Having worked both in business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) communications settings, it’s evident many factors differentiate the two, but a lot of the guiding principles remain the same. For example, B2B in its definition requires a 100 percent complete understanding of a product or service, which in our industry is often rather complex. Whereas it’s often easier to describe a consumer product because of the personal connection. How do you sell potato chips? Taste them, describe them. How do you generate leads for your B2B client? Not quite as simple…

B2B requires relationship building at a higher and greater level, whereas B2C can often focus on quick, point-to-purchase decisions requiring less strategizing and more overt creativity. The underlying foundation for both is the same: targeting decision makers with an end goal to inform and influence action.

The following are a few important aspects of B2C communications to keep top-of-mind while entrenched in the B2B world:

1. Public Relations. Public relations in a B2B setting in its definition requires an extraordinary amount of knowledge both of your product set and also of the broader industry issues and trends. There’s less opportunity to not have the facts just right with a trade journalist, who usually also has a mastery of the subject. But don’t forget to take a look at some of the tactics B2C uses in your own strategy, such as an emphasis on creativity and tying in to trends outside of your industry, recent events and other opportunities. We’re all consumers exposed to the same issues every day beyond our jobs. With this in mind, it’s imperative to look at story ideas from the consumer perspective when moving beyond the trades to pitch at a local, regional, or national level. On the other hand, when looking at pitching to trade publications, a top level healthcare IT executive is still reading the news about the presidential debates, and if there’s a creative and smart way to tie in your story with news that affects us all, you’ll likely stand out from the crowd of other pitches.
2. Lead generation. The majority of B2B companies will say the most important part of their marketing initiatives focuses on lead generation. In B2B, companies have a tendency to lean on the conservative side when it comes down to the look and feel of their brands, and for good reason. With a subject matter so serious, there is concern about striking the right chord in a fiercely competitive environment. But there are plenty of ways to think outside the box and be bold with your brand while maintaining the strategic aspect of lead generation. For example, don’t be afraid to experiment with colors in marketing collateral that may be an unexpected choice for the industry. Again, keeping in mind the many aspects of the consumers’ lives that we are trying to reach is key to effective lead generation.
3. Social media. This is a facet of marketing that can easily get overlooked in a B2B environment, simply because many businesses working in this realm are still getting familiar with how social media initiatives can help reach their goals, and the jury is still out on how to measure results. It’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest news and trends being discussed—on Twitter, for example—no matter what the space. In fact, numerous trade editors and reporters sometimes go to Twitter first when in need of a story idea or source. As smart marketers we should use social media as another resource to form and maintain a relationship with media contacts at the very least. Just as trends get started among consumers talking about pop culture, food and the musical festival down the road on Twitter or Facebook, trends are also seen among people discussing niche markets like healthcare. And we should always be on the lookout for ways our clients can “come to the rescue” from a relevant thought leadership perspective when these opportunities arise.

At the core of these observations lies the one major point that both B2C and B2B marketing specialists must keep in mind: if you always “stay one step ahead of your brand” and remember to infuse smart strategies to take your company outside the box, you’ll be on your way to successfully meeting communications and lead generation goals in 2012.

In the latest installment of our 10^th anniversary blog series, Dodge Communications’ president and CEO is interviewed to discuss Dodge’s history over the past 10 years. To view earlier installments please click here.

Brad Dodge is president and CEO at Dodge Communications. To listen to the interview, click on his picture or view the transcript below.

Question 1: When you started the company 10 years ago, where did you think Dodge would be on its 10^th anniversary?

Brad Dodge: It’s an interesting question because we didn’t really think about that back then. We were tied up in the day-to-day activities because we were starting a new business. There were so many variables, unknowns and challenges in getting started that we didn’t really think about what the future would hold. Instead, we had to think about what each day would hold. We were doing our own client management and writing our own brochures and things, so we didn’t really think that far ahead. Frankly, we didn’t know if it would be possible to grow the company strictly in the healthcare vertical, and it wasn’t until several years later that we said, “Wow, I guess this thing really can be all healthcare.” We started to get some successes and some long-term clients under our belt, and it became clear there was a real need for these services in the B2B healthcare space; it became obvious we’d be able to grow the business that way.

