Hospital
Branding
What works?
Friday, 22 February 2008 1

Traditional communication does not really work when you
have to promote a hospital, clinic or diagnostic centre.
While running direct marketing programs for a car company, you could send a
mailer telling them about the features of the new car that your company may be
launching. If applied directly here it could mean “Please visit us again for your
next heart surgery” or “Great limited offer with 25% discount for your next
surgery. Act Now”. These offers don’t just sound ridiculous, they could be very
hurtful too.
Healthcare Does this mean that branding a healthcare facility is impossible?
Branding is Not at all! Several healthcare facilities have shown us the difference branding
can make in developing a successful healthcare business.
different Successful branding for a hospital is a function of “Sensitivity and Empathy”. It is
about communicating “care” through your staff, facility and collateral.
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Go beyond
traditional media
Understand that for a hospital external
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communication is not a key driver to building
trust or business. More than anything else it is
the experience that counts. So first - develop a
poster that says that “ Hospital branding isn’t just
about advertising, marketing and public relations”
What do you and place it prominently in all staff lounges.
need to do ?
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Design the
Experience
Decide on your core values and build the
experience around these.
a. Designing a brand experience is about
designing a facility that promotes wellness
through not just its great doctors and technology
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but through patient friendly layouts, well lit and
friendly environment, music that blends in and
staff behaviors that genuinely showcase your
brand values.
What do you
b. Traditional marketing heads sometimes balk
need to do ? at the mere thought of going beyond print, TV
and digital communication, but for a hospital
brand what we say and how we behave are as
much part of branding as is traditional print and
TV communication.
Friday, 22 February 2008 4

Implement the
Experience
While most experience design looks great on
paper. The concept to actual execution is typically
marred by several issues.
a. Facility Design - The first challenge you may
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face could be about designing the facility where
architects and interior decorators will need to be
explained your values and vision.
b. Internal branding - The second ongoing
What do you challenge is about developing internal belief
need to do ? systems in your staff who will actually deliver the
experience and impact brand perception. Most
health practitioners think of “patients” and not
“customers”. A shift to the mindset of treating a
demanding customer who can go elsewhere is
the toughest challenge in developing a successful
brand.
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Implement the Experience......
c. Getting the right partners - Having specialist agencies for
communication and training that understands managed healthcare
always helps.
d. Technology – Most modern hospitals have digital patient records.
For marketing purposes these records cannot be shared in their
entirety with marketing teams because of patient privacy issues. A
bridge needs to be developed between patient records and marketing
data that can hide personal data and yet be usable for one to one
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marketing.
e. Web – The web is now much more than a communication platform
that houses your brochures, use the web to talk to your customers
and make your services available online. While net usage is still small
What do you in India, it provides you with an opportunity to keep your customers
engaged. Companies are also successfully using the web to attract
need to do ? overseas customers.
f. Programs – Traditional loyalty programs are again not the way to go
for a hospital. What works is small niche focussed programs that
either focus on a audience or a specific service – Mother and child
programs, Executive health checks etc.
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Great ambience While all these concepts do make a tremendous
and great
difference in your brands market perception, what
is crucial is a wholistic framework that needs to
be implemented with consistency and genuine
communication care for patients. Customers know when there is
lack of transparency and empathy and begin to
lose trust in such brands. A hospital is a service
will always defer brand that directly affects your well-being, genuine
empathy and care will always take priority over
to “Genuine
ambience and communication.
Empathy and
Care” which will
drive customer
choice. This presentation was made by Futurescape
To find out more visit - www.futurescape.in
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