by admin | Jun 21, 2016 | Branding & Identity, Springboard News
Everybody is buying somebody. Or somebody is getting sold. So it goes with the latest flurry of activity with hospital Mergers and Acquisitions. With all the Mergers and Acquisitions out there, odds are — your hospital might go through one in the future or may be going through one right now. With a M&A, you might find yourself saddled with a bunch of urgent care centers. Or immediate care clinics. Or walk-in clinics. Or convenient care clinics. Whatever you want to call them, the list of possible names goes on and on. All these names can be confusing for your brand, especially when you’re dealing with an M&A. Since an urgent care clinic can be called and labeled so many different things, your job is to figure out how to simplify the naming process. Here’s how: Pick a retail name “Retail health” is one of the hottest trends in hospital marketing right now. That’s when a hospital tends to think more like a Nordstrom or Starbucks, in terms of servicing and reaching target demographics. For example, MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, WA named its urgent care clinic Indigo Urgent Care, with its own logo and branding. Henry Ford Health System, MI, did something similar when it named its urgent care clinic, QuickCare Clinic. If your hospital is going through an M&A with a former competitor or outside partner, there might be a more neutral, retail-type name that fits your urgent care centers. Make sure you’ve got a solid PR and marketing strategy Urgent care situations happen infrequently. But you want patients to think of you first, when a medical situation...
by admin | Jun 21, 2016 | Branding & Identity, Springboard News
Being a mid-sized health system in today’s healthcare marketplace is tough. If you’re busy trying to compete on a grand scale and make claims how your features are just as good as the big hospital the next metro over, it might be time to take a step back and think about what really matters to both you and your community. This is where a solid brand promise can work for you. While it’s important to know your strengths and your identity – you need to provide value. A unique brand promise becomes an effective shorthand for how you can best meet the needs of your community. Solid, effective branding engages with people at an emotional level. It’s not a logo, a color scheme, or a typeface. Yes, those are visual representations of your brand. But what really matters is your “heartbeat,” what makes you come alive and breathe in the minds of your consumers. It is your distinctive message, your personality. It’s who you are, how you talk to people, and how you present yourself and your organization to the world. And being a mid-size, community health system, you have an advantage over your larger brethren. Your deep roots and long history with your communities give you a personalized connection the big guys don’t have. This becomes even more relevant because reimbursement is transitioning from fee-for-service to value-based. So what’s the best way to hit on your brand promise? First, think about who you are, what you do best, what your customers need from you and how your organization fits in their lives. It may sound simple, but that’s really what...
by Cori Albrecht | Jun 8, 2016 | Branding & Identity, Medical Association Branding
Medical associations support their members through educational opportunities, networking forums, mentoring programs, public awareness activities, leadership activities and advocacy efforts, among others. But how do they determine how successful they are? Membership growth? Member retention? Seminar attendance? Member engagement? Member satisfaction? Revenue? Visitors to websites? Facebook likes? Patient interactions? Advocacy wins? The answer is – all of the above and more. So how do you measure your success? For associations, it begins and ends with the members. Membership Growth Membership growth is a hot topic. Most, if not all, associations strive for membership growth. More members = more revenue = successful association, right? So how do you market to and attract new members? Start with your existing membership, and how well they know your brand, what you stand for, and your perceived value to them as medical professionals. Understanding your most dedicated membership can help you learn more about how to deepen their relationship with your association. Determining your brand values and promise is the first step into finding new ways to communicate with your members and potential members. Medical Association Branding Springboard has worked with multiple medical association branding clients to help develop their value propositions and programs to meet member needs. Member marketing toolkits, eNewsletters, landing pages and microsites, testimonial videos, marketing videos, among others, are all within your reach. Again, starting with member needs is that first step. Many member businesses do not have the resources to develop marketing materials on their own, so providing templated marketing materials to your members can help improve their volumes, and will demonstrate a real value in their membership, resulting...
by Rob Rosenberg | Jun 1, 2016 | Branding & Identity, Medical Association Branding
Medical associations used have gone from “behind the scenes” to “front and center” in terms of implementing branding and marketing strategies. This has evolved from the shifting goals of associations as they move from merely providing member education and networking opportunities to creating a unique niche in the marketplace and seeking to drive consumer behavior in the direction of members. It seems members want more from their dues and have high expectations in terms of the value their membership should bring to their association and respective practice of medicine. Dermatologic surgeons, radiologists, plastic surgeons, orthopedists, to name only a few, have all realized significant value-add from their membership as their organization’s have invested in developing unique stories and strategies to help build their patient volume and overall reputation. Even hospital-based central service professionals have used branding and marketing to encourage member certification and tie their story to a quality patient experience. Chances are, your medical association is considering some form of branding rejuvenation. If that’s the case, here are seven success factors for your consideration: Gain input from your members – Most likely, there’s a group of members who have been influencing you to launch a brand campaign. These are the perfect group to include in some sort of “marketing and/or public relations” committee. Learn what’s important to them and, more importantly, what differentiates the strategy from other organizations. Balance with customer research –Regardless of whether your customers are consumers, professionals, or another audience, it is imperative that you discover what’s important to them, and balance this with the internal impression of your organization as gleaned from the aforementioned work...