Question 2: How do you think Dodge has helped shape the healthcare industry over the past 10 years?

Brad Dodge: I think we’ve helped B2B vendors really understand how important it is to have clear messages. If you have clear messages and an integrated campaign that moves those messages forward, then that helps you drive awareness and grow your company. Because a lot of our clients have new technologies, they are way ahead of the markets they serve, and it’s not so easy just to say you’re out there in the market. If you’re selling cell phones, you can say you have the coolest new cell phone because it’s got better coverage. People understand that because they already know what a cell phone is and they’re already using one. They’ve probably tried different cell phones, and they understand the value of good coverage. They know whether or not they need that because those things are easy, but when you’re selling technology like our clients are, they are selling things that people don’t know. They can’t say cell phone because their market doesn’t know what a cell phone is.

A lot of times I use a car example: it’s easy for Volvo to sell a car that is safe because people already know what a car is. If they didn’t, then it would be a different kind of challenge of how to communicate that. Helping our technology clients say, “Back up and try to understand that the marketplace doesn’t even know your product exists or that they have a need for your product, never mind why yours is the best.”  You have to approach it from a different messaging perspective, and I think that’s one thing we’ve helped the vendors do.

One other thing is that we’ve really helped and stressed the importance of reinforcing messages through thought leadership. Through blogs, social media and the types of articles and white papers we develop for our clients, we really help them understand that when a prospect goes to a website and sees all kinds of content—relevant content—that’s approached from different angles but always advances the same message, that goes a really long way. I think vendors are finally starting to understand the work we do and that having a strong thought leadership position is a real strong requisite for what they are trying to do.

Question 3: What’s the best piece of advice you could give to a client who is trying to implement and integrated communications campaign?

Brad Dodge: I think the key to that question is the word integrated, and we help our clients understand what communications is in today’s world order—the speed and diversity through which we receive information—is not consumed the same way it was when we started the business 10 years ago. There was barely an Internet, there definitely wasn’t social media and magazines were all the rage.  Today, there are so many venues to get information from, and we help people understand that they need to be engaged in all types of communication venues to get your message out. So, just pick one thing like doing a webinar—there are dozens of ways you can make your market and your followers and your audience and clients aware that’s coming up. The more types of communications vehicles you use to promote an event, the better results you’re going to get from your investment in PR and marketing.

Question 4: What are your goals for the next 10 years for Dodge?

Brad Dodge: I think we know now that the business is well-established—we have 30 employees now—and we understand what the opportunity is. We understand where we can get better, where our strengths are and how we can distinguish ourselves from competition. We have a plan that says there is going to be a great need for our types of services in the B2B healthcare industry for a long time. That’s because of all the visibility that healthcare has at the federal and global level. There will be a lot of need for what we’re doing.

The business model has been proven and now our challenge is to execute it.  We have a 10 year business plan in place that has us growing to a certain size, and we just want to continue to build on the success we have and continue to grow the way we’re growing now. We realize we are going to have to go into some adjunct markets such as a bigger expansion into medical devices or medical providers or general technology. We know there’s an opportunity for a lot of growth, and we need to approach it systematically with the best practices we have developed so far.

Question 5: What are some of the most memorable moments of Dodge’s history?

Brad Dodge: You know, I think it’s every time we have some sort of a milestone. Just having moved into this office space that we’re in now was a pretty momentous occasion. It caused us to reflect for the past years we were in the other office location and what it was like when we moved in there. It also helps us look forward as to what it will be once we settle into this space. That’s kind of one of the times that you look at it—every time you move your office.

