Marketing governance inside health systems

A quick COVID-19 pulse checkHealth systems are seeing an uptick in admissions — many of which can be attributed to the Delta variant, with higher concentration in the southern states.We live in a strange world where fact is not always fact, and perspectives on health reflect political orientation, not proper understanding.For example, Associated Press published an article that said 100 vaccinated people in Massachusetts died of COVID-19. That's only 0.002% of the population, but AP is a known news authority. We have a responsibility to represent facts accurately without sensational language.Decisions, they get easier when you get buy-in up front It's common for health system marketers to launch a campaign or initiative — only to receive negative internal feedback after the fact. This delayed pushback can derail campaigns and waste marketing resources.  A marketing governance program can help reduce this strain on health system marketing departments by getting buy-in from clearly defined decision-making roles. Penn State Health has a marketing governance charter outlining the decisions the Council needs to help manage, including a cohesive brand strategy, annual priorities amongst service lines and geographies, change management, budgets, organizational alignment on marketing priorities, and ROI measurement. Health system marketing governance in practiceIndividual hospitals leaders were being held accountable for disparate PNLs, resulting in unnecessary competition between system units. Penn State is unifying marketing system-wide through Tuckman's Stages of Group Development.  Marketers should ask, "Where do we really need to grow the organization's volume and support brand?" For example, opening a new facility requires marketing support. That had to be a priority. Penn State Health acquired Holy Spirit Medical Center, which means acquiring all the practices that previously competed. Penn State Health had to figure out a way to distribute marketing resources so that practices weren't competing while also communicating why certain practices received more help. It's not just about who's loudest.  Penn State Health had a change of neurosurgery leadership who wanted to make changes to the strategic plan. The Marketing Governance Council procedure required this leader to request a change through the hospital president, who then would choose whether or not to open the discussion with the Council.