Healthcare Branding

Reputation Management in Healthcare: The Key to Correcting Misinformation

Reputation management is pivotal for hospitals and healthcare systems. Its effectiveness directly impacts the quality of healthcare services and ensures patient trust. Without a credible reputation, everything else pales in comparison. Quality scores, the latest technology, physician reviews, and patient experiences all matter. Addressing and correcting misinformation, especially in today’s digital age where rumors can spread rapidly, is a critical component of reputation management in healthcare.

A hospital’s reputation is a mirror of its medical proficiency and its unwavering dedication to patient care, safety, ethical standards, and overall community health. In the face of challenges, such as the recent pandemic, the importance of reputation management was further underscored. Unverified statements rapidly transformed into widely accepted facts, illustrating the urgency of debunking myths in healthcare.

Ultimately, a hospital’s reputation serves as a cornerstone for building lasting relationships with patients and the broader healthcare ecosystem, ensuring continued success and community support.

Addressing Sources of Misinformation in Healthcare

Effective reputation management in healthcare mandates a keen focus on the sources of misinformation. Whether managed internally or externally, social media channels require vigilant monitoring to identify and rectify misinformation that might sway your audience.

A recent study by researchers at the Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center evaluated 500 popular TikTok posts associated with five hashtags related to gynecological cancer. These posts garnered over 466 million views, yet a staggering 73% of the content was found to be inaccurate.

While social media’s reach can be a boon for healthcare marketing, circulating misinformation, especially about critical subjects like cancer or vaccinations, can detrimentally impact health outcomes. By actively tracking misinformation, marketing teams have the chance to rectify false information, bolstering the hospital’s reputation and highlighting its community value. This proactive approach also empowers healthcare providers to discuss trending misinformation with patients, bridging trust gaps and enhancing the overall patient experience.

Misleading Information’s Impact on the Healthcare Industry

The repercussions of misleading information extend beyond just medical protocols and outcomes. Patients, especially those battling conditions like cancer, juggle myriad challenges. For them, comprehensive discussions with their care team can allay concerns, fostering trust and nudging them to seek professional guidance over internet-based sources.

Platforms like TikTok, popular for light-hearted content, can unfortunately be breeding grounds for misinformation. Thus, reputation management also involves monitoring other social channels, podcasts, audio platforms, and even traditional media to a certain extent.

The Role of Influencers in Reputation Management and Misinformation

In the realm of reputation management, it’s essential to recognize the influence celebrities wield, especially when they venture into providing healthcare advice.

From celebrities promoting the latest wellness products to figures like the Kardashians endorsing new medical treatments or procedures, their vast outreach can often mislead the public. Consumers, captivated by these endorsements, might hastily follow such advice without consulting a medical professional. For healthcare marketers, it’s pivotal to address such celebrity-driven narratives and guide the audience toward informed, professional advice.

Who Do Audiences Trust for Health Information?

In our digitally connected era, online reviews and social media significantly shape public perception. Effective reputation management leverages these platforms to promptly address negative feedback, accentuate hospital strengths, and underscore a commitment to patient well-being.

Interestingly, the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a diminished trust in media, especially social media, with only 44% of respondents placing their trust in social media platforms. In contrast, the healthcare sector enjoys a 70% trust rating, and scientists are trusted by 76%. A 2023 Gallup poll further indicates that despite a generalized skepticism among Gen Z towards major US institutions, their trust in science remains over 70%, and more than 80% express trust in the medical system to varying degrees.

These trust metrics offer healthcare marketers a golden opportunity: position medical professionals to counteract misinformation, thereby enhancing and preserving the institution’s reputation.

TotalCom is a full-service marketing agency helping brands like yours tell their story to the right audiences. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363 to see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

The Power of Authenticity in Branding During Economic Downturns

In the face of global challenges, such as the recent tridemic (COVID, RSV and flu), the role of authenticity in branding has never been more critical. While these healthcare crises are managed through medical interventions, the economic strain on consumers is palpable. This period, however, offers a unique opportunity for brands to connect genuinely and elevate their image authentically.

