By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO

Content marketing, and what it means to marketers, is in the eye of the beholder. But in our experience at Hammock, it tends to be defined more narrowly than what it is, and more importantly, used more narrowly than what it can do to build relationships.

I go back to this definition: Content marketing is the ability to deliver solutions directly to customers anywhere they are in the life cycle, from your prospects to your most loyal customers, using a variety of media.

By Rex Hammock, CEO

Each year, we share a version of this Idea Email. This year, we are sharing it especially for those who have risked their lives on the front lines of protecting ours. We are thankful beyond words.

In the early days of email marketing, people thought a go-to subject line needed to contain the word FREE.

That era ended with the creation of filters that automatically translate that word into the word SPAM.

I now believe the most powerful word in marketing is THANKS. 

By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO

The economic disruption that has accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic reminds me of the Great Recession (2007–2009). We endured that experience and came through wiser for it. But we also know, with the benefit of hindsight, that a confluence of content marketing forces happened in those years that shaped the way we work today.

Are there patterns for healthcare content marketers taking shape right now that we can start to see? 

By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO

Mapping Experiences,written by Jim Kalbach, is a classic for marketing professionals who want to map customer experiences and design stronger ones.

The book has a wealth of practical ideas, and this one in particular has stuck with me: “When we map customer experiences, we are effectively mapping jobs to be done.” And there are three dimensions to checkoff within each job:

By Jeff Walter, Editor and Writer

For most of us, 2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year—but especially for those serving in the healthcare professions. So we at Hammock recently sponsored a “Thank You, Healthcare Heroes” giveaway, asking clients, colleagues and friends to nominate someone working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic to receive a free hammock.

It was just a small but symbolic way for us to honor a group of people who selflessly put their lives on the line every day to provide essential care for their community, and who well deserve a rest. We selected three winners whose stories particularly inspired us.

By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been helping clients maximize their investments in marketing. Many of our clients are used to holding annual conferences in exciting locations and using those times to engage prospects and customers with meaningful discussions. When the coronavirus spread through the nation, many companies faced real questions about how to replace that conference experience.

Spoiler alert: You can’t replace the benefit of face-to-face interactions and the energy those events provide.

By Steve Sullivan, National Sales Director

One of the many business casualties of the pandemic is healthcare sales—its process, its people and its results.

Since March, the world has changed for people calling on providers, payers, life sciences or healthcare service, and technology companies. Their process has been upended. Sales teams have lost their normal way to encounter and engage buyers and decision-makers—conferences, seminars, lunches and in-person meetings are all but gone. Add to that, calling on those who are now forced out of their natural office habitat is all new territory.

By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO

If your company slowed or stopped sharing content with clients since the pandemic started, have you begun to reemerge? Or are you struggling to figure out what conversations to have with your clients right now?

If so, you aren’t alone.

By John Lavey | Hammock President and COO

Building a patient-centered healthcare system means creating highly satisfactory experiences in addition to healthy outcomes.

So what is satisfying to patients and their families? From the first moment someone in your market encounters your facility’s content and messaging—that first episode of care—nothing is more satisfying than displays of empathy. We all appreciate when a healthcare provider “gets it” and exhibits caring above and beyond what is required.

By Steve Sullivan, National Sales Director

You’ve heard Hammock talk over the years about how marketing with content should never solely focus on a product’s features and benefits. We should focus on the solutions a product, service or treatment delivers. I heard that reinforced in a talk this week by Michelle Peluso, senior vice president of digital sales and chief marketing officer at IBM.

Peluso started Site59, a last-minute travel site, which survived 9/11 and then was bought by Travelocity, where she rose to be CEO. After C-Suite stops at Citigroup and Gilt, she now runs global marketing and brand initiatives for IBM―quite a resume.