Healthcare Branding in 5 Simple Steps

Not even the healthcare industry is exempt from the importance of good branding, so today we’re guiding you through the basic steps that will help you create a strong healthcare brand.

Let’s start with the obvious: why is healthcare branding important? After all, when people are sick you hardly expect them to start evaluating the quality of a logo.

Well, there are a few key reasons why hospital branding is important:

1. It shows professionalism. Having a unique, brand design that’s consistent with your values shows that you have success in your field and you take yourself seriously. This way you can establish yourself as a professional in your field and build success for the long term.
2. It attracts the right people. A cosmetic surgery clinic is vastly different from an infertility treatment center. With the right branding you will immediately attract the attention of your target audience. 
3. It creates a better user experience. Whether it’s a website, a flyer, or even a brochure in your waiting room, good branding can create a positive impression and experience for your patients/clients.
4. It can beat the competition. It’s a well known statistic that people judge a company’s credibility based on web design. And this goes for healthcare institutions. If you seem more professional and successful than your competitors, there’s a good chance it will affect how clients perceive you and boost growth. 

We could dive even deeper into the question “why is healthcare branding important”. Still, you’re here for some practical tips!

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So, here are 5 simple steps that will launch your healthcare brand into success!

Come up with a unique brand promise

Your brand promise is a unique value proposition for your clients (as well as all the basic stuff like what area of healthcare you specialize in). When you start to think up your brand promise, chances are you’ll end up with something that’s already used by your competitors. Keep researching and experimenting so that the final result will be both unique and perfectly suited to your new brand.

Here’s an example you can certainly learn from. St Jude Children’s Research Hospital is one of, if not the most famous children’s hospital in the world. Of course, it goes without saying that they reached this stage in huge part thanks to the expertise of their medical staff. But then again, the name has popped up in many popular films and TV shows, it’s become a hospital brand that’s synonymous with children’s health. The reason for this is their great brand promise, which you can see on their website: “Finding cures. Saving children.”

Highlighting the research aspect, this clinic’s brand strategy focuses on innovation in healthcare. They don’t just save kids (which is incidentally something that most children’s hospitals also do); they find cures even when there isn’t one in sight.

Create a company culture

A healthcare brand is only as good as its staff. In other words, no matter how effective your branding and marketing efforts are in attracting clients, patients stick around if they like the doctors and medical staff, who have expertise and love what they do.

Creating a positive work environment isn’t enough to transform staff into your brand ambassadors. If all they have to say about your healthcare organization is “it’s a great place to work”, this won’t really help to attract new patients. However, if the staff are also excited about the brand promise, if they are keen to share the messaging of your brand, you’re en route to hospital branding success. 

This heartwarming video is part of a hospital branding campaign called “What Are You Bringing To Work Today” from a healthcare organization called Ellis Medicine. The chief pharmacist tells the story of how a thoughtful coworker helped her out during a hard time and also points out that because of this positive work environment, her personal problems didn’t affect the welfare of the patients.

Ellis Brand Campaign Video- "Sara" vF from SMITH & JONES on Vimeo.

Create a visual identity that stands out

A unique visual identity isn’t just a form of differentiation from your competitors, it’s also another channel through which you should enforce your key branding messages. For example, if you’re a cutting-edge research clinic you might opt for a very modern and sleek brand identity, and if you run a big health system, a more conventional brand image that will speak to most patients might be a better solution.

Hapvida healthcare system in Brazil is a great example of modern and innovative hospital branding. At first, you might be struck by how colorful and fun a hospital brand can be. But although this isn’t something we’re necessarily used to, this hospital brand image is perfectly appropriate for the healthcare industry. Instead of showing patients in hospital beds, this hospital brand opted for a visual identity that celebrates health.

With high-quality images of people in their homes, and a fresh, modern color palette, this brand’s visual identity blends together health care with wellness and alleviates some of the usual anxiety around a visit to the doctor. Their hospital logo is both memorable and professional and perfectly reflects their empowering take on healthcare.

Address the patient experience

We’ve explained why it’s important to make your staff your brand’s advocates (they are the ones who interact with your patients). But there are things you can do on the top level of your hospital system that can help transform regular patients into brand ambassadors.

Instead of blatantly telling new patients that your healthcare brand is the best one out there, think about addressing their concerns and pain points, whether it’s the proximity of the nearest hospital or the unease of meeting a new doctor. Good public relations means getting your brand messaging to match the testimonials of your patients.

One great example of healthcare branding in this respect comes from White Planes Hospital. It shows a cancer survivor and her doctor talking about the treatment process. The interview is focused on the patient experience: how the doctor had previously treated this patient’s mother and of the long-standing bond that has formed since. 

The medical professional gives her view of the research excellence which has been made available at this healthcare facility, which highlights the brand promise: outstanding medical and customer service.

Create appropriate healthcare marketing campaigns

With the world of digital marketing blossoming with ever-inventive marketing strategies and social media ad campaigns, it may seem hard at first how something as conventional as the healthcare industry can claim its market share of this glitzy and creative space.

Well, the answer to that question is pretty complex. With some types of healthcare companies like plastic surgeons or dental services, it’s becoming perfectly appropriate to utilize the power of social media marketing; for example, many of these hospital brands use influencers as their brand ambassadors.

On the other hand, marketers might have a more challenging task when it comes to large healthcare systems that aren’t expected to have particularly trendy or “flashy” digital marketing campaigns. With institutions that deal with more serious conditions, expertise and professionalism come first, so something like a webinar might be a far more effective way to get new patients interested in your hospital brand.

One of the largest and most famous research clinics in the world, the Mayo Clinic, for example, has a great content strategy that perfectly fits their hospital brand. They have a blog section that includes specialized articles relevant to medical professionals, as well as patients’ testimonials.

However, this isn’t to say that social media is off limits for healthcare and hospital marketing. 

The Arkansas Children's Hospital in partnership with the Injury Prevention Center started a social media campaign with a shocking title #100deadliestdays. The title refers to the days between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day when there is a spike in teen car crashes and the campaign was meant to raise awareness on safe driving and the protection of children in traffic.

Conclusion 

We hope that this brief guide helped you to understand some key aspects of healthcare branding. 

Whether you sell medical devices, health insurance, or actual healthcare services, the importance of a strong brand cannot be overstated. Just like every other business, you need to show what makes you different and why you’re the perfect choice for your target audience.

The help of a professional healthcare branding agency is desirable, to help you create a unique and memorable logo, user-friendly website, and marketing materials that are both visually appealing and appropriate.

If you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on branding, we’ve got the right solution for you! ManyPixels provides easy and affordable branding packages, starting at just $599.

Get your logo, style guide, website, and everything else you need to make your healthcare brand a success!