variety of media, to support a business objective typically requires skill sets that are too specific and too expensive to replicate in-house.
Most healthcare companies that want to do content marketing need a partner with the subject matter expertise, team, processes and experience to help.
In many cases, they are looking for a partner because they’ve come to the conclusion that they can’t justify the investment in-house. So they see it as a replacement for a full-time equivalent (FTE) or FTEs.
But long-term relationships are much more than a replacement for an FTE.
Sure, with the right partner, clients find that they are able to focus on projects and other priorities that serve their core business. And the clients understand that a professional process makes it easier on their team.
But there is deeper, more fundamental value when you find the right outside partner. You have an extension of your team that is focused on serving your customers and prospects, just like you are, with solutions that perfectly position your brand.
A good outside partner can serve as a sounding board, and constantly challenge you to focus on the audience’s concerns, and not corporate speak.
The right outside partner’s access to domain expertise is valuable for helping you hone your message.
And the right outside partner starts to show you all the ways content plays a role in moving healthcare customers through their journey, such as building presentations for sales or investor groups, developing training videos, or helping improve their client conferences, to name a few.
Finding the right partner means looking at the reasons they are the right fit for right now, but also for next year and the years to come.
About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email | This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here. To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here.
By Rex Hammock, CEO
Image: Getty
About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email | This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here . To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here.
By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO
About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email | This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here. To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here.
By Rex Hammock, CEO
The past year’s pandemic has been both a challenge and an opportunity for small businesses—and large businesses. While stories of business failure seem never-ending, there also have been inspiring stories of businesses pivoting to success.
Even a gigantic business like Google found new ways to remind us it does more than search. It finds users who need solutions, not just destinations to locate. Then it uses its search skills to find the solution.
Shoppers don’t just turn to Google for things they want to buy on the web—they also want to know what’s nearby.
The Knowledge Exchange
In 2020, Google helped drive more than 2 billion direct connections, including phone calls, requests for directions, messages, bookings and reviews for U.S. businesses. Google has seen an increase in online research by people who use it before heading out to a restaurant or to get takeout. The company recently found that:
66% of dining consumers said they used it to find food and beverage information during the pandemic.
57% of dining consumers said they discovered food and beverage information during the pandemic via online ads.
45% of viewers said they watch YouTube to see a product demo before buying.
YouTube viewers said they are 2 times more likely to go to a store or shop online to buy something they saw on YouTube versus the competitive average.
Searches on Google Maps for “curbside pickup” have increased 9,000% year over year in the U.S.
Searches on Google Maps for “discounts” have grown globally by more than 100% year over year.
Searches on Google Maps for “gift shop” have grown globally by more than 60% year over year.
We may not all be Google or have Google’s resources. But we can think like Google. We can seek client or customer challenges—and then use our skills to solve them.
(Source: Google. Used with permission)
Image: Getty
About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email | This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here . To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here.
By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO
I have been struck in a few recent conversations by the idea of how “warm” and “cold” healthcare can be in terms of engaging us as customers. I was talking to someone whose wife has been undergoing cancer treatments and has a 20-minute meeting once a month with the doctor. In those 20 minutes, she feels exceptionally cared for. It’s a warm experience.
By Rex Hammock, CEO
For several years, Hammock Inc. had a message on the wall of our office lobby wall that said: “Your Story Starts Here.”
We thought then—and still do—that using stories is the best way for individuals (and corporations and associations and … ) to connect with the marketplaces they serve.
By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO
For companies that are continuing to work from home, new employees are largely deprived of the ad hoc interactions from mentors and peers that help them learn how to do their job. That’s why some of the most crucial content being generated by healthcare companies right now is learning content.
Learning content is necessary for many companies so that employees can gain certifications and remain compliant with regulations.
By Rex Hammock, CEO
We write a lot about the role customer- and content-driven media can serve as a foundation for building deep, engaging relationships between customers and shoppers, owners and members, and members and organizations.
Until recently, however, I had not considered the relationship potential of a bank like Capital One Café. That is, however, until I listened to the “Audible Original” book Caffeine: How Coffee and Tea Created The Modern World. According to its author, Michael Pollan, caffeine has a “unique ability to entertain, inform, and perform in a world where an estimated two billion cups of coffee are consumed every day.”