It’s also interesting to look at the employee list from awhile ago. I’m so fortunate to have a really awesome group of people who work in the company because it’s not an easy business to be in. Healthcare and technology are pretty heady business, and for someone to thrive in an environment where they have to have an understanding in healthcare and technology and a domain expertise in integrated communications as well as the fortitude to manage multiple brands at the same time—which is the definition of an agency—really requires a different breed and a stellar person. That’s what we’ve built over the years—employees who have those skill sets. It’s really awesome to work with people who are so competent and capable, and I look back and say, “Wow, the days before we had this employee or the days before we had that employee,” are the momentous times. I think about having first started a relationship with those employees and now they are really part of the fabric of the organization.

There’s also been a lot of trips—the standard conferences like HIMSS, MGMA and AMGA—where we connect with hundreds of people we’ve worked with as clients, vendors, editors or ad reps. It’s so much fun to do an event like that and connect with all types of people. It’s one of the things I look forward to all of the time—going to events and seeing people I haven’t seen in over a year and seeing them face-to-face to have some good social time together and really reconnect.

I think there are a lot of momentous times that I remember at the agency, but they are usually celebrating the people or the milestones, and that’s what make it a momentous event.

A few weeks ago, I was in Massachusetts visiting a sick family member. This is the area where I began my healthcare sales career back in 1983, and I had a great time remembering those early days. I was a sales manager at a ComputerLand, kind of an old version of BestBuy. One of my customers developed software to manage medical practices, and they bought their PCs from my store. (By the way, just as a point of reference, these PCs either had two 5 1/4” floppy disks—one for software and one for data—or had one floppy disk and a built-in 10 megabyte hard drive. The de facto standard of the day was the IBM XT.) I quickly became enamored with software, and a short time later I took a sales position with the software company. Their name was National Medical Systems, the application was called Med-1, and they were ultimately acquired by Misys.

My territory included Worcester and Springfield, so I spent a lot of my time visiting physician practices around the large BayState Health System in Springfield and University of Massachusetts Medical Center, an up-and-coming teaching hospital in Worcester. Whenever I was in Worcester, I liked to frequent a popular diner called the Parkway. Great food, friendly employees, reasonable prices. It was at the Parkway that I learned one of my earliest, most valuable sales lessons. As I sat down at the counter for breakfast one day, lo and behold, one of my “A” prospects was sitting right next to me. What a coincidence!

After a bit of small talk between gulps of coffee, I said something like: “So, Dr. Patel, can you see how this practice management solution will make your office run more smoothly and make your office manager’s work so much easier?” I felt if I could use this time to convince him of the overwhelming merits of our application, I might even walk out of breakfast with a sale!

He replied, “I have very little interest in making my office manager’s life any easier. I already pay her well, and she should work hard for the money.” Ouch! After a little more awkward conversation, I agreed to follow up with him later, and as I was leaving the diner, I realized I had blown the sale. But I had learned a valuable lesson: I can only make the sale if I a) KNOW what the prospect’s pain points are and 2) can ease said pain. And in the software business, sometimes the market doesn’t even know they HAVE the pain your product will ease. If they DO know, do they also know there are products available to ease the pain? And if they know that, do they know that your company offers those products? And if they know that, do they know the unique value proposition that makes your product a leader in the field?

Too often, we assume we know what our prospects want, need and what will motivate them to buy. We can’t take that for granted. We need to do the research. Ask the tough questions. And gear our sales presentations to those exact needs.

On the bright side, the eggs were great.

Social media offers the promise of far-reaching, online exposure at a relatively low cost. And today in healthcare B2B marketing, having a social media program as part as your overall promotional efforts is now more likely the norm than the differentiator. But there are companies that rush into social media marketing programs without a true strategy.  They recognize the value, but  fail to map out the right amount of time, budget and other resources they will need to devote to social media activities in order for such a program to be successful. With such a low barrier to entry, it’s easy for companies to rush into social media and forget that they should still be approaching it with the same considerations that they would with any other marketing method.