Branding becomes more critical during troubled economic times. However, remember three main points:

  1. Your brand is everything that people experience about you and that makes them want to utilize your facilities and your services.
  2. Your brand is how others see you, not how you see yourself.
  3. Keep your brand authentic.

Consumers have clamored for authenticity since the start of the pandemic with 88% of consumers saying authenticity is important when deciding on brands they support. They don’t care about platitudes or superlatives. They want to know how you intend to care for them and then to experience the care you promise.

Authenticity in branding, simply defined, refers to the quality of being genuine, real, and true to one’s principles, values, and identity. When it comes to branding—particularly when increased day-to-day costs are on everyone’s minds—authenticity ranks as one of your most valuable and powerful attributes.

Here are five ways that authenticity in branding can elevate brands in an economic downturn or anytime:

  • Builds trust. When a brand consistently delivers on its promise and presents itself openly and honestly, consumers are more likely to trust it. Accolades and tone-deaf messages fail to inspire safety, trust, and credibility. Instead, messages that provide patients with free community resources, reiterate the value of prevention, and offer cost-conscious programs benefiting their health go a long way to instill trust by prioritizing their health and wellbeing.
  • Differentiates from competitors. In a crowded marketplace, especially with competition on all sides, authenticity can set a brand apart from competitors. Authentic brands’ unique stories, missions, and core values help them stand out.
  • Attracts a loyal customer base. Authenticity fosters a connection between brand and customer. These connections occur at every touchpoint—from your social media content to interactions with your customers. When consumers feel genuine connections, they become loyal advocates who promote your brand to others. To elevate the consumer experience, ensure that your brand reflects your core values and that employees are aligned with those same core values. If you promise exceptional service, do your best to treat customers like they’re your only customer.
  • Elevates brand image. An authentic brand is usually perceived as more credible and reputable. However, achieving that status doesn’t happen overnight. FleishmanHillard’s study showed that brands needed to act to meet consumer expectations. About 95% of the industries studied did not meet expectations of providing their customers with better value. Credibility and authenticity typically go hand in hand to elevate your brand image.
  • Increases perceived value. Authentic branding elevates your brand and can elevate the perceived value. When consumers trust and believe in the brand, they are often willing to pay more for services or procedures even during economic downturns.

While many brands talk about authenticity, it’s crucial to truly embody it. Authenticity in branding helps achieve brand trust and credibility. Authenticity helps elevate your brand by connecting with audiences on a deeper level, creating stronger bonds, and driving business even during challenging economic times.

TotalCom is a full-service marketing agency helping brands like yours tell their story to the right audiences. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363 to see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

Short-term Marketing Plans Are the New Normal

One of the biggest lessons of 2020 was learning to pivot. Change is now the normal in healthcare. This makes creating long-term marketing plans challenging. Instead, it’s more efficient to implement short-term plans and revisit strategy, goals and objectives mid-year to determine what’s working and what’s not.

With the calendar year more than halfway over, two marketing tactics on everyone’s minds are artificial intelligence (AI) and Threads. If you haven’t already, give both a try. With 100 million users joining Meta’s Threads app in less than five days, it’s the fastest-growing social media platform in history. While no one is predicting Twitter to disappear anytime soon, the competition might bring order to its chaos.

No technology since the launch of the internet has generated as much excitement as generative AI. In two months, ChatGPT also had 100 million users. Instead of fearing it, become familiar with its capabilities. Use it to kickstart a revised marketing plan. As the adage goes, “You won’t be replaced by AI; you’ll be replaced by someone using AI.”

While fine-tuning plans, consider four primary audiences and their expectations:

  • External audiences—patients/consumers
    • Internal audiences—employees/physicians
    • Media
    • Marketing team

What Consumers Want

According to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, consumers overwhelmingly distrust government, media and institutional leaders. However, trust in healthcare remains stable at 70%.

