Tomato Sauce Marketing

Recently I have had opportunity to review the Emory Health care website found at http://www.emoryhealthcare.org - rather then this being a complete review, it is my initial impressions of the site. Note that I have obtained very little feedback from Emory, so this is a perspective from a interested observer browsing the site.

The site is fairly large and I can imagine will grow substantially over time. It seems to me the depth of information can still evolve quite substantially. What really interested me in this site are two things. Firstly the search uses Inktomi and the results are displayed outside the main site. Also the results did not appear to immediately satisfy my needs.

Secondly I found a rather interesting section tucked away in corner of the side. When you click on contact an Emory nurse and then click and email HealthConnection - you have a small form to complete. I think this is an area with serious potential.

I would imagine that through various demand creation activities, the site receives visitors. Also I would guess that a number of different stakeholders will visit the site seeking information. In a sense this is laid out at the top, for example Medical Professionals, Employees, etc. I would also propose that within these groups are further segmentation, with different needs for information, content and frequency of update.

It would then make sense to capture information about visitors as soon as possible. Build a profile of the visitor, and engage in personalized conversations. So for example if I was browsing with a general interest in cancer surgery, I would be happy to provide some basic information including my email address and my current areas of interest. As my interest evolves so I provide more information including the HealthConnection form.

From this point a marketing database can be built, remaining active for the lifetime of the visitor. Perhaps the visitor will later become a patient, and maybe even a donor. By developing a sequence of emailed responses at specific frequencies focusing only on the content of interest, the visitor is constantly kept in touch with the organization and the web site.

Although providing a reasonable amount of content, my feeling is that visitors with limited attention spans will rapidly move on to other health care sites. Its clear that to keep a visitor engaged though a lifetime one needs to engage in conversations that are relevant and valuable to the visitor. The age of searching, hunting for information are nearly gone, now the best of breed sites will deliver information in anticipation of an individuals needs.