3 ways healthcare inbound helps community hospital branding As consumers begin to shop and negotiate for their health care services, it's more important than ever to differentiate a community hospital and it's hospital-owned physician practices from their competitors. Obviously, the key lever is authentic, systemic, and strategic hospital branding-make it clear to the five senses exactly what to expect from the brand. But at the tactical level, healthcare inbound can be a valuable piece of the healthcare marketing puzzle. Inbound is an approach that offers something (an ebook, a white paper, a sample service or product, an experience, a report,…

5 things the best branding agencies understand Within the pantheon of strategic marketing, brand strategies have often been marginalized. To tough-minded, data-driven tactical marketing types, building a brand seems like a soft, warm-and-fuzzy, touchy-feely objective (which translates into unmeasurable and disconnected from financial activities or objectives). Yet, the best branding agencies understand some things about your organization (and your brand community) that create definite ties between your brand and its bottom line. For example: 1. Brand strategy springs from business plan. A good business plan considers elements such as management preference, leadership temperament, current customer expectations, long-term needs (including elements…

The power of patient experience in community hospital branding. As the healthcare branding landscape becomes more and more crowded with less-than-ideally differentiated options, one of the few things we can count on is that people still want to be cared for by people who know what they're doing. That's why, in positioning a community hospital, it's important to consider patient experience and consumer attitudes about their experience. Common wisdom is that the largest hospital in a market should (if they can) capture the technology-leader position. Generally, the 800-pound gorilla will be the one with the CON advantage, the budget advantage,…