Hospital Branding

A short, but telling post.  At every branding conference during the last 10 years, Starbucks has been used as an example of die-hard brand loyalty.  The hypothetical question asked was:  "If the economy ever turned upside down, what item would you least give up?"  "A cup of Starbucks" was always the answer.  People felt that at $2.50 or so a cup, it would still give us a taste of luxury in tough times. Well, guess what.  Starbucks has closed and will close hundreds of stores, its stock has been grinded down, and the famed "experience" is now realized while grocery shopping or pulling up in the "Drive Thru."   The lesson?  Real fans put their money where their mouths are.  The rest of us are quick to find less costly alternatives that still satisfy the basic needs.  Now that's something to think about.

In 1993, Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles wrote another book in their series of short reads covering the "One Minute Manager" to organizing for greater corporate efficiency. One of their best selling titles, "Raving Fans, Revolution in Customer Service" caught the interest of many of us in the service sector. In the classic marketing behavior model, our job as brand-builders is to move customers from awareness of our product/service to loyal users. Along the way, we create preference, likeliness to use, and advocacy. And then we all talked about moving loyal users to fans...customers who would throw themselves on a sword for our services and recommend us to all their friends and neighbors. Back then, it was all talk because it was difficult to quantify a "fan base." It sounded right in theory. Hello 2009 and social networking sites like Facebook. Now, it's possible to count your fans and gauge your effectiveness in truly creating a fan base for...

Think icebergs. Nearly 90% of their mass floats below the surface, leaving just 10% (or the tip) in our view. The expression tip of the iceberg implies “a small indication of a larger possibility,” according to Wiktionary . Now think taglines. Nearly 90% of the work, process, and strategy used to develop these three to six words are below the surface and unseen by the consumer’s eye. And a tagline is a short indication of a larger promise. The point (or tip) I’m offering here is this: A tagline is what consumers hear and see about your brand through advertising and other communications efforts. Yet 90% of your brand’s promise is delivered under the surface or internally in your organization. And that can make your brand swim or sink. In many hospitals, taglines are thrown together to complement a new Web site design or business card. Often, they are bland and not very memorable. Predictably, they include several words that shouldn’t be used by hospitals: “care,” “exceptional,” “a...

I want to try a vegetable garden this spring, so I bought a ready-made kit to get some small plants rooted this winter. And naturally, that made me think of the next wave of health care branding! Seriously. Establishing “brand roots” is Brand 2.0 – brand management in health care. While marketing communicators can’t control every aspect of the customer experience, we can help to establish “brand roots” throughout the organization to nurture the living, breathing brand. A brand position is not an end in itself; it needs continuous feeding, care, maybe even some pruning, to keep it alive, energized and growing. This organic process means helping employees answer questions like: -- What does our brand mean in my daily routine? -- What if I don’t even work with patients or the public? How do I “live the brand”? -- What do I do if I see a gap between our brand promise and a patient’s experience? Who do I turn to? Is there a way to bridge these gaps? For the marketing communications team, th...

This is an idea we were talking about during a meeting today - it involves hospitals being true to their brand and not sabotaging with false claims.  Watch for this next week! Rob

I was enjoying lunch yesterday with a client who recently joined her organization.  We were discussing brand-building and the differences between the strategic version and the tactical approach. Where she came from, branding was all about the latter.  New colors, a different logo, and yet another round of graphic standards.  And that was it.  She left, in part, because of her frustration with the organization and its lack of a strategic branding approach.  Not just slapping a new coat of paint, but creating a new foundation! We talked about the strategic approach - whereby the entire organization either changes or is re-energized by a brand strategy. The strategic approach includes an understanding of your market, customers, competition, and the Mission of the organization.  Then it evolves into a brand story which can be told to the marketplace, both internal stakeholders and external customers.  After the story is tested for relevance, THEN it's time for the painter to apply the ...

So, I've been thinking.  Better said, reminiscing.  About the days in advertising when taglines really meant something and became the "springboard" (had to use that word) for execution.  In fact, the tagline was the connection between the strategy--->BIG IDEA---->Tagline--->Execution.  This formula - if there can be such a thing in this business - at least insured the advertiser that whatever was being said about the company it was at least strategically based. Think of your favorite tag - who else can put their name on it?  When it's done right, no other brand!  In fact, they really are BRAND lines, not taglines. In hospitals, there are seven deadly words to include in your tag line - not quite like George Carlin's (RIP) list, but important nonetheless:  Care, There, Close, Amazing, Us, Comfort, Rank, and Hospital.  Look for the article on this in HealthLeaders Marketing Advisor.   www.healthleaders.com What I don't understand is how many marketers -...