Be Distinct or Become Extinct

Branding as a phenomenon is centuries old. There were times when horses and cattle were branded with hot iron rods in order to distinguish them from other animals. The same phenomenon has been extrapolated to the business world. Various products and services now ‘differentiate’ themselves from others on various accounts consistently, till they become a brand.

In the healthcare industry, branding is in its nascent stages. The emergence of new hospitals has seen a trend towards branding. Top managers and administrators are now realizing the importance of becoming a brand. Well known surgeons and high tech equipment is not the only thing that will see a hospital through in this era of tough competition. Today, the patient and his family are looking for emotional benefits and gratification apart from the treatment.

Agreed, that the Indian healthcare market is still a ‘suppliers’ market where the demand is more than the supply [considering that there are less than 2 beds per thousand people]. But on the other hand, vacant beds and limited OPD patients in many hospitals is also a reality. The reason, more often than not is the failure of the hospital to create a favorable and distinct image about itself in the minds of the prospects.

Brand Name: When Shakespeare said ‘Whats in a name, call a rose by any other name and it will smell as sweet,’ he was definitely not talking from the branding perspective. When it comes to a brand, name is very important. We should avoid tongue twisters and very long names. A simple and easy to remember name will aid the recall for your brand. Also it will be good if the name gives an insight into what your brand stands for. Overnight Express, for example is a good name for a courier company. The name itself helps in differentiation. It should describe what the brans stands for.

For hospitals, naming it after the doctor’s name is a popular trend. This has its limitations. People always think that the hospital belongs to a single doctor or a family of doctors. The brand may remain strong till the doctor is practicing in that hospital. After he retires, the brand will be left wanting for another proposition. Often, the new proposition is difficult to find.

Logo Tagline and Symbols: The logo is an important part of branding. Logo and other symbols again add to the brand identity. Many brands, especially in healthcare ignore this aspect. The tagline tells the people what the brand is all about. It must be precise and relevant. The challenge is always to describe your unique strength in less than 5 words. Powerful taglines like- ‘The Complete Man, King of Good Times, Lifebouy Hai Jahan, Tandurusti Hai Wahan,’ have worked wonders for the recognition and recall of the brands they represent.

Apart from the tagline and logo, the color scheme is an integral part of the brand. Your hospital should have a consistent color. The same color scheme should be visible in your building exteriors and interiors, stationery, web site, etc. Further, you should ensure that the colors you choose are very distinct from the colors of your competitors. Value Proposition: This is perhaps the most important part of branding. What is on offer? What are you giving away? What will they get? The answers to these questions will help you to reach your proposition. Always remember, that the proposition should be unique and at the same time relevant to the target customers. If either of these qualities are missing, the proposition will be a waste. Another important thing about deciding on the proposition is that it should be difficult to replicate. An outstanding value promise, which the target customers would love to have, will be a waste if the advantage is instantly diluted by the competitors following suit. A classic example is the Gillette 3 blade razor. They came up with this wonderful innovation and swept away the customers to their side, consolidating their position in the target market. The advantage has not been taken away from them till date. It is not easy to start manufacturing 3 blade razors.

Brand Experience: The service experience is a vital ingredient of branding a service. When we talk of services, we talk of an intangible product which is produced and consumed at the same time. It will be a mistake if the brand experience is not deliberately created and measured. Biggest service brands in the world go to great extent when it comes to creating a service experience. Starbucks is known the world over for its service experience. A coffee mug at star bucks may cost far more than any other café, but the experience more than makes up for the cost.

A hospital experience consists of many facets which are inter related as well as independent of one another. The entire service process must be documented. The ‘service blueprint’ as it is called, must be prepared in great detail. All th epoints of contact and all the key processes must be included in the service blue print. The OPD flow, admission process, discharge process, etc. must all be documented and SOPs [Standard Operating Procedures] should be created. The waiting times, communication, comfort, etc, must all be taken into consideration while creating a service blue print. Specific measures must be put in place so that the consistency of the experience is measured ongoingly. Needless to say that the service experience should be created keeping in mind the needs of the target consumers.

Internal Branding: I have always maintained that winning your people is the first step towards wining the world. The entire staff of your hospital, right from the Medical Director to the Janitor must be very clear about the brand promise. They should know what the brand stands for and how they are contributing to the delivery of that promise. An independent survey of the employees of the hospital will tell you about the ignorance and indifference of the employees towards the creation of a brand.

Internal branding can be done by using myriad internal marketing tools. There can be inter office communications. Each memo can be designed innovatively to get the message across. I have seen that creatively posters are an effective tool for internal marketing. The hospital staff can put the posters at their work stations. Another equally important tool is internal events. These event not only break the monotony for the staff, they also spread the buzz about what the brand stands for and how the experience to be delivered consistently to gain competitive advantage. Some other internal branding tools include CDs, intranet, initiatives through internal opinion leaders in the hospital, etc.

Brand Loyalty: no discussion on branding is complete without talking about brand loyalty. In service industry, loyalty is paramount. Hotels and airlines hace their legendary loyalty programs running all the time. Hospitals are following suit too. Privilege cards, co-branding, etc, are being used to ensure that the customers remain loyal. The disease profile of the country is changing rapidly. Nowadays, chronic medical conditions are outnumbering the infectious medical conditions. As a result the patients are required to visit the hospitals more repeatedly. Loyalty, hence becomes important and the patient may change his hospital if he does not get the service that he expects.

We all know that retaining a customer is far more cheaper than creating a new one. CRM [Customer Relationship Management] is very important in this regard. Many hospitals are nowadays actively managing their customer relation functions to ensure loyalty.

Brand Extensions: Branding is all about perceptions. Many a hospitals do not realize this. They think that they can play with the brand image and change it at their will. A costly mistake indeed! If a hospital brand is known for cardiac surgery and it adds new dimensions to the proposition by adding other specialties, the brand will most likely grow. Right? Wrong! This does not happen. It is very difficult to change the perception of the brand in minds of the customers. There is a possibility that the new specialties may not do well and the existing one may also go down. Maruti may not be as successful with making trucks and McDonalds cannot successfully sell dosas! You must be consistent with what you stand for. Otherwise it becomes too confusing for people. Not only the extended brand will bomb, the existing brand will also take a hit.

Brand building is the new reality of today in the healthcare industry. People will either jump into the brand wagon or will be left out. Always remember the biggest branding mantra- Be distinct or you may become extinct.

This article has been published in Modern Medicare - www.infomediaindia.com