Marketing internally
Written June 26th, 2007 by Neal LinkonThroughout my career I’ve found it hard to market the work my team does internally. That’s certainly the case at my current place of employment. I beat the drum when I can, but too much of it feels overly self-serving.
We’ve been blessed over the last few years to win an inordinate number of awards, including some for best overall site in health care. Our results are consistently terrific, and I get asked for input from other health care systems — and to speak at relevant conferences — all the time.
But the popular sentiment internally is that the web site sucks (please excuse the language, but that’s what I hear).
Being in the communications business, I know that more of our work is publicly accessible and available than most others. For example, hundreds of thousands of people see the web site each month. Only a fraction of that total sees any particular doctor in a given month. Or even sees our biggest hospital in a given month. So we’re out there, and thus subject to everybody’s opinion.
I talk about our results, and our various awards, in every venue I can find, including our employee newsletters, management meetings, etc. I even put out a monthly report on our results that goes to a lot of heavy hitters, and I know it’s read because I hear about it if it’s late. I also have people quote back the numbers to me at meetings, etc.
So what am I to do? Just grow tougher skin? I’m looking for a little internal love, and it’s hard to come by!
June 26th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Do people really say that internally?
I suppose if people are holding you up to be at the level of media, for-profit business or entertainment that a hospital website is going to lag behind. I would imagine your clients have a much higher opinion.
For me, I always look at results and how we look versus our direct competition. The web is such a visual media, despite its’ richness in content.
June 27th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Neal — I share your pain. I don’t get it directly, but I see it on surveys or sometimes as hearsay. What kills me are comments like “the site is not updated often enough.” Most always, this type of comment comes from the very people/departments who aren’t engaged. My best internal clients are also my most difficult. They want new information up; they want something updated; they have a suggestion. And you know what? Those are the best sections of the site.
So, I wonder, Neal. Are you getting these comments from people who know a good site when they see one or who actively engage you on content? If so, it seems to me that they’re worth listening to. Otherwise, as you say, maybe you (we) need thicker skin.
For what it’s worth, I think your site is great and so do my boss(es).
- Chris
June 27th, 2007 at 8:47 am
Absolutely the same problem here. Despite winning Best Overall Site not even a year ago, there are still internal members who say our site is simple, uninteresting, and just overall stinks. Of course along with those comments they always offer a, “I want it to look like x’s site.” And of course it’s a poorly developed and designed site that offers even less content than our own.
The problem for us is that, generally, we know what we’re talking about while they do not. We know what is industry standard, how efficient our structure is, and how the content markets the services. But everyone has an opinion, including those who truly don’t know what they’re talking about. Thus, we’re presented with an inherent problem: those who are making those comments are in charge of our funds (or have influence over those who do).
Ultimately it’s their opinions and nothing more that drive the future of your site. I, for one, am at a loss at how to combat this opinion-driven take-over and loss of control. There are always changes that can enhance a site, but sometimes the suggestions (and DEMANDS!) are so completely disadvantageous that it makes me wonder why a web expert was ever hired at all.
June 27th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Wow, the amount of services you provide to patients online and they think it “sucks?” I’m a failure then.
I hear “it’s not flashy” almost constantly. I agree with them and review the focus of the site, ask for input on a variety of information to better serve the parents and patients. I get a blank stare and then they ask, “we would really like to see more pictures”… *pulls hair out*
June 27th, 2007 at 11:00 am
I think we’ve all probably heard from others in our own organizations that the Web site “sucks.” I could go into the “blame game,” but that’s not very effective. One thing I have come to recognize is, more often than not, this is a completely subjective response to the aesthetics of the site and it truly has nothing to do with the information/tools/resources offered on the site.
Like others have mentioned, when I do seek constructive criticism about how or why it sucks and what we can do to improve it, I most often get blank stares or the suggestion that we add more graphics. When the suggestions aren’t simply subjective design critiques (like those that don’t like our university colors) they’re often suggestions like why don’t we have a blog, which just leads back to the Web 2.0 blogging and podcasting issues that have been discussed here in the past.
Frankly, I think that the best way to combat this is with extensive user testing and research. The reality is that most that offer feedback are not the target audience for the site. If you have research to back your decisions and statistical data to support the accomplishments of the site, the rest really doesn’t matter.
There will always be people that say the site sucks. I think it’s just the reality of the medium we work with.
June 27th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I just got an e-mail from a staff secretary in a different department whom I have never met and do not know. Suggestion on how to make the site better. Two things about this e-mail just have me all fired up: one, I would never send an e-mail to someone I don’t know suggesting to them how they could do their job better, and, two, she was right. Argh!
Sometimes, you have to put aside the anger and frustration and listen to the message. But, boy, is that hard.
June 28th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Neal,
We’ve had similar feedback in past – everyone is a web expert!
Our approach is to be pro-active – We explain the decision making process, talk about the other design options and why they were rejected. Say something like: “Our research has shown that rotating logo’s distract people from your picture”
If you have good competitive data then use that – did you know that your site is ranked number 1 by Quantcast.com out of all Wisconsin hospitals? You must be doing something right.
and most important – start gathering visitor feedback. We use a simple survey at the bottom of each page. It’s a great way to build a testimonial document and it’s very effective for your internal audience.
July 2nd, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Rest assured that we gather a ton of data to guide our site, and most of it supports the awards we’ve received. And to answer another question, sometimes it’s the people who are fully engaged who wish the site were something else, and sometimes it’s not. No pattern there.
Here’s my theory: Our employees look at the web site more often than any other audience. It looks old and “the same” to them.
Like somebody else who mentioned that people think their site isn’t flashy enough, ours is focused on meeting the needs of patients. Flashy doesn’t fit the audience, and gets in the way.
But it’s good to know I’m not the only one! Thanks everybody for sharing and making me feel better!
July 3rd, 2007 at 3:33 pm
When I was at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta I got the same kind of remarks. Patients and outside audiences loved the site and found it easy to navigate. But the internal audience complained that it was horrible.
After I redesigned and relaunched the site the complaints vanished and I got nothing but praise. Even though we did no substantial addition to the functionality of the site, the internal voices loved it. As usual the patient’s definition of quality and the healthcare definition of quality differed.
In my theory the graphic design of the site is a reflection of organizational self esteem. Quality to the internal audience is a matter of how they feel about themselves when they look at their service line’s pages. It has nothing to do with real usability and functionality.
In the end it is good to please both audiences, keeping in mind that pleasing one does not always equate to serving the needs of the other. So what do you do?
Redesign the site, have a big grand opening party and then tout your awards.