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Healthcare marketing for private practices, clinics and hospitals in the UK and beyond

LiveseySolar Practice Builders has a core competency in healthcare marketing and proven track record in the private healthcare marketplace in the UK. Rod Solar and Laura Livesey have been providing services in the UK healthcare marketplace since 2002. They have acquired more than 50 different accounts including well known organisations such as Spire Healthcare and the NHS. Prior to this, they worked in the Canadian and US healthcare markets starting in 1997. The company’s reputation in the private healthcare industry is well known, and the strong case studies and track record the company has in the industry is a result of consistent and proprietary approach to building healthcare businesses. Today, LiveseySolar shares its hard-earned expertise with clients in 14 countries across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.

A short history of LiveseySolar Practice Builders

Shortly after completing his bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Rod Solar began studying Sports and Leisure Management at the University of British Columbia in 1994. Half a year into the program, he met Laura Livesey, who was completing a degree in Biochemistry. It was at this point that they decided to speak of themselves in the first person.

Sharing a common interest in marketing and an entrepreneurial spirit, we spearheaded a few event marketing projects at UBC. This is where we first learned about directing a complex project, delegating tasks to a team and communicating to our market about the benefits of our events.

Learning from those who had travelled there before

After finishing our studies, we engaged in a full-time 6-month program aimed at teaching business start-up skills to young would-be entrepreneurs. We learned as much about business planning, market research, sales and marketing, and accounting and finance that could be taught without the benefit of real-world experience. And, we met heaps of successful and failed entrepreneurs who generously gave their time to share their enlightening entrepreneurial experiences. One of the highlights of the program was a business plan competition that was open to everyone in the province. Our 2nd place finish in that contest, impregnated us with the confidence to jump head first onto the entrepreneurial roller-coaster.

Our early clients: rich in dreams; poor in cash

We founded our little graphic design and marketing communications partnership in 1997 in Vancouver, Canada. Our first clients were micro-businesses, like us. Our first client was a shiatsu massage therapist, then an allergy specialist, an then an outdoor leadership consultant – these early clients were rich in dreams, but poor in cash. It was then we learned how to accomplish something with almost nothing and that spending more money wasn’t the only way to get results. Our initial accomplishments with these clients were good enough to be hired again and recommended forward. We built our first website, for the British Columbia Association of Kinesiologists in 1997. They updated it a decade ago.

Catching a few big fish in a small pond

Over the next couple of years, our network and reputation spread. Soon, we noticed our early healthcare marketing clients recommending us to their friends in other, more established, healthcare businesses. Our efforts culminated in working on major website development projects with some relatively high profile clients like the BC Cancer Agency, The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and GlaxoSmithKline. This was only a couple of years into our fledgling entrepreneurial adventure. It was around that time when we first started teaching e-commerce courses in at Langara College. To my amazement, our students included representatives from huge companies like VISA, EDS and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. We knew then that we were on to something big.

And then, London called

The dotcom bubble climactically imploded in March 2000 and nearly everyone in the internet business started running for cover. We began working with the London Vision Clinic in 2002 as a result of our earlier successes with Dr Hugo’s Sutton’s successor to LASIK Vision; LASIK Eye Centres. It was meant to be a 6-month engagement. Instead, our relationship with our first client in London developed into a long-term commitment to the private healthcare sector in London, and to UK in general.

We maintained, broadened and deepened our relationship with the London Vision Clinic, while amassing a client list that features the best that British private healthcare has to offer, including engagements with Spire Healthcare, private ventures initiated by the National Health Service, and Optimax Eye Clinics. Our work then led us into a wide-range of medical specialties including – cosmetic dentistry, plastic surgery, hair loss treatments, chiropractic, sexual health, fertility, ophthalmology and of course, laser eye surgery.

Our clients and our team goes international

In 2009 and 2010, we were invited to design and deliver a 5-day healthcare marketing course in Dubai, by the Institute for International Research (IIR). This introduction to the middle east market generated opportunities for us to work with hospitals and clinics based in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Around the same time, we were invited to deliver short workshops at international medical conferences in England, Spain, Germany and France, offering their first seminars in healthcare marketing. As a result, we have consulted with clients based in the United States, Germany, Denmark and Estonia.

In 2011, we were invited to visit the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology in Kathmandu, Nepal to investigate the feasibility of opening laser eye surgery facilities in Nepal, and potentially in other locations in the developing world.

Today, we work with a multi-disciplinary team based in the UK, Germany and South Africa – working together over using internet tools for nearly every aspect of our business.

LiveseySolar appreciates that the healthcare marketplace in the UK is growing and competitive:

• Private health care grew by 5.6% to reach an estimated value of £25.81 billion in 2008. The value of the market is forecast to increase to £32.62 billion in 2013, a growth of 63.2% compared with 2004 (Reuters, 2009 – however, these figures may have changed slightly because of the effect of the recession.)
• There is currently a limited financial supply for the National Health Service as the Government is running a very high budget deficit.  NHS patients are likely to switch over to the private health care if the provision of NHS care does not meet their needs (Telegraph, 2009).
• The UK’s population is predicted to increase to 64.3 million by 2018. If the trend continues the population could reach 71.6 million by 2033 (National Statistics, 2006). The natural cause in the rise in population is due to the increase in life expectancy, and increase in the number of births. The increase is related directly or indirectly to migration. Increase in life expectancy will increase the need for private health care.
• In the UK customers’ expectations are increasing, research in the area of the marketing services has shown that customising services has become increasingly important in recent years as a means of satisfying and exceeding customers’ expectations (Rust, 2006).
• According to Mintel (2007) the value of the cosmetic surgery market increased, by 534% between 2002 and 2007. Furthermore, Mintel predicts that the market will reach 2.5 billion in 2012 which represents another increase of 174% from 2007.

Here are some general statistics about our clients:

• Highest turnover account: £30M / Lowest: £50K
• Highest head count account: 200 / Lowest: 1

Our expertise spans across the healthcare marketplace

We recently pulled a comprehensive list from our database of the type of healthcare businesses that benefit from our medical marketing systems:

1. Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Physiotherapists
2. Alternative Treatments and Therapy Centres
3. Pilates and Yoga Centres
4. Spas
5. Beauty salons
6. Massage Therapy Clinics
7. Dermatologists
8. Sleep clinics
9. Dentistry (private general and cosmetic)
10. Health Clubs and Personal Training
11. Travel Clinics
12. Fertility IVF Clinics
13. Private GP’s
14. Health Tourism
15. Eldercare and Nursing Homes
16. Health insurers
17. Private Hospitals
18. Hearing Centres
19. Pathology Services
20. Screening clinics
21. Scanning clinics
22. Medical Specialties
23. Cosmetic / Plastic Surgeons
24. ENT surgeons
25. Foot and ankle surgeons
26. Gastroenterologists
27. Gynaecologists and obstetricians
28. Hip surgeons
29. Knee surgeons
30. Neurosurgeon
31. Oncologists
32. Ophthalmic surgeons
33. Orthopaedic surgeons
34. Shoulder and elbow surgeons
35. Sports injury surgeons
36. Urologists
37. Vascular surgeons