Healthcare marketers can strengthen that trust, primarily by listening to patients. Understand what they want and expect at different stages of their care journey. Conduct surveys, hold focus groups and monitor online conversations. Ask for consumer input and then deliver on the feedback.

Convenience and customer service expectations also remain high with consumers. Industry statistics show that customers who experience excellent customer service are three times more likely to recommend that brand to others. However, 66% of consumers say a bad interaction with customer support can ruin their day, and 73% of them are likely to switch to a competitor.

The pandemic prompted people to seek social interactions where they feel safe and comfortable—like Norm walking into Cheers “where everyone knows your name.” Review where you can increase personalized experiences. Customize content, emails and campaigns to individuals. Audit touch points to ensure that you’re responding quickly to requests and implement convenient one-click processes wherever possible.

What Employees Want

Few workforces have been hit harder than healthcare over the past three years. Weathering shortages, burnout, the great resignation and quiet quitting, hospital leaders increasingly look to marketing departments to help reengage employees. In a recent survey of 500 human resource leaders, 52% want marketing involved in employee experience programs to help drive market perception.

Communication departments can help create clear, targeted messages that resonate with internal groups. Analyze messages carefully to deliver what audiences want to hear. Just as asking for patient input, ask for feedback from internal audiences. Listening to employees has dual benefits—they can also tell you what customers want and how to get there.

Use internal marketing campaigns to promote employee benefits such as on-site wellness rooms, mental health resources, recognition programs, additional PTO or other initiatives that prioritize their well-being.

What the Media Wants

The importance of trusted public health communication has never been more critical. The newest pandemic is disinformation, which could become a bigger challenge with misuse of AI. For communications teams, building partnerships with the media is beneficial for both sides and particularly for the public.

Journalists want to hear from communications professionals. According to the 2023 Cision State of the Media report, they believe the most trusted sources of information are major newswires and press releases.

Maintaining credibility as a trusted news source is among their top priorities, as is ensuring accurate content and addressing issues in the community.

Here are some tips for maintaining productive relationships with media contacts:

  • Position physicians, hospital leadership and other spokespersons as credible experts.
    • Leverage market data—original research, trends, polls, surveys—to make yourself indispensable to them.
    • Monitor social media for trending topics that you can localize; they’re using social listening as well.
    • Email pitches and releases; don’t pitch on their social channels.
    • Know reporters’ beats and audience; irrelevant pitches get you blocked as does aggressive outreach and follow-up—once is enough.

What the Marketing Team Wants

As with other target audiences, monitor the needs and expectations of your own marketing department. There are lots of shiny objects bouncing around. Pick one or two major priorities and concentrate on improving marketing efforts in that area.

Not surprisingly, research shows that 80% of marketing professionals want to improve and streamline internal operations. Does your current budget include project management platforms and automation to do this? If not, spend time with the team to review recommendations for tools that benefit everyone. Otherwise, segmented platforms that make one person’s job easier can negatively impact others’ workload.

Producing marketing content faster, larger staffs, bigger budgets and managing expectations typically top the wish list of every healthcare marketing department. In the meantime, while heading into the last part of the calendar year, revisit strategy, goals and objectives to make sure marketing efforts connect with the healthcare system’s mission, vision and goals. There’s always next year to ask for more budget.

TotalCom is a full-service marketing agency helping brands like yours tell their story to the right audiences. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363 to see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

Data Drives Healthcare Marketing Efforts

Healthcare Marketing—It’s All About the Data

When developing marketing strategies, healthcare organizations typically use data-driven approaches that leverage quantitative and qualitative research and reports to gain insights into the market, along with patients’ needs, preferences and experiences.

Along with internal snapshots gained from patient surveys, reviews or focus groups, also consider external data from healthcare industry reports, competitor analyses and consumer trends. This information helps you predict changes in the landscape. If one thing remains constant in healthcare marketing, it’s change.

