tag archives / healthcare branding

Aug
20

A social Attraction Manifesto for health brand marketers: becoming a connecting organization

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As an addendum to my previous post, here are twelve principles for becoming a connecting versus campaigning organization. I refer to these principles as an Attraction Manifesto because of what “manifesto” implies – passion, game-changing, an appropriately public (social) declaration of your intentions and how you’ll set out to achieve them.

And because it’s a manifesto, it asks others to join together to make it a reality. Clearly, you’ll need to put your own spin on this doctrine to make it actionable for your organization and your audiences (which I hope you’ll do).

1. Coherence – our brand idea will serve as the nucleus for all of our actions, interactions and conversations.
2. Authenticity – our social media conversations should be similar to our daily interactions with friends, colleagues and family, i.e. open and honest, informal and in a personal voice.
3. Transparency – we’ll represent ourselves as people rather than an organization, because people connect with people, not organizations. We’ll also be honest about who we are, as trust is a huge barometer of engagement.
4. Collaborative – we’ll embrace the fact that true conversations are two-way, give and take exchanges; so that all participants ultimately grow stronger together.
5. Customized – we’ll create specific interest content and communities (thereby enhancing relevance to audiences) by collecting, categorizing, listening and responding.
6. Facilitating – we’ll allow conversations to go on around us without trying to control them, empowering people to connect through our brand, with content as the enabler.
7. Contagious – we’ll create “life-impacting” content and conversations that generate word-of-mouth and that people want to share with others.
8. Co-Creation – by working together, we all learn, grow and become stronger.
9. Evangelists – as feasible, we’ll create passionate and active advocates who will want to spread our message (for little expense).
10. Paced – we’ll start small, do what we can, when we can.
11. Context – we’ll recognize that social media is not a single solution in itself, but one element of an integrated marketing communications plan.
12. Bottom Line – there are lots of ways to measure social media success; so we’ll determine our success metrics (based on our objectives) before we begin our efforts.

As I’ve said previously, you have the opportunity now to benefit your organization by involving and empowering your audiences in conversations by being where they are and making it easier for them to connect, get informed and take action. It’s not a matter of “if”, but “when.” So what are you waiting for?

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Aug
17

Why health brand marketers must embrace "Attraction Marketing"

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For healthcare marketers, there’s a new set of rules for connecting your brand to your employees, caregivers, communities and patients. And it requires you to let go of what you think you know.

Continuing to try to persuade audiences through traditional campaigning about why you’re better (in the absence of other efforts), with the use of rational information and comparative data, is just not that important to those you’re trying to connect with.

There are two reasons for this. First, because the harsh reality is that people really don’t care about your organization, per se. What they do care about is how you make them feel about themselves and their decisions, and how much value you add to their lives. It’s their stories that are important, not yours. Second, because those who used to be your “passive audiences” are now “engaged participants” and content creators through social media.

The future of healthcare marketing is not about saying things to caregivers, communities and patients. It is about saying and doing things with them. It is about ATTRACTION MARKETING , compelling them to become more deeply engaged with your brand, while letting you (the healthcare marketer) actually spread your commercial message more effectively.

Today, brands are products of two-way (social) conversations. These conversations are personal and honest, living and breathing. With each conversation made stronger by other conversations, and building value for all parties involved. They result in competitive advantage for your organization, and significant advances in knowledge for your audiences. Each helps the other to reach their full potential.

Yet many in healthcare haven’t embraced this new reality. The reality that it pays from a relationship and financial standpoint to engage in two-way dialogue (i.e. social media). So what’s holding you back? Maybe you’re afraid of the unknown, or that your world is changing. Maybe you’re not comfortable with these new Social tools, or you don’t think you have the time. But to borrow a phrase from Cher in her movie Moonstruck when she slaps Nicholas Cage – “snap out of it”.

Because while you or your organization is hesitant to use social media, consumers actually become more invested in brands that welcome their participation. Simply put, conversations between people do more to build connections beyond your one-way campaigns. And what’s great about Social, and why it’s such a wonderful adjunct to traditional media, is that people can engage in these conversations whenever it’s convenient for them.

Integral to the future of healthcare brand building will be shared, “real-time” interactions and conversations between providers, caregivers, patients and communities. You have the opportunity now to benefit your healthcare organization by involving and empowering these audiences in conversations by being where they are and making it easier for them to connect, get informed and take action.

