AMMS News

Healthcare Marketing Conference | SPARK

January 20, 2021

Are you ready for SPARK 2021?

The Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) has existed for over 50 years with a dedicated focus on the business of radiology, and connecting members nationwide to valuable industry insights. RBMA provides annual support and learning opportunities for healthcare professionals working in radiology which include The Annual Meeting, Online Seminars, and Specialty Seminars which focus on one specific topic in depth. As members of RBMA, our employees attend multiple events throughout the year for both networking & educational development. One particular seminar is our marketing team’s favorite, and that is the specialty seminar SPARK. This marketing seminar gathers radiology marketers from all around the United States for the leading annual conference focused on radiology marketing.

What is RBMA Spark?

SPARK is the leading annual conference focused on radiology marketing held annually by RBMA. The 2021 meeting will begin on July 22nd in Denver, Colorado. The conference will focus on social media, physician liaison, and general marketing with three days full of educational sessions. The sessions begin with an opening keynote and include topics such as; “Creating Social Media Content with a Purpose,” “Positioning Your Physician Liaisons for Success,” “The science of Social Media,” among many more. SPARK understands that year after year healthcare conferences can get dry, and boring which is why 85% of the speakers this year have never presented at SPARK before. RBMA is not only a learning opportunity but also a great networking opportunity for anyone who attends which is why we would recommend this conference to all radiology marketers.

Read about one of our employee’s experience at SPARK!

I arrived in Nashville Tennessee and could hear the country music as soon as I left the airport. Getting to the hotel, I see many are right in the middle of preparation for the 2018 CMT Awards. Only slightly out of my element, I go to my room and get dressed for the SPARK Introduction dinner. While there I was greeted with a friendly smile from Dianne Keen, the director of business development at Northside Radiology Associates. She introduced herself and once I told her this was my first time here her excitement increased as she explained how helpful this program would be.

The next day started the first of two days to be educated in all aspects of radiology marketing. First up was a speech by Psychologist Kit Yarrow who spoke of the importance of being able to adapt as a company, and understanding the malleable brain, how graphs should substitute random statistics and the influence of pictures over a block of text. At this point, I already knew I was going to learn many things during my time here.

The following day I heard from Tina Rudisill president of Marketing Works for over 30 years and Gail Schwartz who has over 20 years in healthcare marketing experience. They discussed ways on how to keep traditional marketing in a digitally marketing world and the benefits of a balanced approach. We learned about how radio, print, and social media could all be used to impact company growth. Another important topic was the importance of having a radiologist present during client visits when possible. The radiologist presence allows the ability of questions to be answered by the physician offering their first-hand experience and knowledge.

As the courses went on throughout the days, I learned about showing empathy where needed, connecting with potential customers, and making our info easily accessible to customers or clients. Discussions about conquering your anxiety when changing your marketing strategies also stuck out to me personally. We also discussed how as marketers we have to bring the “hype” for our product or service which sets the expectation, but it has to match experience this gets you not only clients but clients with a longevity relationship.

The information I received while attending RBMA Spark 2018 was unmatched! From Analyzing Google analytics data and SEO to learning about what will not work when marketing for a radiology practice, I firmly believe that all beginning and seasoned marketing individuals should attend this annual event. SPARK was by far the best learning experience I have had from the friendly people to the wealth of information, and I firmly believe that if you are in radiology marketing, you need to attend RBMA Spark.