BEFORE even beginning a campaign, it is important to:

1. Research the available social media opportunities and spend some time reviewing and discussing best practices for each. A little extra effort on the front end in fully understanding how you would use each tool effectively is the key to not wasting hours upon hours throughout the process with something that ends up offering little value to your objectives.
2. Know what your competitors are doing and how aggressive a strategy they have. Gauging your competitors’ involvement in social media can be a helpful consideration as a baseline when selecting how aggressive you want to be and which tools to utilize.
3. Determine the resources you can devote to cultivating your social media brand in order to see the biggest impact. Social media can only be what you make of it, and an effective online marketing program takes time and effort to build. You should limit your program to only the efforts in which you have enough time to keep up with. Nothing is worse than having a blog in which the latest post is dated several months ago.
4. Evaluate your need for outside resources. When internal time and/or expertise is limited, engaging assistance from an outside marketing and social media agency can help to ensure the process runs smoothly from start to finish. Depending on your program, the need for additional resources such as Web designers and bloggers (if not available through the marketing agency) may need to be evaluated.
5. Select responsible parties to be accountable for the program. Social media should be a focus for the whole organization, but there should be designated people who manage specific functions (e.g. blog administrator, Twitter or Facebook account representative, blog post authors, etc.).

Whatever the level of social media program, strategizing beforehand and having the right plan and approach can make a world of difference in maximizing the success of your efforts and achieving your set objectives. Even with a minimal ongoing time and resource investment, your network will grow, your brand will gain visibility, your inbound links will increase and you’ll be leveraging social media as the transformational tool that it truly is.

Looking to get more out of Twitter? Avid users and newcomers alike can easily expand their industry knowledge, stay on top of the latest trends and monitor best practices − all by following the right mix of associations, pundits and experts. Here’s a brief guide to get you started:

1. Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (@HIMSS). Few PR and marketing professionals in the health IT field aren’t affected by the current dialogue surrounding EMRs, interoperability and the related technologies. HIMSS provides valuable updates on industry events, healthcare reform and a multitude of other topics.
2. Medical Group Management Association (@mgma). If physician practices are part of your target market, this is an excellent resource for staying on top of those issues that impact physicians from a clinical, administrative and financial perspective.
3. Healthcare Financial Management Association (@hfmaorg). By following HFMA, you’ll learn how financial trends are affecting healthcare organizations. You’ll also receive results of recent studies and valuable statistics.
4. Bulldog Reporter (@BulldogReporter). While not specific to healthcare, this is a great resource for B2B PR professionals looking for news and insights to better hone their strategies for generating positive media exposure.
5. Public Relations Society of America (@prsa). As the world’s largest PR organization, PRSA offers tips on educational tools, like webinars and publications, as well as news on issues affecting those working in the field.
6. PRSourceCode (@PRSourceCode). Geared specifically toward PR professionals within the IT industry, this resource provides ways to grow your PR savvy, from Webinars to interviews with editors and industry influencers.
7. HISTalk (@IngaHISTalk). This well-read blog covers a wide range of news and opinion related to the healthcare IT industry and is a great way to hear the perspective of those professionals working in the trenches.
8. iHealthBeat (@iHealthBeat). Compiled by the California Health Care Foundation, this free newsletter combines recent headlines from a variety of news media, including healthcare trades, magazines and daily newspapers. With so much content being written about healthcare IT, it’s a simple way to scan the headlines and make sure you’re not missing something specific your unique interests.
9. The New York Times Prescriptions Blog (@NYTPrescription). Monitoring the constant activity surrounding the proposed healthcare reform is no easy task. This blog from The New York Times is a great all-in-one-source for the latest on current proposals, what they mean for various stakeholders and what the experts have to say about it.
10. AP Style Book (@APStylebook). Keeping up on the latest style rules is much simpler when you follow the AP Style Book. You can even ask the editor a question and receive a response to a specific style question.

