You hear the word “Brand” a lot when discussing marketing, and you know you have a Brand, but what is it? Of course your name and logo are a part of your healthcare Brand; however, there’s so much more to it. Your healthcare Brand is your identity: everything that comes to people’s minds when they hear your name.

This could be your story, your products and services, your promises, your tagline and your patients' experiences. Your Brand is a representation of your entire company, and it demonstrates to patients what they can expect from you and why you’re different from everyone else.

Building a strong Brand is invaluable. Your healthcare marketing campaigns not only reflect your business goals, but your Brand image as well. With that being said, it’s apparent how important it is to have a healthy, distinctive Brand.

To help you grow and differentiate your healthcare Brand, here are five tips to get you started.

1. Discover Your Unique Selling Propositions

Your unique selling propositions (USPs) are the foundations of your healthcare Brand. You need to know what makes you different than every other competing organization. Is it the elective procedures you offer? A particular discount offer? The customer service you provide? Perhaps you provide an entirely different experience to patients.

One way to find out what distinguishes your Brand is to ask. Gain insights into your Brand by interviewing patients, doctors, administrative staff and anyone else that interacts with your Brand. They can tell you what they think makes your organization different, what they like and don’t like and why they would recommend your Brand. For more ways to discover your unique selling propositions and how to put them into action, ONEFIRE conducts a personalized Brand Discovery process with your healthcare practice before we begin building your marketing strategy.

2. Identify Your Brand Message

Once you understand your healthcare company’s unique selling propositions, the next step is to identify, update or formulate a Brand message. Your Brand message is your identity: your logo, color scheme, design guidelines, tagline and mission statement. What is the message you’re trying to convey to patients interested in your practice?

This is where your healthcare organization's core values come in. These values should be the base of all your business initiatives and marketing campaigns, as well as serve as the compass to direct your Brand’s success overall.

3. Tell Your Story

The next step is to turn all this information into a story. Even though it may not seem like it, marketing is often a form of storytelling. You can start by creating content about your healthcare Brand’s history, tying in your unique selling propositions. But don’t just tell your story in the traditional form.

Storytelling can be heard through all of your branded content and marketing efforts. Share your story in the form of blog posts, infographics, social media posts, pamphlets, emails, website content and personal interactions with patients. Tell them how your healthcare Brand is different through your content and reputation.

4. Define Your Culture

Strongly tied to your Brand is your culture. To successfully attain your business goals, it’s critical for your Brand and company culture to be closely aligned. Since word of mouth advertising and earned media is 40% more likely than owned media to motivate people to take action, your employees are some of the greatest marketing tools you have. Thus, nurturing a positive company culture can take your healthcare Brand a long way.

There needs to be a strong understanding of your Brand throughout your healthcare practice. Hence, it’s important to establish a culture that supports your Brand values and attracts new patients. Doing this will allow everyone in your organization to positively share your Brand in all of their interactions.

Remember that the way your employees behave and treat others reflects upon your Brand - so encourage them to be authentic and kind.

5. Require Consistency

To successfully tie all of these branding tips together, you need consistency. Consistency is the key to any successful marketing strategy, and the same is true for your Brand. Being consistent with your healthcare content will help create a seamless, unified Brand experience for patients. Furthermore, delivering consistency conveys quality and trustworthiness to potential patients.

For your healthcare Brand growth initiatives to be effective, your message must be consistent across all platforms. That includes, but isn’t limited to: your website content, social media accounts, print advertisements, emails, white-papers and landing pages. Moreover, in order to increase ROI and agent volume, cross-platform consistency is necessary to master since inbound marketing’s success is dependent on content working together.

But these pieces of branding advice are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to building and maintaining a strong healthcare Brand. Here at ONEFIRE, we have the experience and tools to help grow your Brand.