Surgical Theater’s innovative technology offers surgeons a unique opportunity to distinguish themselves from the competition. Unlike many enabling technologies that are utilized only when patients are under anesthesia in the operating room, Surgical Theater’s immersive platform engages patients throughout their entire treatment journey, transforming the patient experience from the moment they step in the clinic. This interaction allows surgeons to continuously market their expertise along with the advanced tools they use, enhancing the patient’s understanding of their care. By bridging the gap between the surgeon, patient, and treatment plan, this technology empowers surgeons to elevate their personal brand and stand out in an increasingly competitive healthcare environment.
As part of this mission, Surgical Theater not only delivers cutting-edge eXperiential Reality technologies but also offers a comprehensive marketing support system. Our marketing team provides a guided path to help surgeons harness advanced technology to build their brand name and drive their business. Whether through social media, blogs, websites, press releases, launch events, or presentations, we equip you with the tools to develop your personalized marketing activation plan. Together, we strive to revolutionize surgery, transcend medical boundaries, and lead the visual revolution.
In the healthcare industry, in particular, there is an added dynamic when it comes to marketing and brand recognition. Advanced imaging and operating tools, for example, are generally purchased by hospitals or clinics then used by surgeons on patients. This represents three distinct groups of both users and decision makers with varying degrees of input and access. For example, a surgical stapler might be purchased by the hospital, physically fired by the surgeon, but it is used for a surgery in which the patient will ultimately be financially responsible. To that end, it seems it should ultimately come down to the patient since they hold the burden of the dollar. However, in many cases, the patient does not fully comprehend their diagnosis much less intervention options. This paradox is what sets apart healthcare marketing from other industries.
Therefore, in this ever evolving, pervasive, transparent, and paradoxical landscape, it is more imperative than ever for physicians to develop their very own personal brand. We call them influencers on social media, but those same archetypes exist in the practice of medicine. Not only are hospitals consolidating and competition is becoming fiercer, but patients now have readily available access to information via the world wide web. They are shopping around, doing research, and making their own informed healthcare decisions. They simply need to hit “search”, and every surgeon fathomable is suddenly at their fingertips, with the most popular typically rising to the top. Then combine healthcare becoming increasingly more unaffordable with the need for more readily accessible and scalable solutions, along with a consolidation amongst both healthcare systems and private practices, a surgeon’s personal brand presence is the only thing that can begin to set them apart from the masses.
In order for your voice to be heard, it must be bigger, louder, and more prevalent than the mass amounts of minutiae readily available to patients. You must become a thought leader in your very own “brand of medicine”. It is essential for you to truly differentiate yourself from your peers.
So what is the simple recipe to become a cut above the rest? Following, we’ll share a few of the top tips and tricks from the Surgical Theater marketing team. Start by educating yourself. Dive into new technology. Specialize in cutting-edge procedures and modalities. Then use every avenue at your disposal to communicate and promote your latest achievements to your audience.
It is important to have a personal website outside of just the hospital’s landing page. List all your specialties, licenses, advanced trainings, tools and methods so you can easily be searched online allowing patients to grasp your offering through a simple mouse click.
First and foremost, focus on becoming a key thought leader in your respective area. Jump at any chance to present at a conference, host a training event, and share your experiences. Open social media accounts and foster a following that focuses on direct to patient marketing and/or provides a forum to bring various surgeons together to collaborate and share ideas.
Be funny! Lean into your humorous side because research shows customers buy from people they like and are more likely to remember someone that made them laugh. Once you have created your accounts, be sure to post on these forums at a specific regular cadence, for example, twice a week at the same time of day. Build your own grass roots movement by personally inviting others to follow your accounts. Whether it be LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, or YouTube, create very short videos to draw in the audience and keep their attention.
Work to improve your social media “bedside” manner to help with positive word of mouth. And most importantly, be consistent in your messaging. Publishing content at regular intervals puts you into the AI algorithm helping to guarantee you hurdle to the top of the search engine. Finally, remember the idea of “practice makes perfect”. Repeatedly creating new content will help you continue to hone your skillsets, outperform the competition, and build an engaged audience.
Finally, users can take advantage of the marketing activation program (map) offered by Surgical Theater. We are unique in that our platform has a direct connection to the end buyer – the patient. We provide a tool that directly educates patients about their anatomy, pathology, and upcoming procedure so they can make informed decisions about their own health. We offer a path directly linking your personal brand as a surgeon to your patients through the lens of an extended reality headset.
Surgical Theater wants to offer its surgeons something a little different, something fresh. We partner with you to provide a roadmap in using our platform to advance your voice. We want to give you all the tools to set a new standard in the future of surgery. That’s the magic of Surgical Theater.