Any others you’d add to the list? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

This Q&A is from our conversation with Jim Riley, vice president sales and marketing at Capario. We asked him to share his thoughts on the healthcare company’s recent rebranding initiative, which spanned everything from a new corporate name, logo and tagline to a new Web site, collateral materials and a comprehensive public relations campaign.

Q: Why did you select the name Capario? What brand attributes did you want to represent?
A: When we started the rebranding process, we viewed it as more than a marketing strategy – it was a company-wide, fundamental change in the way we did business. A brand personality of fresh, contemporary, innovative and unique accurately portrayed the image we wanted to reflect and the new direction we were taking.

With this in mind, we chose Capario. It had a ring to it, was free of connotation, stood out from our competitors, enabled us to purchase an easy-to-remember URL and was different than the other healthcare IT names out there.

By selecting Capario, we avoided descriptive names that would pigeonhole us into one product offering and knew our selection would allow us to evolve as the healthcare industry’s needs changed.

Q: What was the most important lesson you learned throughout the project?
A: Rebranding has a trickledown effect on every aspect of your business. It’s important to look closely at each internal piece of paper and electronic document as well as software interfaces and other client-facing items because you can be assured there is a name or a logo on everything. For example, payroll checks, 401K accounts, lobby signage, HR manuals and client enrollment forms all have to be updated. To meet deadlines and successfully re-launch your organization, it requires company-wide buy in. Every department must work with marketing to orchestrate this great effort.

Another important consideration is the legal process involved in re-naming your company. Ensuring your new name does not have trademark issues or resemble other company names in your space is vital. It’s a far larger process than you may imagine that requires patience, time and a good trademark lawyer.

Q: How did you prepare internal staff for the launch?
A: Constant internal communication was imperative as we rebranded. We wanted staff to feel like they were part of the process, promote buy in and ensure that they had the opportunity to contribute to the decisions we were making to reshape the company. Effective communication at each step of the way helped us generate a feeling of excitement and gave staff ownership of the changes we implemented from the name to collateral.

To prepare staff for external communications, we developed FAQs, talking points and other support materials for each department. We also held informational sessions with client-facing teams to prepare them for the changes and questions they might encounter from clients and prospects. Overall, our efforts seemed to pay off and made the transition as smooth as possible.

Q: How has the market responded to the new brand?
A: We feel our new brand has been well accepted in the market and that it’s a positive reflection on our approach to the way we do business.

Twitter has undoubtedly been a hot topic for quite a few months now. We know hospitals for example have been twittering during surgeries and other organizations like HIMSS have been using it to publicize Web content and upcoming events. But, what’s in it for you as a healthcare IT vendor?

The value of business-to-business and business-to-consumer conversations conducted through Twitter is hard to ignore. For example, this recent New York Times article provides insight into how many small companies have significantly grown their operations or customer base through relationships built in Twitter.

So, perhaps the value is clear, but how do healthcare IT companies make the leap? Where does one learn to ‘tweet’? How is a business supposed to successfully use the application to their advantage?

According to a New York Times blog post, Twitter is on it with a 101 guide for businesses as well as case studies showing how other organizations have successfully launched into Twitter. Perhaps that’s enough for now, but soon marketing and sales departments will be looking to justify time spent using Twitter and its ability to impact the bottom line. It only seems a matter of time before commercial Twitter accounts with bells, whistles and analytics become the next step in this new venture that’s changing the way companies think and act.

Naming a new product or company is a tricky endeavor, but when done right it can make you stand out from the rest. When done wrong, however, it can result in your company or product blending in with everything else in its category.

Further adding to the complexity of this process, estimates show that an average of 23,000 domain names are purchased daily and more than 25 million .com domains have already been registered. Finding a domain that is not only available as a .com, but is also easy to remember and matches up with your new name can be complicated.

By employing different naming techniques, you can simplify this process and open the door to more possibilities. This will not only help you stand out from the competition, but it may make it easier to find a memorable .com domain name and one free of trademark issues.

