Swaay.Health Days 2 & 3
Remember last week when I did a #SwaayHealth Day 1 Recap and had BIG plans to do that for Day 2 and Day 3? You definitely don’t recall this…but I sure do, and alas, that was a memory of last week. {Dear Marketer, Choose your own adventure and insert your “best of intentions,” or “never-ending to-do list,” or your own “go-to reason” here. 😆}
I have big plans to share a couple deeper dives on a few sessions (and hopefully by putting it out to the internet, I’ll hold myself to it?!). So often throughout last week, I caught myself nodding my head, or remembering a time where I was in a similar situation, or jotting down questions to ask. Here’s hoping the notes make it out of my OneNote and notebook (note to self: pick one or the other next year). But in the meantime, Day 2 and Day 3 highlights!
Day 2: Steve Lieber's Keynote, A New Model for Healthcare Innovation
H. Stephen Lieber Steve Lieber, former HIMSS CEO, shared the stage with John Lynn during a fireside chat that covered many topics around the evolving landscape of healthcare technology. Steve's latest project is the new Smart Hospital Maturity Model (SHMM), a free service designed to benchmark health systems across categories that align with the vision of a smart hospital. With impressive results in just one year, Steve’s model has started gaining traction in the healthcare community, certainly building on the trust he’s built over the last couple decades.
I’ve known Steve's name from from a previous job where we were global partners with HIMSS. That’s where I first learned about the EMRAM model, an integral part to our marketing messaging at that company because of the uniqueness of having certified EMRAM instructors on staff. Talk about a differentiator! This model, and many other initiatives, were developed under Steve’s leadership. I never had the chance to meet him in person before, so after his session, I made sure to seek him out. It was great chatting with him about the SHMM, and I saw clear synergies between his benchmarked categories and our Panda Health digital health domains. (Steve, you’re definitely on my list to follow up with!)
Day 2 Highlights
Selling to Hospitals? Stop Falling Into These 7 Marketing Traps
Colin Hung's tips were spot on to avoid common mistakes that marketers make. The CIO has veto power – but is NOT the internal champion. And, stop using “the best,” or any other big claims. Colin also emphasized that trust and clear, jargon-free communication to successfully navigate the healthcare buyer’s journey.
Accelerating Business Growth: Leveraging Conferences with Omni-Channel Marketing Strategies for Success
Brittany Quemby, Tiffany Burnett, Jamie Gier, and Jacqueline Trombley shared valuable strategies on in-person engagement and brand awareness at conferences. I loved Jaime’s message around “creating experiences that people will remember” – and strive for the “memorability factor.” Along the same lines, Jackie shared that customer outreach (and time spent with them!!) is critical. The goal? When they get on the plane, they are thinking about YOUR organization. Finally, always a good reminder that trust-building can outshine traditional selling techniques.
What Marketers Need to Know About the State of Digital Health ROI
In our ROI in Digital Health session, Rebecca Nadeau, Mike Mosquito, CHCIO, MBA, PMP, CDH-E, and I explored how hospital leaders define and measure ROI, focusing on the balance between hard ROI (financial savings) and soft ROI (like patient outcomes and clinician satisfaction). We discussed how vendors often overemphasize financial returns, but hospital decision-makers are equally concerned with the long-term impacts of patient engagement and experience.
One key takeaway was that CFOs are prioritizing patient experience over revenue and cost savings, which is a consideration in how marketers should communicate ROI. In fact, only 25% of hospital leaders trust vendor-reported ROI claims, and 59% say those promises fall short more than half the time. In this healthcare climate, it's critical to align vendor messaging with hospital priorities to build trust (just like Colin's session!) and demonstrate true value.
Shout out to Rebecca for CRUSHING her first time on stage!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Dinner with New Friends!
Is there a better way to connect than over a casual dinner and drinks after a day full of conference sessions? It was great to share a meal with Jaime Lira, Amy Hamilton, Jen Fontanella, Chris Mack, and 🦄 RaShea (Shea) Drake! RaShae and Chris were in the first-time meet up session, so it was extra nice to be able to learn more about their backgrounds and how they got to Vyne Medical. Jen is their leader, and had a speaking session that was unfortunately at the same time as my panel! We commiserated that we each wanted to attend the other’s. Jen, be on the lookout for a text to coordinate sharing our panels virtually, K?
Thanks to the group for a fun dinner, and so glad the nice hotel shuttle driver waited for us. Good job, RaShae for telling him “they are on their way!” 😆
Day 3: – Awards, the Favorite Customer Panel, and Unconferences
I’m the one who is “already sad because it’s almost over” on day 1 of the conference...so the last day is definitely bittersweet. There’s a mix of excitement for the final sessions but a sense of sadness knowing it’s all coming to a close.
Thursday’s lineup was packed with fan favorites, including the highly anticipated Swaay Health Awards and the ever-insightful Customer Panel. I was honored to be a co-winner of the Community Member of the Year Award with Carol Flagg! Still surprised a week later. 🥺
It was fun winning alongside Mike Mosquito, especially because last year’s Swaay was his first conference when he came with me! A HUGE congratulations to all the winners, including Sara Strom, Christopher Kunney, FHIMSS, eFACHDM, MSMOT, Lauren Ziegler, Erica Olenski, BCPA, FACHDM🎗️✨, Evie Leal, Shereese Maynard, MS, MBA She/Her, Adam Turinas, and Grace Vinton, and Panda Health member Lee Health (what a powerful video!).
Healthcare Customer Panel
During the Customer Panel, we heard from Mike Mosquito, CHCIO, MBA, PMP, CDH-E, Brittany P., and Albert Oriol. Brittany discussed the importance of peer-to-peer connections and how technology leadership is increasingly influenced by discussions among health systems. Mike emphasized the lengthy process of introducing new technology, and Albert shared how his team plays a crucial role in the decision-making process. He also noted that cold calls have never influenced his purchasing decisions (SDRs hearts all broke a little bit at this statement), and that the decision to build in-house versus buy often comes down to whether you have the resources and the problem at scale. Finally, panelists shared their favorite sources of information, including Becker's Healthcare, 229Project, and even even TikTok (!), reflecting the shift toward digital engagement in healthcare.
And then, after an unconference session outside with beautiful views to close out the day, SwaayHealth was a wrap. As usual, it was an incredible week and...I don't know about you, but I'm already looking forward to next year back in Foxborough! The morning runs will look a little different without the Pacific Ocean, but it's not about the location, it's about people. 🩷💜