You can’t rely on word-of-mouth marketing, referrals, and prior experience to bring in a steady stream of patients anymore. Patients today are proactive consumers, especially when it comes to healthcare. They do research and choose healthcare providers and products that connect with them. Your brand is what differentiates you from other physician practices and hospitals. Here are 4 tips for building a powerful healthcare brand in 2021.
Create a Brand That Works
Your healthcare organization needs an engaging brand. Furthermore, it has to speak to the customers you want to attract. Rebranding with a cool website isn’t enough, though you probably need to change the iconography and logo.
You need to differentiate yourself if you’re going to succeed in the modern medical marketplace. What do you offer that matters to your customers, and how does that differ from every other doctor’s office in town? Seek a medical malpractice lawyer for legal advice too!
You may also need to do a brand audit to understand how current patients see you. Maybe you lost your local connection when your practice was bought out by a larger network or went through a merger, or you have failed to promote the services that drive growth and attract new customers. Only a brand audit will allow you to know where you stand.
You need to connect with patients as well. We would suggest you work with a firm like merrittgrp.com that understands the healthcare field and have years of experience working with healthcare services, manufacturers, and providers. They will allow you to reach your ideal customer base with targeted ads and various marketing tactics such as content marketing and search engine optimization. If you are asking ‘what is local SEO‘ then you may need some help from an expert.
Deliver on Your Promises
It isn’t enough to promise caring nurses, attentive doctors, and high-quality healthcare. You must deliver that exceptional patient experience across the board. You must treat patients well from the moment they walk in the door. A bad experience with the back office billing department counts against your organization no matter how good the doctors are. Poor quality care and a dirty facility undermine trust in your organization, too.
Be Consistent
Your branding needs to be consistent. It should be reflected in your brochures and on your website. Your ethos should be shared by the front office, the back office, and healthcare providers themselves. Help your staff to buy into your branding message and teach them how to communicate it whether they’re making a phone call or having a chair-side conversation. You might create a brand architecture that implies a sea of sameness, resulting in a uniform brand that affects even the naming conventions your employees follow.
The company’s culture may be reflected in its design. For example, you should have a child-friendly waiting room in a pediatrician’s office, and this can be furthered by having a playful sign out front.
Know Your Metrics
Healthcare organizations don’t just have to have a brand to connect with potential patients. Your ability to remain in business increasingly depends on your metrics. For example, state and federal funding often depend on meeting metrics like patient satisfaction. Pay attention to these metrics so that you don’t lose patients as well as your ability to be reimbursed from government programs for their care.
Healthcare branding is complicated no matter what type of services you offer your patients. It’s essential to your success, however, so take the right steps to build your brand and don’t hesitate to look for outside help.
