Have you looked at your CGM lately?

CGM, sounds like a disease. Well, it can be. It can be unknown. It can be helpful. It can be harmful. It can be your best friend or your worse enemy. Do you even know what it is?

Is your marketing department aware of CGM? Can they even tell you what this means?

Simply put if you do not know what CGM means you and your hospital, physician practices, or any healthcare setting is at risk.

CGM means Consumer Generated Media. It means that in the age of the Internet, disgruntled patients, unhappy employees, media, anybody- can write about their experiences, post photos, interview and show to the world how good or bad you are.

Anyone with a computer and Internet connection can create CGM. Won't matter if what is written is true or false. The world does not care. But those who read it will believe it.

Scroll through this blog and you will find plenty of examples of CGM: Silver Cross Hospital; Agfa Healthcare; Adventist; State of Illinois; etc.

Look at: Comcastmustdie.com; Ihatedell.net; Technorati.com; Youtube.com; MrConsumer.com, all examples of CGM. And it could be you tomorrow.

If you don’t know what your consumers are saying about you, or what your competition is saying for that matter, you are losing control of your brand.

You operate in a virtual marketplace.
Consumers know more than about you than you realize.

You lose in a CGM fast-break. Disgruntled patient or discharged employee creates Consumer Generated Media. CGM is picked up by media- print and electronic. You won’t even know what hit you. You lose control of your brand and message.

Welcome to the age where customers are the new paparazzi.

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