Win Thyself and Thou Shall Win The World

On a warm April evening, an army of about 12000 people was camping somewhere in north India. Its drooping shoulders were reminiscent of its drooping morale. The cause for this situation was the news that the enemy was advancing towards them with an army of about 100,000 soldiers and hundreds of elephants. The leader of the army, an ousted king of Persia, could sense the palpable tension in the camp. He decided to talk to his troops. His stirring speech moved the army to an unprecedented level of enthusiasm. They vowed to fight with all heart and soul even if it meant that they would perish. Next day, the battle was fought. It was all over in three hours. The smaller army had won. The enemy suffered a casualty of 20,000 men and their king was killed on the battlefield. The year was 1526 and the place was Panipat, near Delhi. The person was Zahir-Al-Din-Mohammed Babur. The foundation of the great Moghul empire, which would rule Delhi’s throne for many generations was laid.

The moral of the story points towards what we call- ‘internal marketing’ in the modern world. The ability of the management to inspire the people in its organization is a big challenge. We could do with many more Baburs in the industry today. People who can challenge the assumptions, stir the emotions, inspire through actions are the ones who will create history in the industry. Yes there are tools for internal marketing, but the tools are meaningless without the skill of the artisan who will ultimately use them.

Most of the organizations are content with using the ‘carrot and stick’ theory. A glorified name for such a theory is- motivation. ‘If you do a good job you will get a raise and if you mess up, we will pull you up for it’ is the summary of the carrot and stick or motivation theory. Well, let me assure you, it is nowhere as powerful as the ability to inspire people. Motivation is not the same as inspiration. If it was that effective, try explaining the attrition rates in the organizations.

When motivation fails, some people even resort to managing by either manipulation or fear. They use their power to instill fear in the minds of workers and get the work done forcefully. Needless to say, that fear and manipulations don’t work in the long term either. Sooner or later the ‘bubble’ will burst.

So, what does it take to be an inspirational leader of people? Well, for sure it takes setting your own example first. If the CEO has not interviewed his customers for weeks at a stretch [under the pretext of the all important meetings that they seem to attend all day] and then they harp about the high quality service delivery of their hospital, it is a red flag! Imagine if Babur disappeared for meetings on the battle day! For your hospital, every day is a like a battle day in Panipat. Everyday, the foundation will either become deeper or it will become shaky. So, be there when action is happening and lead by example. I know of a few leaders who are there at the shop floor as early as 4 AM and as late as midnight. They are omni present in the hospital. You go to the reception area, you will find them talking to the relative of a patient. If you go to the emergency room, they may be directing the wheeling in of a trauma patient. They lead by example. When they tell their senior consultants to come for daily rounds early, they don’t face resistance. They can ‘market’ their ideas to the internal customers with ease.

The ability to initiate successful internal marketing also requires a deep connection between the leaders and the followers. Deep connection does not mean saying ‘good morning’ when they see each other. It also does not mean that they stay back at the workplace till 9 PM and accomplish nothing worthwhile. The entire team has to connect at a very deep level. It is like – ‘one for all and all for one.’ people ensuring the victory of the team irrespective of their personal victory or loss is the ultimate test for a deep internal connection.

Only after the leaders believe in the cause profoundly can they involve others in it fully. Many leaders of hospitals themselves are not sure about their stand on issues like cut-practice, customer delight, price reductions, etc. How would they be able to move their team in such a scenario is a big question mark? In spite of such incongruity in thought and action, many a times, you would see people talking in a hollow fashion [struggling to look genuine] about issues that they themselves have no stand for.

I have seen many great ideas for internal marketing fall flat at their face just because the staff did not see it as a ‘worthwhile’ goal. The staff response is equivalent of – ‘this is one of the good for nothing idea of the management.’

The attempts for accreditation in a big hospital were not welcome by the staff. They thought it will be extra burden on their daily work. There was a wide spread belief in the staff that they were already over burdened with work. To make things worse, the management started forcing the change through written orders and memos. ‘People not complying with the accreditation movement will face dire consequences’ was the message that memos and circulars seemed to communicate. Discontent grew. Needless to say, the effort bombed and the hospital still does not have accreditation.

Another case is of a hospital dealing with absenteeism and late arrival of administrative staff especially after lunch hours. The management started providing free lunch to the staff, with a view that the people will return back to work on time. Logically, this should have worked. It did not. The attendance at the free lunch has been steadily falling. It has become less than 50% as of now.

The problem still continues.

At yet another hospital, the management wants the front office staff to stand up while they talk to the patients. The challenge is how to communicate it to them so that they do it willingly. On finding no answer to this question, the management decided to remove the chairs from reception counter. The logic was simple. If they are not given any chairs to sit, they will have no option but to stand.

