HOSPITAL BRANDING Kuliah manajemen Pemasaran Prodi MARS UMY DR. QURRATUL AINI, M. KES Traditional communication does not really work when you have to promote a hospital, clinic or diagnostic centre. Healthcare Branding is different While running direct marketing programs for a car company, you could send a mailer telling them about the features of the new car that your company may be launching. If applied directly here it could mean “Please visit us again for your next heart surgery” or “Great limited offer with 25% discount for your next surgery. Act Now”.These offers don’t just sound ridiculous, they could be very hurtful too. Does this mean that branding a healthcare facility is impossible? Not at all! Several healthcare facilities have shown us the difference branding can make in developing a successful healthcare business. Successful branding for a hospital is a function of “Sensitivity and Empathy”. It is about communicating “care” through your staff, facility and collateral. Go beyond traditional media 1 What do you need to do ? Understand that for a hospital external communication is not a key driver to building trust or business. More than anything else it is the experience that counts. So first - develop a poster that says that “ Hospital branding isn’t just about advertising, marketing and public relations” and place it prominently in all staff lounges. Design the Experience Decide on your core values and build the experience around these. 2 What do you need to do ? a. Designing a brand experience is about designing a facility that promotes wellness through not just its great doctors and technology but through patient friendly layouts, well lit and friendly environment, music that blends in and staff behaviors that genuinely showcase your brand values. b. Traditional marketing heads sometimes balk at the mere thought of going beyond print,TV and digital communication, but for a hospital brand what we say and how we behave are as much part of branding as is traditional print and TV communication. Implement the Experience While most experience design looks great on paper.The concept to actual execution is typically marred by several issues. 3 What do you need to do ? a. Facility Design - The first challenge you may face could be about designing the facility where architects and interior decorators will need to be explained your values and vision. b. Internal branding - The second ongoing challenge is about developing internal belief systems in your staff who will actually deliver the experience and impact brand perception. Most health practitioners think of “patients” and not “customers”. A shift to the mindset of treating a demanding customer who can go elsewhere is the toughest challenge in developing a successful brand. Implement the Experience...... c. Getting the right partners - Having specialist agencies for communication and training that understands managed healthcare always helps. 3 What do you need to do ? d.Technology – Most modern hospitals have digital patient records. For marketing purposes these records cannot be shared in their entirety with marketing teams because of patient privacy issues. A bridge needs to be developed between patient records and marketing data that can hide personal data and yet be usable for one to one marketing. e.Web – The web is now much more than a communication platform that houses your brochures, use the web to talk to your customers and make your services available online. Being on social media provides you with an opportunity to keep your customers engaged. Companies are also successfully using the web to attract overseas customers. f. Programs – Traditional loyalty programs are again not the way to go for a hospital.What works is small niche focussed programs that either focus on a core audience or a specific service – Mother and child programs, Executive health checks etc. Great ambience and great communication will always defer to “Genuine Empathy and Care” which will drive customer choice. While all these concepts do make a tremendous difference in your brands market perception,what is crucial is a holistic framework that needs to be implemented with consistency and genuine care for patients. Customers know when there is lack of transparency and empathy and begin to lose trust in such brands. A hospital is a service brand that directly affects your well-being, genuine empathy and care will always take priority over ambience and communication. You don’t have unlimited resources. The game, and players, are changing. Customers are now driving the bus. What your docs think they want, isn’t what you as a healthcare marketer know they need. And you can’t program into people’s heads what they think about your brand. GIVEN THIS…there’s a good chance that your health system or hospital branding can use a boost. 10 Pillars Of Better Health System or Hospital Branding (Knowless, 2018) 1 You’re Either Different, Or Not Differentiation is one of the critical drivers of brand success. When you’re different, through your ideas and actions, people are interested. When you’re not, they’re not. Because they’ve seen that, done that. No different with your health system or hospital brand. It either stands out and apart, or fades into the background as just another undifferentiated medical provider. 2 Be Coherent, Not ONLY Consistent Consistency is boring. It gets old. Soon you look past it, because you’ve seen it before. Do you as a consumer want the exact same experience across every single channel? Coherence keep things fresh and new. But drives from the same ideas, so it’s familiar and continues to build brand meaning. 3 Emotional Pull We respond emotionally to everything. Same thing with brands. We choose based on emotion. And reinforce based on rational evidence. Regardless of category. Want proof? fMRI neuro-imagery, conducted by USC Professor Antonio Demasio, shows consumers primarily use emotions (personal feelings and experiences) when evaluating brands, rather than information (brand attributes, features, and facts). 4 Demonstration Your brand’s ideas are either reinforced across the organization, or delivered as false promises externally. Every experience that people have with your health system or hospital, every touchpoint that aligns or not with their expectations, affects the ability of your brand to shift demand. Priority #1, build your internal marketing army and ensure they’re wrapped tightly around your (their) brand and its promises. . 5 Symbolism These are the colors, logos, shapes, sounds, etc. that make-up your brand’s shorthand emotional language and that trigger our intuitive (System 1 brain) decision-making. Here’s proof: . These brand assets are precious. They’re the magnets that instantly draw people towards you. Nurture them and protect them. 6 Know-How Actions speak louder than words. They always have. But today, where there’s no hiding behind the curtain (ask VW), they mean even more. Our System 2 brains require conscious proof that you’re a credible expert and the best possible solution to their needs. Yes, emotion (the sizzle) sells. But you need the proof (the steak) to gain trust. . 7 Dynamism Is your brand constantly evolving to surprise and delight your audiences? Anything “unexpected” coming down the pike? You should always be planting a seed of anticipation about “what’s next.” It might not be as exciting as the next IPhone or Android, but you need to maintain attention to maintain relevance. 8 Experience Offering Most clinical quality (with “specialty” exceptions) is similar across providers. As is the delivery of merely satisfying experiences. Which means a “branded” and delighting customer experience can break the ties, and grow relevance and relationships. It doesn’t have to be big, but it should be defining and delighting. 9 Alignment Doesn’t mean consistent. Because we know that’s boring. It’s about maintaining the same brand look, message and emotion across all touchpoints and programs. Because together, these elements build brand meaning. Want inspiration? Look to Nike, Audi, Red Bull, Kiehls, Ritz-Carlton, Le Labo Fragrances… 10 Community Do you suffer from engagement-deficit syndrome? Social media has changed business forever. Like it or not, your business today is fundamentally a “social” business. Add to this the structural changes taking place in healthcare, e.g. consumers actively making their own decisions, traditional providers competing with consumer-savvy retail and technology players… Community building is brand building. Your brand is built on what consumers say about you, not what you say about yourself. Make your branding better. Marketing strategy Brand Integrity Triangle Brand Diferensiasi Positioning 3i BRAND
