Identification, Care, and Feeding
of Your Health Care Brand
When consumers hear your name, they should think of the characteristics
and qualities created through your marketing and PR efforts. Creating
a strong brand linked to the core mission of your facility will
carry you in good times. It can even help deflect the negative press
that can occur when the inevitable crisis arises.
Many hospitals don’t have a clue how their brand is perceived
by primary and secondary consumers. They may have a good fix on
patient satisfaction because of JCAHO’s evaluation and accreditation
standards, but they may not be aware of what consumers believe their
strengths and weaknesses to be.
Has your brand been clearly established?
While it may be necessary to assess patient satisfaction, it is
imperative to understand how you are perceived and recognized in
your service area. Is your message being clearly translated to the
consumers you are trying to reach? In some cases, this is as simple
as residents in your primary service area not understanding and
identifying with your brand because it has not been clearly established.
Key elements should be evaluated.
Just like patients need to have periodic check-ups and understand
their important numbers, health care facilities need to understand
where they stand competitively. Tracking studies should be conducted
at least every other year using consistent sampling methods. Key
elements that need to be evaluated are your physicians, technology,
staff, and community health education.
Your primary service area residents need to be asked some specific
questions:
* When you think of hospitals in your area, which one comes to
mind first?
* How do you determine the quality of a health care facility?
* How important is it for you to use outpatient centers and health
care facilities associated with a hospital?
* Is it important for hospitals to be actively involved in community
outreach programs?
* When you hear the name of my hospital, what services do you
associate with it?
* What are the best ways to communicate information to the public?
* What local hospital advertising have you seen?
* Do you remember who sponsored it?
When consumers hear your name, the targeted research you’ve
conducted will help to guarantee that your brand remains healthy
and consistent with your vision. ‡
|
