Clinical Forums as Means of Marketing a Service (presentation)

1. CLINICAL FORUMS AS
MEANS OF MARKETING
A SERVICE
Dr Khalid Mansour
Plas Coch Independent Hospital
2012

2. NEW DIMENSIONS
Sir Tim
Berners-Lee
The Arab Spring PC

3. EVERYONE
COMMUNICATION SUPERHERO
Digital age = normal life
 No business can survive
without using modern
means of communication
 Not a luxury but a way of
existing
 Only way to reach your
potential
 Communication based
market is bigger than old
traditional market.
 Way beyond traditional
advertising
 Cheaper, less censorship
and less bureaucracy.

4. No Limits
 Creativity
 Ambitions
 Commitment
 Strategic thinking
 Patience
ONLINE COMMUNITY
AVATARS

5. ONLINE COMMUNITY

6. TYPES OF INTERNET COMMUNITIES:
(WEBDESIGN.ABOUT.COM)
Content: articles, information, blogs,
news: topic or interest communication.
Forums, newsgroups, email: delayed
communications.
Chat and instant messaging:
immediate communication.
Managed by staff:
User Created:

7. ONLINE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
( LAVE AND WENGER, 20011)
 Peripheral (Lurker) – Does not add to the community .
Inbound (Novice) –Starts to provide
content.
Insider (Regular) – Consistently adds
to the community discussion and
content..
Boundary (Leader) – a
veteran participant.
 Outbound (Elder) – Leaves the community for a variety of reasons.

8. GOOD USE OF FORUMS:
(WEBDESIGN.ABOUT.COM)
 Belonging to site: repeat visits, more interest in the
site.
 Richer and more varied content: more people joining
in with their opinions and feelings.
 Instantaneous feedback with community: how your
product is working in the real world, better respond to
your customers' needs.
 Listen to the users advice: on the pulse of what the
members need.
 Stick with it for a while: Even if you decide that it is not
working out, give your members a chance to adjust to
the idea, don't change your system more than once a
year.
 Develop relationships with your members: e.g.
attending conferences.

9. WHY JOIN PROFESSIONAL FORUMS
• INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
• BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITIES
• RECRUITMENT
• QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• HIGH GOOGLE SEARCH
RANKING
Forbes (2012): "Linked-In is, far and away, the most
advantageous social networking tool available to
job seekers and business professionals today,".

10. PROFESSIONAL WEBSITES E.G. LINKED-IN:
 There are over a 100 million members.
 Keeping in contact with already present
customers
 Building new business network online
 Obtaining answers to difficult business
questions
 Winning new businesses by answering
questions
 Networking with industry peers
 Keeping a watch on competition
 Obtain online recommendations from satisfied
customers.
 Use to find experts/vendors for recruitment.
 Find out groups that customers are
associating with.
 Use it a professional research tool for
business.

11. LINKED-IN ADVICE ABOUT IMPROVING
BUSINESS:
 Create a complete profile
 Build a strong network of
contacts
 Promote your profile
 Stay engaged in LinkedIn
 Invest in creating culture
and internet staff to
participate
 Support by other means
e.g. own website,
conferences, etc.

12. A FEW BASIC RULES OF ETIQUETTE:
(FORBES, 2012)
1. Generic Requests are for Suckers
2. When You Ask for a Recommendation, Be
Specific (and Know the Person)
3. Avoid the Default Text Like the Plague
4. Stop Tying Your Tweets to Your LinkedIn
Feed
5. Review Spelling and Grammar Like Your
Life Depended on It
Do not be artificial,
superficial or
mechanical

13. THINGS FORUMS CAN NOT DO FOR BUSINESS
 Can not allow simple advertising
 Can not stop the critics
 Can not hide away poor
standards
 Can not be a substitute for quality
 Can not create real satisfaction
 Can not substitute for one to one
contact
If you raise your profile you need to
raise your standards with it.

14. PROBLEMS WITH CLINICAL FORUMS AS A
MEAN TO PROMOTE BUSINESS
 Expensive investment
 Long-term investment
 Not as popular as
advertisement
 Risk been graded as
inferior to others if not done
well.
 Trolls