Building A Brand Following Your Hospital Brand Merger Or Acquisition
Hospital mergers and acquisitions are expected to remain strong this year. In some cases, deals are driven by the need to financially seek economies of scale or to strategically capture a larger share of the market. But in all cases, beyond the financials and operational strategies, success in building a brand requires managing the inter-related disciplines of Brand, Buy-In & Marketing. Driving business performance requires all three for success.
Without proper brand and marketing planning, hospitals and healthcare systems in the midst of a merger or acquisition will encounter:
- a healthcare brand that struggles to support the newly-formed organization’s purpose, values and goals
- an internal audience not equipped to deliver unified messages and experiences
- external brand marketing promises that might not sync with internal delivery
- inefficiencies resulting in sub-optimal return on brand marketing investment
At Trajectory, our hybrid brand consultancy / marketing agency has worked with multiple healthcare organizations through these transitions, and understand the unique challenges they face as they look to building a brand that is greater than the sum of its parts.
From Pre-to-Post Merger
Here’s a top ten list of issues to consider as your hospitals or healthcare systems transition from pre-merger competitors to post-merger partners and building a brand that is united.
BRAND
1. M&A brand team: this team should be created across your organizations to proactively act on and communicate leadership decisions and to navigate the range of tangibles and intangibles on the table, e.g. logistics, preparation, training, etc.
2. Brand compatibility: short-term financial and market share strength will not overcome the need to develop aligned brand purpose, values, promises and brand positioning statement.
3. Brand Portfolio strength: how will the merger or acquisition maximize your organizational, facilities and service line capabilities in terms of brand portfolio management?
BUY-IN
4. Cultural fit: what’s the likelihood of integrating medical staff and employees, across all functions, on both sides of the M&A table. And whose culture leads? Culture has consistently proved to be a significant stumbling block to a successful merger or acquisition.
5. Open communication: have you established feedback mechanisms (both offline and online) for internal audiences to communicate their questions regarding your activities. Employees immediately consider how your activities impact their daily responsibilities.
6. Engagement: are your organization’s truly united. You don’t know, and can’t act upon, until you measure.
MARKETING
7. Market growth: how will the M&A guide your new entity towards achieving market reach and growth without hindering each organization’s key revenue generating, strategic and mission-driven service lines?
8. Marketing philosophy and approach: is marketing considered an investment or expense. Does it tend to be brand or service line-driven? Is it directed to physicians or patients? How will you align your two organizations?
9. Local community commitment: do your organizations have the same commitment to your local communities; does bigger now mean less touch in order to serve the health needs of the larger region?
10. From follower to leader: how will you adjust your approach from being the #2 or #3 player to becoming a stronger market share leader?
Since 1999, Trajectory has worked alongside clients to manage and implement these major brand-building initiatives. Reach out for a conversation.