Following are a few different naming techniques to take into consideration when naming a new HIT product or healthcare company:

• Describe what your healthcare company or product does. By giving the HIT market a clear understanding of who you are and what you do, a descriptive name can help you build a strong brand. For example, everyone has a general understanding of what Healthcare Billing & Management Association does based solely on its name. Or for products, ones like MPV Contract Analysis fit this category to a T. The disadvantage to these names is that they can be difficult to trademark and legally protect since competitors are often pulling from the same limited supply of descriptive words.
• Combine words, root words or suffixes that offer meaning. Many healthcare organizations want their names to mean something, and a good way to do that is to look at Latin and Greek root words or mix and match various prefixes and suffixes. By doing so, you’ll create a fresh name that is usually free of any negative connotation. A good example is Capario, which comes from a root word for seize and a suffix meaning strength. You can also use day-to-day words like NextGen does. Additionally, these names are easier to trademark, but they generally require the support of a strong marketing and advertising campaign to give the personality and market recognition required for success.
• Suggest a feeling. This approach is a great way to create a name that is both memorable and engaging. The resulting names are often contemporary, playful and short, like Epic or Yahoo. The main challenge with this approach is identifying a name that truly reflects your company or product. They can also be difficult to pronounce and spell, which is another hurdle you’ll need to overcome.
• Draw on an experience or function. While this technique is not commonly employed in B2B markets, it’s a great way to tie emotion to your brand and garner the attention of your market. One example is RFID and bar code company Zebra, which plays off of the stripes on a zebra and those in a bar code. Unfortunately, these names can be difficult to trademark if they rely on fairly common, everyday words or experiences.

Regardless of the naming technique you choose, don’t be afraid to be creative and get away from the traditional healthcare industry names and phrases that you hear time and time again.

I’ve been reflecting on Michael Jackson amid the deluge of media coverage that started last Thursday. I’ve talked about his life with my colleagues—many of whom weren’t even born when Michael hit stride. So, my version of the Michael Jackson brand represents a sum of experiences that spans nearly 40 years, and includes the young, the good, the bad, the black, and the not-so-black. Had I not experienced the early days, my perception of the brand would be very different than what it actually is. And like this post by John Quelch on the Harvard Business Publishing blog, there are ample and insightful ideas on building a personal brand.
 
Our corporate brands face similar challenges. How do you measure your market’s up-to-the-minute perception of your brand? Think about this, the perceptions of a brand are continually changing based on company image, marketing, recent news, Web presence, industry and market opinions, etc. If you’re a 10 year-old company, but someone just learns about you for the first time, how can their perception possibly include anything from earlier years?  They’ll see your brand for whatever it is now. Think about it. If your version of Jackson’s brand is 10 years old, you may most remember him as more of a “peculiar, androgynous person constantly surrounded by controversy.” If your version of him is 40 years old like mine is, you will likely remember the entire spectrum – from the young boy in the Jackson 5 through Thriller, Billie Jean, and the moonwalk debut on Motown 25, to his worldwide iconic status as one of the most successful and influential artists in pop music and culture. Those are two very different brands. For corporate brands in healthcare, the challenge is ensuring that the current brand that you’ve built in your market is an accurate representation of who you really are.

Our takeaway as we’re trying to build formidable healthcare brands? Today?

• Your brand is measured as the sum of all experiences by each individual in your market, NOT the total brand history.
• Your brand is being shaped constantly. Consider this when you’re trying to reach new customers and retain existing customers. Those are two very different challenges.
• You don’t control your brand. The market does. You can try to influence the market, but  it decides what your brand really is.
• You can certainly leverage past successes or achievements, but it needs to be done in a very “today” kind of way. Don’t assume that something that happened when you had a 2% brand awareness makes any difference to the segment of the market that’s just now discovering you.
• You don’t need to admit you thought platform shoes were cool for guys. Most of a corporate brand’s past can stay in the past. As you continually shape your brand, leverage the strengths of your earlier brand, and distance yourself from its weaknesses.
• Try to find your industry’s moonwalk or sequin glove. For a brand to be memorable, it has to be unique.

