Hospital Branding

During an annual exam, your physician can get a good sense of your heart health with an EKG.   As healthcare marketers, a Brand EKG can also give you a quick read of your brand’s health.  Several years ago, this model was introduced to help hospitals, namely C-Suite representatives, understand consumer research findings and implications. As indicated above and based on the classic consumer marketing behavior model, a brand has to have established a strong sense of awareness and preference before leading to trial.  This model has been expanded to include brand attributes such as likability, intent to recommend, and other layers of behavior.  Based on an analysis of nearly 100 consumer studies, and validated by leading healthcare researchers, we concluded that a “healthy” brand EKG would have a variance of 12-15 percentage points between key indicators.  A larger number would indicate an “unhealthy” brand that is not converting on the preceding att...

We've all been in those strategic meetings with notes posted all around, flip charts turning, and colored markers crowding white boards. Working on those few, but fabulous words, that will crystalize an organizational brand and set it apart from all others in the space in which you're competing. The words will also engage internal audiences, motivate customers, and serve as the foundation for (at least) a year's worth of content and creative messaging. Someone blurts out an idea, and it sounds great. It's exactly what your organization does! Wait, that's it...it's the  definition  of your company. It  is  what you do. Having been in many hospital brand sessions, I'll use that as an example: "We care for the sick, yet help people stay well, too." Or, a home care company might suggest "we provide quality care for people (wait for it...) in their home." By definition, merely stating the obvious and reinforcing what business  you...

As the new year kicks in, there are all sorts of tips and habits to break in order to help improve your personal and professional success.  For those in healthcare marketing, here are eight bad habits that need to be broken to help fix your strategies and outcomes. Focusing on marketing and not business building Marketing in many healthcare organizations still lands on the promotional side of the equation.  Successful marketers are those who understand the growth goals of their organization and develop strategies, beyond campaigns and clicks, to generate revenue and support new customer acquisition        2. Developing the wrong dashboards You know you’re too focused on the promotional side of things when your marketing “dashboard” consists of primarily digital terms that leave the C-Suite in the dust.  When you include business metrics, too, your dashboard will truly provide a snapshot of your organization’s marketing success in te...

When it comes to reaching and motivating consumers, healthcare marketers face a double “whammy.” First, studies show that the average person is exposed to 7,500 brand messages and marketing content every day.  The School of Human Sciences and Technology estimates that people switch between screens up to 21 times an hour. As a result of this overload, the average person’s attention span is eight seconds! What makes this even more complicated for healthcare marketers is the second whammy; making healthcare messaging engaging, simple, digestible, and differentiating in less time than it takes to say “multi-disciplinary, comprehensive, continuum of care.” As healthcare systems continue to grow adding new capabilities, physician practices, and other services, messaging becomes more complex – all the while consumers are giving them less time. Here are 8 ideas on how you can manage the “8 Second Rule” for healthcare brands A long-time colleague, copywriter and tagli...

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...

I had the pleasure to present at the SHSMD Connections conference in Seattle a few weeks ago.  My co-presenter, and fellow disruptor, Paul Szablowski and I were thrilled to see a full house for our session, as healthcare marketers were eager to learn business lessons from the hit reality television show “ Shark Tank .”  And, at a time when marketers are under constant scrutiny from their CEO’s to demonstrate value and Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI), walking into a shark tank each time budgeting and annual planning rolls around is all too much a reality. Here’s a recap of our presentation, “ Lessons from the Shark Tank .”  If it leaves you swimming with questions or additional thoughts, I look forward to hearing from you. The Waters are Murky for Marketers Marketers in all industries are facing intense pressure to perform for their organization.  Many studies suggest that there is definitely a realignment needed between the C-Suite and marketin...

Your website is the hub of your digital marketing strategy.  It is the place where patients, members and influencers want to learn more about your organization.  While many medical product and service companies have an online presence, they don’t think of search engine optimization (SEO) while building it or even after the site’s been developed to maintain it.  A website can look great, but if it’s not built for SEO, no one will be able to find you. Follow these 5 important factors to make your website more successful, including design and development, and what to do once the website is live. Simple is better, especially for healthcare brands. Before you get started with a new website, first define your goals. What do you want your visitors to see and what do you want them to do? This all contributes to the design of your new site.  Not everything can stand out.  Highlight a few things that sets you apart from your competitors and make those stand ou...