Hospital Branding

Many years ago, when I was on the client side of B2B marketing fence, our messaging beat its chest about how our product was bigger, better, faster, stronger and could make our customers more money. Years later, after time on the agency side of both B2B and B2C marketing, we’re seeing a massive shift in how B2B buyers at various levels need to be engaged. Sure, there’s a procurement officer that’s all about specs and cost, but we’re assuming you’d like to move up the chain a bit. Consider this B2B value pyramid from a Bain & Company study earlier this year. This illustrates from the bottom of the pyramid to the tip top: The bottom of the pyramid – where many B2B marketers stop. This is where no one wants to be – it’s commodity-land. Living on specs and price will not keep you in business. Neither will simply addressing your buyer’s economic or performance needs with features and functions. As someone recently told us, don’t talk to me about the horsepower and t...

If you aren’t already using testimonials in your healthcare marketing plans, I hope that this inspires you to do so. Testimonials are a powerful tool that can persuade potential customers to buy or use your services. In fact, testimonials could be one of the most powerful marketing tools you have! People feel more confident engaging in a relationship when they know there are other satisfied customers. Through testimonials, you can give potential patients a reason to believe and a trusted opinion from a third party. Testimonials are effective because they: Build trust . Your customers share the positive experiences they’ve had with your organization’s services. Provide feedback . Asking for testimonials is a great psychological spur to encourage companies to continually strive for their best performances—and allows quick corrections if they begin to drift off course. Aren’t “salesy.”  Because they aren’t written in your corporate voice, they stand out as unbiased and auth...

Summer is typically that season when, between vacations and short attention spans, your brand pretty much runs on autopilot.  Hello fall and the brisk change in colors and temperatures.  Suddenly, it seems that everything is due at once and demands on the marketing department have gone full throttle. Before you jump right back into it, now is the perfect time to give your brand a check-up to make sure it’s healthy, vibrant, and able to keep pace with the changing market.  The year-end is fast approaching, budgets are due, and performances will be measured. A suggested brand check-up is below and I recommend you schedule it on an annual basis.  There is just too much happening in the industry today to risk having your brand be at risk for the ills of “same ol’, same ol’.” Cleanse, clear your head, and breathe : The best prep and start for your brand check-up is to clear your head and breathe.  There are several hospital marketing conferences coming up (S...

Branding in healthcare organizations is still predominantly associated with how and where consumers see your brand.   It could be digitally, on traditional media, or your brand architecture displayed on signs and buildings.   But the total brand experience goes well below “see” level and must immerse your stakeholders in order to drive preference and create consumer loyalty.    The emergence of immersive marketing and its impact on brand value has caused marketers to recognize the value of being sensory driven as much as data driven.   The Huffington Post recently surveyed 1,600 companies and learned that 84% believe that experiential marketing activities and events are important, or very important to their organizations.    One of the companies that responded added,   “people are inherently social, and there is nothing that can make a more powerful statement about your brand than the ability to bring people together physically through immersi...

Branding in healthcare organizations is still predominantly associated with how and where consumers see your brand.   It could be digitally, on traditional media, or your brand architecture displayed on signs and buildings.   But the total brand experience goes well below “see” level and must immerse your stakeholders in order to drive preference and create consumer loyalty.    The emergence of immersive marketing and its impact on brand value has caused marketers to recognize the value of being sensory driven as much as data driven.   The Huffington Post recently surveyed 1,600 companies and learned that 84% believe that experiential marketing activities and events are important, or very important to their organizations.    One of the companies that responded added,   “people are inherently social, and there is nothing that can make a more powerful statement about your brand than the ability to bring people together physically through immersi...

Only 10 years ago, MySpace was the king of the social network hill, and Facebook was still primarily for students. Back then brands were still trying to reach their target audiences in the traditional ways, and we had no concept of forging the dialogs and close connections with our target audiences that we can develop today. Responding in real-time to those audiences was just a pipe dream. Fast forward to 2015 – having a social media presence is no longer a “nice to have,” but is now a definite “must have.” And in order to make the most of our presence on social networks, build a strong brand and effectively manage our social media accounts, we’ll need to do more than just create great content, we have to do some social listening and have a dialog as well. Top 5 reasons to monitor brands on social media 1.     Powerful marketing analytics Social media listening helps uncover a myriad of powerful statistics. By tracking social media metrics, brands can deter...

Great brands make a promise to consumers and deliver real value.  They go beyond "feature/benefits" and improve the way we feel, perform, and enjoy life.  Think about your favorite brands and the messages they communicate; most likely one or more of these lofty platforms are covered. A recent consumer study was conducted to peel back benefits and uncover what really drives consumers to certain brands.  These are called "heartbeat" brand attributes because they, well, make hearts beat with excitement, passion, and hope. In the 2014 "Heartbeat Brand" survey, conducted by Springboard Brand & Creative Strategy, consumers (N=225) were asked, "How important are the following characteristics of a heartbeat brand?"  The top three that emerged as "very important/important" were: Reflects a personal passion           69% Improves health and well-being    66 Expands my knowledge               ...