If you haven’t already signed up for this week’s HCIC: Backstage Pass presentation to be held on Wednesday, May 22, you’ll want to be sure to sign up today! At 12 noon CDT this Wednesday, Stephanie Cannon will discuss “Developing Interactive Scorecards That Make Sense to Your ‘C-Suite.’” The session, which will run until 1:15 p.m., is one of the “ROI and Business Value” topics that will be presented over the next few months during this Webinar series.

Stephanie, who is Director, Web Communication & eBusiness, at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, will present a case study from her organization demonstrating how scorecards have been adapted to the work of marketing and PR professionals and are being used for client management and C-suite communication. She will explore the fundamentals of scorecard development, effective goal-setting and presentation strategies.

You can register for all five series presentations for $375 if you do so by May 22. After that date, the sessions will be $95 each. Each session is a Webinar so all you need to do is block off the time on your schedule and get an Internet connection and a comfortable chair. And if your plans should change after you register, don’t worry – you can get a recorded copy of the live session within a week of the original presentation.

And don’t forget next month’s presentation on June 19: “Marketing Physicians via the Web and Social Media,” presented by Christine Bon, Senior Web Specialist, and Jonathan Fine, Director, Web Services, at Advocate Health Care in Oak Brook, IL.

Last month, I talked about how mobile devices and technology are overtaking the digital landscape. An earlier AP article follows this theme in discussing the disappointing launch of Windows 8. Well, disappointing to Microsoft, if to no one else.

What was supposed to be Microsoft’s answer to the burgeoning number and influence of mobile devices has turned out to be anything but that. The overhaul of Windows was intended to bring the look and feel of the software that powers many mobile devices to PCs and laptops. Unfortunately, Microsoft didn’t count on PC users being resistant to such a major change.

For one thing, Windows 8 is designed to work with touch-sensitive screens. But for PC users who don’t already have touch screens or who aren’t willing to spend the extra dollars to obtain it, there’s a significant learning curve involved with trying to navigate the new software with a mouse. And, for users who aren’t very familiar with the touch-screen utility of Smartphones and/or tablets – and there are still quite a few of those folks around – navigating Windows 8 can feel like trying to sew a delicate embroidery piece while wearing thick, heavily-lined mittens.

For those on the fence about moving to a tablet, Windows 8 may well push them in the direction of a mobile device instead of another PC. With the latest sales figures showing a continued decline in the number of PCs and laptops sold during the first three months of 2013 (this is the 4th consecutive quarter for declining PC sales), a poor showing by Windows 8 does not bode well for Microsoft or other hardware and software companies. Companies such as H-P, Dell, and Intel are at a crucial decision point.

In the meantime, we as marketers, need to stay on top of the state of technology. Although not quite there yet, mobile technology is headed toward a dominant market position. The questions to ponder:

• Do we take an “all or nothing” approach with mobile and focus all of our digital efforts in that direction?
• Do we take a Mobile First approach and use mobile design as a launching pad for other sites?
• Should we still be mindful that not everyone is on board yet with mobile as their primary means of digital communication?

The answer for your organization likely depends on the demographics of your market area. Your Web analytics can help you make the most appropriate strategic decision for right now. But, make a habit of watching the mobile access trends to your sites, as many of our clients are already seeing nearly half of their Web volume coming from mobile devices. The tipping point is near.

How is your organization proceeding?

It’s hard to believe it is almost May, but I am looking forward to our first Webinar of 2013 later this month. It features Stephanie Cannon, Director of Web Communication & eBusiness for Nationwide Children’s Hospital talking about Scorecards for eHealth initiatives.

Developing Interactive Scorecards That Make Sense to Your “C-Suite”

Wednesday, May 22, 2013,  Noon – 1:15p CDT

Stephanie will share with us, how, with increasing priorities and diminishing resources, you can demonstrate value to your clients and senior management. She’ll show how scorecards can be adapted to the work of marketing and PR professionals. Additionally, the age of new media presents an overwhelming number of additional data that can be incorporated into goal-setting and performance management. During this Webinar, we’ll explore the fundamentals of scorecard development, effective goal-setting and presentation strategies. This Nationwide Children’s Hospital case study will demonstrate how scorecards are used for client management and C-suite communication.