Lets face it. The marketing of ideas to the internal customers is a complex business. To make matters worse, there is no true accountability as to who will take on job of internal marketing. Will it be done by the leader of the organization, or by HR department or by the marketing department? No one seems to know and hardly anyone bothers.

I personally feel that the marketing and HR departments should operate in tandem for internal marketing purpose. The management can float the ideas it wants to market to these two departments. A joint team from both the departments can then take on the marketing of the idea to the entire organization.

Steps for marketing to internal customers
Like any marketing, the concept to be sold has to have some value in the minds of the prospects. The first step therefore, is to develop a ‘value proposition.’ No one buys a concept or a product if it has no value for him. A potent question for the hospital mentioned above would have been ‘Why would our people work harder for accreditation? What is in it for them?’ If they were able to create a valuable enough answer to this question, the idea would have been sold.

Second step is to clearly identify the target group. Sometimes there may be many target groups. Marketing to each group will differ according to their preferences, tastes, skills, intellect, etc.
Third step is to find out various ways to promote the concept. Remember you have to promote the idea in more than one way. You may have to use a combination of various vehicles to promote your idea. It is the same as using, hoardings, magazine advertisements, press releases, events, etc. to promote your hospital in the target market. You must be clear that, the target groups should not get bored by thinking that the idea is the ‘usual stuff’ that keeps happening in the hospital. It has to be new, like never before. It has to be exciting and people have to like it.

The internal marketing vehicles:
Internal marketing messages can be given in various effective ways. The ideas can be sold innovatively for best wider acceptance and popularity-

Posters-

 These are most effective when some cute and attractive visuals are used. They can be put near the card swiping area or cafeterias if you want all your staff to see it. Else you can deliver them to the various departments and have them displayed on the notice boards. Earlier this year, GNRC hospitals delivered a poster with an attractive picture and a headline saying ‘Are you playing the game?’ This poster was meant to promote the concept of ‘customer delight.’ The management wanted to include customer delight in the next year’s appraisals. The poster was handed out to each employee while they were walking out of this year’s appraisal.

Internal CD/DVD-

With multi media presenting exciting opportunities, it can be creatively used as well. A CD/DVD with animations, music, etc. can work wonders for the internal marketing campaign. Add to it a little quiz or contest and see the response growing. A stirring message from the Chairman can be included as well.

Memos-

I am not talking about the routine boring memos. You can put your creativity to use and come out with some stunning effects in the inter office memos. The HR or the marketing departments can create some innovative messages and spread them across the organization.

Intranet-

The use of internet is an integral part of the daily work life of any executive, doctor or even para-medic staff. Some hospitals have their own intranet. Internal e-mails can be a potent internal marketing weapon. Again, the message being spread has to have the ‘value’ and ‘uniqueness’ for it to get noticed and passed on. In absence of intranet, e-mail can be used.

Events-

This one can tilt the balance from non-acceptance to swearing by the idea single handedly. If you are able to think of some ground-breaking events to promote an idea, there is nothing like it. GNRC Hospitals has a customer delight day every month. It is an event to which the entire staff looks forward to, and so does the management. The staff participates in the event with full vigor and passion.

Opinion Leaders-

Every organization has some opinion leaders. They may not be the union leaders, but nevertheless, their opinions and suggestions are valued by their colleagues. They may be people who command respect due to their experience or attitude or both. It is useful to identify such people in your hospital. They can be of great help to propagate the thoughts of the management to the employees.

Merchandise-

Recently at an airport I saw an Air Deccan employee wearing his uniform t-shirt with some message written behind it. The message read- ‘no rest till we are the best.’ I think it is a good way to inspire your staff for a cause. Merchandise can be used. We can have pens, key chains, caps, badges, t-shirts, etc. with the internal marketing message written on them. The message has to effective enough to create a buzz and a liking for the idea.

Take External Help

For designing a massive internal marketing campaign, an agency or consultants can also be hired. The creative aspect becomes easier and more convenient. Since they will be promoting the idea, the staff will view it differently. A neutral person sometimes has more acceptance than an insider.

Lastly…
With this article I have tried to add another dimension to marketing. External marketing is not the only form of marketing that exists. We can get all the customers we want, but it will be detrimental to have all those customers if we are not equipped to deliver on our promises and their expectations. Let us make our hospitals ‘market worthy’ before marketing them. Let us win our own people before setting out to win the world.

Vivek Shukla
mail@vivekshukla.com
Healthcare Marketing Consultant

This article has been published in Express  Healthcare - www.expresshealthcare.in