It’s not a matter of “if”, but “when.” So what are you waiting for?

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Aug
10

Four rules to keep your health brands healthy

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I read an article “Four Lifestyle Rules To Keep You Healthy” on Time. com and thought to myself what would the four rules be to keep brands healthy.

Tough to narrow to four, but here are mine.

1. An important and differentiating idea – the starting point for all great brands.
2. Relevance to audiences – based on understanding their hopes, desires and real life practices.
2. Tapping emotion – because the majority of our decisions are made with our “guts”.
3. Brilliant execution – which is so uncommonly excellent across the board that it reflects a clear leadership position.

Would you substitute any others? Please share your thoughts.

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Jul
05

How health brand marketers can create uncontested market space

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The goal of any organization is to create sustainable competitive differentiation, by providing to customers what they value and want in ways that others can’t. One way to beat the competition, according to Kim and Mauborgne in their book Blue Ocean Strategy, is to stop trying to beat the competition. Instead, create uncontested market space to create and capture new demand. Thereby making the competition irrelevant.

The classic example of creating a blue ocean (referenced in their book) is Cirque du Soleil. From a group of 20 street performers in 1984, Cirque is now a major artistic entertainment company delighting almost 90 million spectators a year. The company looked at traditional circus acts like Ringling Brothers and transformed them into “Broadway meets artistic music and dance” experiences. While increasing customer value and ticket prices, they simultaneously eliminated the largest cost items of the circus, including the star performers and animal shows.

The driving forces for creating blue oceans should be apparent. Across categories, we’re presented with more supply than we could possibly demand. Global competition. More information at our fingertips. Too many brands that look, sound and function in similar ways.

This is the situation in healthcare. Many systems and hospitals are indistinguishable. And organizational-wide initiatives that focus on the safety, service and care of patients (functional benefits) do little to distinguish one hospital from another, as these are table stake improvements that all organizations focus on. Healthcare marketing practices don’t help distinguish either – as communications and outreach also tend to look and sound a lot alike.

But this doesn’t have to be the case. Every healthcare organization can create its own blue ocean. Because here’s the thing. It’s not carved in stone that blue ocean must equate to creating uncontested market space. Creating a stronger competitive position can be, and in many instances is, a more realistic agenda. Particularly in a down economy where companies need to do more with less. The size of the ocean doesn’t matter as much as the re-energizing and differentiating value it provides to customers.

The Blue Ocean book offers powerful tools for building a blue ocean strategy. One of them is the Four Action Framework, which guides companies in evaluating what factors they can possibly eliminate, reduce, raise and create:

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In the case of healthcare systems and hospitals, consider these factors in the context of how the players in your market tend to compete and how customers choose their providers. Think broadly about all of the elements that make up your value proposition (e.g. product, service and delivery). Look across:
• strategic segments that exist within your market
• different customer groups, e.g. influencers, users, purchasers (including employees)
• the scope, and delivery, of your product and service offerings (across the buyer experience)
• the rational-emotional appeals to buyers
• the trends that affect customers and business over time, etc.
• alternative industries (great stimulus for seeing and thinking differently)

Looking at these factors with a fresh and unbiased perspective, cross-functionally across the entire organization can unlock innovation that creates stronger market space for your healthcare system or hospital and new value for communities, patients, families, providers and partners. In healthcare, these innovations tend to come down to either clinical care (product) or providing care (service). Most likely, given that product is easily replicated over time (e.g. new machines, treatments), these innovations will likely reflect better ways to serve, and enhance the experience of being, a patient.

The starting point, however, must be your brand promise. You need this focus in order to create innovations true to who you are and how you’re perceived, and that employees and providers are aligned around and equipped to deliver.

Here are a few examples of healthcare organizations that have created their blue oceans. The key point to remember is that the size of the ocean doesn’t matter as much as the re-energizing and differentiating value you provide to customers.

• Mayo Clinic Health Manager; a free tool that creates the ability for people to easily manage their families health online.
• HelloHealth; a new company mixing office and online visits to give people personal attention from their neighborhood doctor when and how they want it.
• Parrish Medical Center in Titusville, FL., who chose to compete to improve their culture and the engagement of its employees (who worked together to eliminate over $7 million in hospital costs).
• Highmark, a Pennsylvania insurer who rolled out the nation’s first prepaid gift card designed specifically for healthcare expenses.
• InstyMeds™, the health care industry’s first fully automated ATM-style dispenser of prescription medications.