Gaining a deeper understanding of what’s going on beyond the immediate healthcare industry is beneficial to developing targeted campaigns that resonate with patients, other stakeholders, internal audiences and the community.

What journalists think.

Among the stakeholder groups vital to marketing success are the media—what they think, how they’re responding to their changing industry and healthcare coverage.

A State of Journalism 2023 survey of more than 2,200 journalists—mostly US based—reveals what drives journalists’ decisions. Among major findings that can impact your earned media strategy are:

  • Most respondents primarily work online with about half also working in print; print-only journalists make up 6% of those surveyed, and TV- and radio-only drop lower;
    • The number of journalists likely to respond to a pitch is up slightly from 2022 but still only 29%; they don’t respond to pitches because of irrelevant topics, lack of personalization and timing;
    • Most journalists receive up to five pitches a day and some more than 250 a week depending on the market;
    • Shareable stories influence coverage with 66% saying they actively track the number of times their stories are shared on social media; what makes stories shareable—trending topics, pitches with images or infographics, exclusivity (76%), and localized topics relevant to target audiences;
    • Journalists responding to a pitch depends on how you pitch—92% want to be pitched one-on-one by email; 21% prefer to be pitched on Monday, and 55% don’t have a day-of-the-week preference; 61% want to be pitched before noon; 88% prefer pitches of 300 words or less; 45% says one follow up 3–7 days later is ideal;
    • While half of the journalists admit they’ve considered leaving Twitter, 90% use the platform to follow news, 78% to promote their own work and 69% to find sources;
    • Only 25% of responding journalists cover healthcare; 10% wellness and fitness;
    • Millennials (57%) are the media’s top target audience, followed by Gen X (52%), Boomers (43%) and Gen Z (41%).

What CEOs think.

A Communications Benchmark Executive Summary 2023 shows despite some progress since post-2020, gaps still exist between the C-Suite and communications teams.

The poll of some 1,000 communications leaders suggests that C-suite executives now task communications teams with more than branding, creative, content strategy and public relations. Marketing teams often oversee diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. This new area of responsibility also has a new descriptor—”mixternal” communications.

Major findings from the poll include:

  • CEOs increasingly focus more on measurement and expect comms teams to create and deliver uncomplicated, accurate and persuasive messaging;
  • Trust gaps between executive perceptions and employee and consumer perceptions are significant—87% of execs think consumers “highly trust their companies” compared to 30% of consumers who do, and 84% think their employees “highly trust their companies” while only 69% of employees say they do;
  • Many C-suites now want marketing and communications initiatives to include recruitment, retention and employee wellness; they understand the need to recruit and retain talented communicators and marketing professionals with the skill set to recruit and retain employees to other departments;
  • Communications teams again find themselves bridging the gap between C-suite and employee perceptions—54% of leadership and only 39% of employees say diversity is a priority for the organization; 56% of employees think executives care about their well-being, while 91% of the C-suite say employees would say well-being is priority.

What marketing communications teams think.

In 2020, the word “pivot” drove healthcare marketing strategies. COVID-19 may no longer be officially designated as a pandemic, but “pivoting” continues.

A recent survey reveals some of the top challenges expected by marketers in 2023:

  • Generating traffic and leads—Changes to privacy and cookie tracking have sent marketing teams, particularly in healthcare, scrambling for alternate ways to generate leads. The plethora of content channels and changing trends as well as fickle consumer preferences add more hurdles to producing measurable metrics.
  • Hiring top talent—The Great Resignation and remote work prompt concerns for hiring, retaining and training marketing teams. Being skilled writers or creative designers are no longer the most desired skills for marketers. According to a LinkedIn report, they also need technology, business management, research and analytical skills. As it turns out, comms professionals do need to know math!
  • Marketing plan pivots—Actually planning to pivot is considered the top challenge to 17% of survey respondents. One lesson that 2020 taught is to plan for the unexpected. Otherwise, performance metrics, budgets and market preference are at risk. When developing campaign strategy, always keep another option on the table.
  • Securing budgets—The ask from marketing departments for more budgets, more staff and more pay now expands to requests for technology upgrades, professional development and ongoing training. Healthcare marketing budgets have not made a comeback since 2019 when healthcare marketing spending peaked at $12.3 million. Overall, budgets are expected to decline by 8% in 2023.

