Testimonial Advertising: Is there a place for it in medical marketing?

Tread carefully here. Truth in advertising is paramount for any marketing effort, and truth plus believability is even more paramount. Without both the benefits you might expect to get from investing in a testimonial driven marketing program will do more than just fail - it will produce negative results.

However, on the upside of the limitations on testimonial ads is the fact that they can be effective when handled correctly. For example, ads that illustrate real outcomes for real patients meet the truth/believability criteria and work well. They work even better when they are based on third party certification. This is best seen in marketing campaigns by hospitals that use case histories to document actual success rates for particular procedures. Additionally, testimonials work well when they use favorable quotes by one qualified healthcare professional about another physician or practice. This was done exceptionally well by a plastic surgeon in New York City. His marketing materials contained favorable quotes from a book about plastic surgery for women which was written by another doctor. In it, the author documented favorable patient comments about his caring attitude and exceptional surgical outcomes. However a word of caution is advisable if testimonials are being considered for your marketing campaign. Please remember that you cannot - by law- say in a direct manner that you or your services are better than the competition - be it some other physician, medical group, or institution. You can, however, always point to improved outcomes as a valid, and believable indication of your professional expertise and capabilities.