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Apr
25

The common characteristics of great health and healthy lifestyle brand models

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There are many different brand models.

But there are common characteristics that distinguish ALL great (different) health and healthy lifestyle brands from others. They see their world, and that of their customers, differently. Which lets them think and do different things – to challenge conventions, hypothesize alternatives and explore new possibilities.

Based on principles of Blue Ocean Strategy, a proven framework for guiding companies to create new and uncontested market space, these include:

• looking across alternative industries, knowing that their products and services compete with companies outside their traditional market
• looking across strategic groups within industries, based on customers’ decision-making practices
• looking across different buyer (customer) groups, knowing there are those directly and indirectly involved in purchase decisions
• looking across complementary products and services, to break free from accepted boundaries of competitive offerings
• looking across the spectrum of functional or emotional appeals to buyers, to create new bases of appeal
• look across time, to shape (rather than adapt to) external trends over time

Are you one of these great brands?

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Apr
23

Implications for health brand marketers – understanding why tweeters tweet

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To learn new things and to get information needed to improve their lives. 

This was, in my mind, the most important finding of a recently conducted MarketingProfs survey among 432 highly involved Twitter users (average of 2.7 hours per day on Twitter). Not exactly reflective of the typical Twitter user, but interesting findings nonetheless.

The survey set out to find- why do they use Twitter?  How do they feel about common practices on Twitter? How do they view their experiences? Highlights of the survey appeared on Mashable.

This one finding has to do with the most important motivations for using Twitter. So what are the implications for health and healthy lifestyle brands:

• people crave interaction
• because the tools exist to provide it, they expect it
• brands are ideally suited to help people learn these new things and get the information they need to improve their lives

The brands that succeed in doing this will thrive (consider the social media efforts of Mayo Clinic) – as both consumer and brand energize one another.

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Mar
24

Your healthcare brand promise needs to be social

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I led a workshop the other day for one of our healthcare clients. We were refining their brand promise, in light of their new vision and mission. We assembled a cross-functional team rarely involved in this work, which was refreshing because they approached the exercise very simply from the standpoint of “promises are about people.”

Criteria for creating the promise flowed easily from here: 

• One sentence that speaks in a simple and human voice, so that each team member is engaged and inspired to deliver on the promise each and every day
• Believable to, and can be delivered by, all facilities 
• Unique, such that no other organization should fit within the statement
• Compelling in that it addresses benefits that communities are hungry for
• No throwaway words, as they don’t distinguish and just take up space 

But there was one more point that we needed to consider. The promise needs to be deliverable through Web 2.0/social media dialogue. To accommodate two-way conversations when consumers demand.

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Jan
23

Building healthcare brands from the inside-out

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I gave a presentation to the global sales force of a current client this week. We’re formally relaunching the corporate brand next month. We introduced the team to the new brand direction and talked about how we were going to help them strengthen and build connections with current and prospective clients and partners.
For most healthcare brands your staff is your sales force. Branding begins from the inside out.

The timing for the meeting was particularly important. Because there’s a backdrop of doubt, uncertainty and lack of forward movement on the part of their clients. So the idea that they could actually ‘sell” a compelling and differentiating brand promise that transcended their suite of products and services really resonated with them.

In particular, there were a few concepts that stood out for them:

• that their brand is not a logo, a themeline, a product or service or manual. Rather, it’s the difference between an MP3 player and an iPOD, a battery and an “energizer bunny” battery, a banana and a Chiquita banana, the hundreds of defunct department stores and Target. Rather, brand is an expectation – of a product, service or organization – ultimately delivering a feeling- based on ideas and experiences.

• given a market backdrop of too many (and too similar) product choices, too much information, a discerning consumer who can now decide how they connect, create and consume media – the old modes of brand-building based on transactions has now evolved to connections (to dynamic conversations, doing vs. saying, experiences vs. touch-points, building community versus building audience).

• the fact that (to borrow on a native american saying) “it takes a thousand voices to tell a single story.” That absolutely everything the sales force (and the organization) does, either enhances or detracts from brand reputation. The fact that all actions have consequences – which compelled them to say to leadership and other supporting cast members “don’t screw this up for us.”

