Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic

“The 100-Year Brand” of the Doctors Mayo

Mayo Clinic is the world’s first nonprofit “medical group practice”; it is also one of the largest. Patients and their families hold it in high regard as a “medical mecca” where they can get clear, authoritative answers few other health facilities can provide. More than 90% of its patients report that they speak highly of Mayo, serving as the organization’s word-of-mouth marketers.

Dr. William Worrall Mayo opened his medical office in Rochester, Minnesota, in the late 1800s. His sons, Dr. William J. (“Will”) Mayo and Dr. Charles H. Mayo, eventually joined the practice, carrying on their father’s vision, values, and focus on infrastructure and corporate culture. By the 1880s, their practice was already well known as a place where settlers new to the region could obtain medical care. By 1914, when the practice took the name Mayo Clinic, its reputation for quality care had spread. Word of mouth was so effective that Mayo didn’t rely on marketing staff until 1986. Mayo Clinic grew by absorbing other hospitals in Rochester. In 1986, it added a campus in Jacksonville, Florida. In 1987, it opened its Scottsdale, Arizona, campus. All...