The AMI-Partners Blog

In today’s NY Times article:  As Medical Charts Go Electonic  Rural Doctor Sees Healthy Change, tp://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/technology/11records.html the complications and opportunities presented by the U.S. economic stimulus package are unintentionally highlighted for IT marketers. 

The article’s focus is more about how a rural medical office sees opportunities, efficiency gains and cost-saving in adopting a more “paperless office” environment.  However, what is also highlighted is the challenge we as marketers face in capturing stimulus package spending. 

With over $20B of the $787B U.S. stimulus package aimed at IT for health care the opportunity for IT marketers seems huge.  And it is!  However, it’s not as if a big bucket of cash will all of a sudden appear on these medical clinics doorsteps.  These firms will need to be convinced that these “advancements” in their practices make sense for their specific businesses. 

I’ve heard first-hand from medical clinic staff (and IT managers of these offices) that there is a significant amount of concern and skepticism in adopting more digital documents.  One clinic in Seattle I spoke with said they would have to “really believe” that they wouldn’t just be “trading one devil they know for the devil they don’t know.”  The NY Times article speaks to this with the example of an emergency medicine physician in Parsons, Kan. who had to give up his solo practice after he had invested $38,000 in software for systems that kept crashing and preventing him from sending out electronic bills. 

The challenge for IT marketers attempting to target this particular portion of stimulus package spend will be three-fold:

1) Deliver a clear and compelling solution and value proposition that medical offices, clinics, and physicians resonate with

2) Building confidence in the medical firms that this solution will work by driving clear and compelling efficiency, productivity and cost-saving gains

3) Instill believability with the firms that your specific IT solution will deliver in a more compelling and higher ROI manner than your competitors

IT marketers will need to find ways to achieve the above that will resonate with these medical practices.   Choosing the right marketing vehicles and honing the message will be critical.  In a recent AMI study we found that the segment of U.S. small business firms that plan to spend the most on PC’s over the next 12 months are 11-13 times more likely to use “non-traditional” market vehicles such as podcasts, social networking sites, blogs, etc.  These marketing vehicles enable SMBs to learn about what other firms, more like theirs, are exploring in terms of IT solutions and how successful they have been in adopting these new solutions.  This is a great way for IT marketers to achieve #3 above – the believability factor.  

IT markets looking to target the IT health care portion of the stimulus package in the SMB space will be served well by such marketing vehicles.  The value propositions and messaging will necessarily require more time and attention from SMBs during the purchase process due to the significant shift in behaviors (and leap of faith) that will be required for these firms to adopt their solutions.  As the NY Times article points out there – skepticism exists (to varying degrees) and it will be our challenge as marketers to help these firms overcome their skepticism by delivering credible case studies, customer testimonials and PoS materials that help land the message.   

Chad Thompson is the Vice President of Market Strategy at AMI Partners and can be reached at CThompson@ami-partners.com