• that if you consider the advantages of building a strong brand – from both an internal and external, relationship and financial perspective – there are tangible financial and relationship benefits beyond what they had considered. And that they could actually sell against these benefits.

• the fact that brand value is tied to stock market value (in fact, represents a disproportionate share of stock market value in strong brand-driven companies); and that these corporate brands are supported by strong brand-centric cultures, where
all employees understand and are aligned in brand delivery.

The team was excited and energized about what the company was doing. They asked about additional materials and tools. And they extolled the company to please not let this one slip away. Pretty cool that this feedback was coming from the sales force.

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Oct
05

Rebranding pitfalls that health brands can avoid

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Your brand isn’t running on all cylinders. There are indicators that you’re leaving reputation, relationships and business behind. So you’ve made the decision to re-brand. Some organizations have the skills, discipline and stamina to execute a strategically and tactically brilliant, organization-changing result. Others, while good intentioned, leave something [if not a lot] behind.

Here are common common pitfalls to aviod:

a. Ready, Fire, Aim. The significant time and expense of re-branding warrants tangible returns. Isolate and agree upfront to the most important business and brand issue(s) that you’ll address through the effort.

b. Not Realizing What’s On The Table. As your brand encompasses all the characteristics, both tangible and intangible, that surround your offerings, realize that everything your organization says and does makes up the brand experience. So everything, as it should be, is up for evaluation and refinement.

c. Going It Alone. Just as you wouldn’t diagnose your own physical ailments, the objectivity and expertise of an external consultant is critical to evaluating, creating and credibly selling internally to your leadership and teams.

d. Not Having Key Influencers and Decision-Makers On Board. Do not undertake this effort until these important allies are on board. Understand their opinions and expectations. And keep them appraised along the way.

e. Lack of Demonstrated Senior Leadership Commitment. All the time and expense of this endeavor will never be taken seriously, and will certainly never stick, unless leadership has explicitly communicated [and is ready to demonstrate] their commitment.

f. Inward Perspective. Your external audiences are the arbiters of your success, so understand how they view the organization. Contrast and reconcile these perspectives against your own to determine the gaps that need to be filled to realize your objectives.

g. Disregarding Your Legacy. While you can’t be led by the past, you don’t cast aside those equities that you’ve worked so hard to create. Don’t disregard what’s working, because these are the building blocks for enhancing your relevancy.

h. Bypassing Insiders. Your employees will make or break the initiative. They need to understand and believe in the program and the desired outcome. And most important, they need to be emotionally engaged.

i. Branding As A One-Time Event. As James Gandolfini would say “fuggedaboudit.” Because branding is akin to a marathon, not a sprint to the finish line. It will take longer, and cost more, than you imagined.

j. Neglecting To Patrol And Control The Airwaves. Monitor and share in the web-based conversations about your organization. Participate in the blogisphere. Help yourself control (at least as much as you can) your own destiny.

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Sep
15

Health brands that best stand out and apart – real. simple. branding

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In a world filled with too much of everything (and just as much similarity), the ongoing process of building clear, valued and sustained differentiation through branding is a crucial step to forging relationships and growing business.

So how can your health brand stand out and apart? By aligning your organization, services or products around the promise of your brand. Ensuring that all you do from selling your brand’s story inside, to building your product, service, market, channel, pricing, customer service and communications strategies reinforce why you’re the best choice for consumers. And this is about REAL. SIMPLE. BRANDING:

REAL.
I remember calling AOL a few years ago. I was told via IVR that “we’ve doubled our number of customer service representatives to deliver a higher standard of customer service. Please hold and the next representative will be with you shortly. Your waiting time is approximately nine minutes.” That’s not real.

SIMPLE.
Stand for something. One thing. Be the best at safety, performance, whitening, speed, durability, magic, luxury. Put a stake in the ground and declare your one thing to the world. Remember Billy Crystal’s line in City Slickers. He tells his riding mates that life’s about one thing. Well, the same holds true for branding.

BRANDING.
Like any verb, connotes action. Practicing the REAL and SIMPLE of above. Managing the multiple (off line and on line) interactions that people have with your brand each day; and that either enhance or detract from your desired perceptions. Remember that whether you’re driving or not, your indelible mark is being stamped into consumers minds! It’s an imprint that’s hard to erase, so create it on your terms.

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