Hospital positioning transcends media channels

Branding supports multichannel and social media initiatives

Some people would argue that ‘branding is dead;’ that social media has completely undermined the ability of marketers to define what they stand for. They say that word-of-mouth trumps any brand message and that consumers will believe what they want.

We agree that social media and word of mouth have surpassed paid media for relevance and credibility with consumers, but that doesn’t diminish branding’s place in the communication hierarchy. On the contrary, branding reinforces efforts in all channels, including social media.

A consistent voice, a memorable point of difference, and a strong identity will help hospitals and practices translate into the social realm. Defining the brand position also helps the internal team deliver on the brand promise at every customer touch point, whether it’s a one-to-one interaction in the hospital environment, conversations in the social network, or mass communications through paid media channels.

A return to proven marketing competencies

Hospitals’ failure to embrace and leverage brand positioning as a growth strategy is due to a convergence in marketing trends that has put our industry behind on the branding curve. Face it: building a strong brand isn’t easy, especially for healthcare organizations that once held a monopoly on consumer choice.

Until recently, it wasn’t even necessary to advertise healthcare services. Today, there are countless choices for care, and increasing financial exposure is making patients more likely to question the cost or need for expensive medical care. Hospitals are now forced to market their services to retain even their local consumers’ care spending.

With hospital marketers struggling to build sensible, ROI-driven marketing strategies, there has never been a greater need to embrace basic branding competencies to remain competitive, align audiences and support consistent multichannel communications.

Learn more in our white paper, Four Reasons to Invest in Hospital Branding.