How Do Marketers Ensure the Hospital Continually Fulfills the Brand Promise?

After a branding campaign launches, what should marketers do to ensure the hospital continually fulfills the branding message or brand promise?

Opps. Hold up just one minute. Rather than waiting until after your brand launches to think about delivering on your promise, let’s see what we can do proactively to make sure that happens!

First, let’s look at your brand development process. As you conduct your brand audit, ask yourself the following questions about each strategy that you are considering:

Is it unique and differentiating?

Is it credible with both internal and external audiences?

Is it compelling – that is, something consumers care about?

Is it defensible – something that the competition cannot easily replicate or negate?

Is it broad-based – does it cover all your facilities, services, functions?

Is it consistent with your mission and strategic plan?

Next, there is buy in. In an ideal world, you will want to secure input from your internal stakeholders (leadership, managers, staff, physicians, board, volunteers) as you develop your brand platform – so they will feel a sense of ownership. A team that owns a brand, will be far more willing to help support it over time.

Let’s now add to our collecting of branding buzz words, here is one that I coined – brand authenticity. This is where your brand promise meets what you actually deliver in the way of an experience.

It looks like this:

The area of overlap is considered brand authenticity – the more overlap the better. This means what you say, matches what you do. And rest assured, consumers – and your own employees – can spot a phony boloney promise in a second.

When I am helping a client hospital develop a brand strategy, I like to hold a brand summit. This is a powwow of sorts, where all the key decision makers have a chance to commit operationally to living the brand.

If we say we’re patient-focused, we must have adequate staffing levels and superior customer service.

If we say we’re the place go for tertiary and quaternary care, we must have the latest and greatest technology and expertise.

The CEO, CFO, CNO, CMO, and all the other C_Os have to be on board – willing to commit the time and money to support the chosen brand platform. If that doesn’t happen at the brand summit, it is time to consider another branding option.

Second, there is the rollout. Before the first ad hits the newspaper or the airways, make sure you launch your brand campaign with internal audiences. This gives you an opportunity to provide your newly minted “brand ambassadors” with a clear understanding of:

•      Why your brand is relevant, credible and important

•      What their role is in living the brand

•      What they should say about your organization in support of your brand (sound bytes)

And let’s not forget the celebration. This is a time to thank and congratulate everyone in your organization for creating your unique brand position and upholding your brand promise.

Third, we have maintenance. You’ve enjoyed the cookies and punch and presented your brand on the home front. And you’ve reached out to your publics – consumers, community physicians, physicians’ office staffs, community leaders and influencers, payors, clergy, media, dogs, cats and anyone else within shouting range.

It’s time to consider how your brand will truly become a lasting part of the fabric of your organization. Some ideas in this regard are:

•      Introducing the brand message as part of new employee orientation

•      Rating how well employees support the brand in their performance evaluations

•      Tracking consumer awareness of your brand message

•      Monitoring patient satisfaction to make sure you are meeting your customers’ expectations

The secret to fulfilling a brand promise is simple – rather than selecting a brand strategy and then asking “now how can we fulfill this” – doesn’t it make better sense to craft your brand platform based on your organization’s genuine capabilities and attributes – and making a brand promise that your key decision makers will help you fulfill.

- Susan Dubuque, President

This "Ask The Experts" column was originally written for HealthLeaders magazine.