Anthony Guerra, Editor-in-Chief for Healthcare Informatics, provides some solid tips on working more effectively with the media.

Selling is selling, and we’re all selling something. For me, I’m selling my audience, knowledge of the industry and professionalism when I try to get a healthcare CIO on the phone. I’m selling the fact that I know this industry better than any journalist out there, that I won’t ask them to define EMR or HITECH, I won’t ask them to explain the difference between acute and ambulatory, I won’t ask them what best of breed means. I’m selling the fact that I know how to get what I need from them in less than 30 minutes, I won’t misrepresent what they’ve said, and I will never write about something just so the magazine’s sales staff can book a quarter page.

How am I able to make all these assertions? First off, I’m a professionally trained journalist (something quite rare in the B2B field), I’ve got over 10 years of experience, and I’ve built a reputation for fair but tough interviewing. I research all my subjects before I even attempt to get an interview, and above all I strive not to waste anyone’s time.

Why would I expect anything less from someone trying to sell me something? Make no mistake about it, as a PR professional, selling is exactly what you’re doing. Your job is to sell me your client, to get them mentioned in the media, to spread their name far and wide as “the leading” provider of something or other. But before picking up that phone, even before sending that email, have you taken the time to find out who I am?

I’m not necessarily referring to what kind of books I enjoy, though with LinkedIn and the like, it’s amazing how much you can learn about a person (I do update my reading list on that site). I am talking about knowing what kind of pitch will work on me based on the strategic mission of the publication (who are the target readers?) and the tactical means used to deliver on it (staff written content, contributed content, or a mix?). I am talking about knowing the values and priorities of the editor you are approaching.

For example, I don’t accept contributed articles submitted through PR intermediaries. I know these articles are usually not written by the person whose byline they carry but by the person sending the e-mail the article is attached to. Other editors could care less, but it’s an absolute no-go for me. To other editors, you’ve just given them a decent two-page story to fill a hole in their upcoming issue FOR FREE, and they love you for it. That’s fine, I’m not judging anyone. That’s just not the way I work, and you should know that before you reach out.

There is one pitch that will work on me every time, and it goes something like this: “Hi Anthony, this is so and so from so and so PR, our client has just sold their system into hospital X and the CIO would be very happy to talk with you about it.” Done, set it up. You can even sit in on the call if that would be fun for you.

Actually, listening to the interview is a good idea. The sources in this industry are lifers, the best journalists are lifers too, so why would it be any different on the PR side? If everyone you deal with lives, eats and breathes healthcare IT, how much tolerance can there be for someone who, “just works here”? Sitting in on an interview can be a great way to learn the subject matter, as long as you don’t break one very important rule (see #2 below).

The point is that each editor requires a different pitch and some are more finicky than others. Before you pick up the phone, before you start pounding on that keyboard, be sure to know thy audience.

PS: As an added bonus, enjoy the following tongue-in-cheek Top 10 list. (I’ll expand on some of these in upcoming posts):

10. Approach multiple editors on staff independently with the same pitch, hoping you’ll get lucky with one.

9. Put out a release announcing that a person or group you represent is “applauding” another person or group.

8. Overdo the pleasantries if I accidentally answer my phone.

7. Address an e-mail to me as, “Dear Andrew,” or worse, “Dear Tony.”

6. Attempt to get free market research from me by “picking my brain for a few minutes.”

5. Ask if you can, “See a copy of the article before it’s published.”

4. After I’ve asked an interviewee for their contact information, interject with, “You can go through me!”

3. Call me to “follow-up on an e-mail you just sent.”

2. Answer a question while chaperoning an interview.

1. Casually mention that you are an advertiser during a pitch.