Click here for more information and to register for the Webinar,  The registration price is $95. A season pass to all five 2013 Webinars can be purchased for $375.

As we’ve covered briefly in our GreyMatters e-newsletter over the last few months, the era of Big Data is upon us. Have you wondered where marketers stand on the Big Data topic? While not healthcare specific, some answers to those questions are available.

Recently, the CMO Council and SAS published results of their cross-industry survey of world-wide marketers about Big Data. The results show that over 70% of the respondents are interested in using Big Data for predictive analytics and more than half indicated a general interest in developing a more complete online customer profile and abilities to put that profile to work.

Is Big Data and obstacle or an opportunity? Not surprisingly the majority of the respondents said its both and they’re making progress toward using it effectively. Fifteen percent (15%) indicated its “full opportunity” and they’re ready, with people and technology, to use it while 5% indicated its “full obstacle” – they don’t have the people or technology to harness data for consistent and confident decision-making. Where do you stand?

The results of this study can help us think through what we, as healthcare marketers, should be planning to do with Big Data and how to harness its value.  Things like:

• Do we have the right people?  We need a “data-guru” on our team who can not only report the statistics, but can help us think through the “what and how” questions too – what do we need / how do we harness the data / how do we use the data?
• Do we have the right tools?  We need more than just an analytical strategist on our teams; we also need the right tools. We have Web sites, content management systems and Web analytics solutions. But do we have predictive analytics solutions? Do we have systems in which to capture customer information and from which to mine the data? Are we efficient with using all of our technologies to enable decision support?

It’s time to plan for a much more customer-centric digital business strategy that is driven by analytical insight and supported by marketing technology. Our organizations will benefit from it and our customers are ready for it.

You can learn more about the study through a recent eMarketer article or download a free executive summary of the study via the CMO Council Web site; the full study can be purchased there as well.

And while I’m thinking of it – if you’re interested in participating in healthcare-specific marketing studies, let us know. Greystone’s Research Panel may be for you – learn more about it today.

The future is here. Those hand-held devices that have been wished for, written about for decades and portrayed in movies and on TV (think Star Trek, for example) are here. And not only are they here, they’re usurping the PC in rapid order.

MoovWeb recently released a Post-PC Infographic that describes a so-called “Post-PC Revolution,” which has arrived just 7 years after Bill Gates and Steve Jobs talked about the “post-PC world.”

Is your organization still struggling with “going mobile?” What are your barriers? How are you working to address those barriers? If you’re still trying to garner support for your organization’s mobile effort, here are some points to consider:

• One out of every 6.7 people on planet Earth has a Smart phone. And sales of mobile-enabled tablets are expected to increase to over 369 million by 2016, up from almost 119 million in 2012.
• In 2012, sales using a mobile device reached $4 billion for Amazon, $7 billion for PayPal and $10 billion for eBay.
• According to research firm Gartner, 2013 is anticipated to be the year that Internet access via mobile phones will overtake PC Internet access.
• If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, 79% of mobile users will abandon the site for one that is.
• Of the currently available healthcare apps, 70% are consumer-focused. The remaining apps are for healthcare professionals’ use.
• By 2018, the mobile healthcare technology market is expected to exceed $8 billion – including apps, services and devices.

It’s clear that mobile is not only here to stay, but is on the cusp of being the primary means of accessing the Internet. If your target audience has the ability to be online 24/7 and do business with your organization from wherever they are in the world, are you ready?

To meet this challenge, many of our clients employ responsive Web design, which uses a fluidly constructed Web pages that scale from handheld device displays to large, high-resolution computer displays using flexible typography, images, grids and style-sheets.

Some progressive organizations are deciding to go Mobile First. Mobile First is the idea that Web sites should be designed first for mobile devices, including only those tasks and items that Web site visitors most want – only those things that fit on a screen with 80% less real estate than the typical monitor. And then as screen real estate increases, add tasks and features based on user priority. This kind of thinking allows the organization to take advantage of the exploding growth of mobile while forcing a focus on prioritizing  content and features.

Is your organization ready for the Post-PC world? Are you considering Mobile First? Let us hear what you think.