While challenges have increased exponentially over the past three years, tracking data and trends and staying prepared for the next “big thing” or crisis can help you develop smart, agile healthcare marketing strategy.

TotalCom is a full-service marketing agency helping brands like yours tell their story to the right audiences. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363 to see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

How Font Choices Impact Your Marketing Message

We’ve all received emails with a jumble of font styles, sizes and colors that triggers a visceral reaction worse than fingernails on the chalkboard. What were they thinking? More than likely their message was also lost. Font choices—whether deliberate or unintentional—can definitely impact the message.

One hospital administrator’s chosen email font was Comic Sans, often in ALL CAPS and sometimes with comical splashes of color. When asked by the hospital CEO about the font choice, the administrator replied that it made him feel happy. Shortly afterwards, the brand standards guide was revised with strict dictates for font style, size and no color other than black for all hospital communications.

While Comic Sans may have made the sender happy, a message that looked light-hearted about important matters may not have been well received.

A recent study from Monotype, the world’s biggest type foundry, and applied neuroscience company Neurons suggests that different fonts elicit different emotions. The survey of 400 people, from ages 18 to 50, reveals that fonts can influence the way we feet about certain messages.

We process the meaning of words and emotions in the temporal lobe of the brain. The presentation of words can also trigger emotional responses. While healthcare trends toward more serious messages, we generally want to maintain an optimistic rather than alarmist tone of voice. Words and fonts can simultaneously deliver tone of voice.

According to the study, softer and more recognizable fonts tend to produce more positive emotional responses. Pointy, sharp font types often trigger negative emotions.

Fonts are subjective and can mean different things to different people. A study from Brown University indicates that fonts can be ageist. As we age, our eyesight tends to weaken, making it more difficult to read or as quickly as we once did. But, before we blame it totally on age, it might be due to font choices.

Often clients request that we change the font style and size on documents. At an older age some people are no longer able to easily read light, condensed fonts.

The Brown study tested 16 of the most popular fonts used online, in newsprint and in PDFs among participants ages 18 to 71. None of the fonts proved the frontrunner. However, the survey showed that participants over 35 read more slowly on average than younger participants with every font except EB Garamond and Montserrat.

The reason may be the X factor. Of all the typefaces studied, Montserrat—a sans serif font—has the tallest x-height, which refers to the height of a lowercase x. Larger x-heights can improve readability.

EB Garamond  can trigger nostalgic reactions from older readers. It is more of a classic serif design but with updated features including a taller x-height.

Digital platforms typically default to sans serif typography with subtly rounded corners and stems that emote warmer, softer emotions. However, print typeface leans into serif fonts. Even recently published books may use Bodoni, Caslon or other classic typefaces designed in the 18th or 19th century. Pat Conroy’s “My Reading Life” is set in Kennerley, designed by Frederic William Goudy. The famed designer described the font as a “book letter with strong serifs and firm hairlines.”

Times New Roman, introduced by The Times of Londonnewspaper in 1931, remains one of the most widely used fonts of all time. Designed specifically for newsprint, it has a high x-height, short descenders below the baseline that allows tight linespacing and a relatively condensed appearance.

The Times kept the same font for 40 years, only replacing it with variants of the original typeface. Likewise, it was the easily recognized standard font of The New York Times until being replaced in 2007 by Georgia, still a serif design but wider and easier to read.

The American Psychological Association includes 12-pt. Times New Roman as one of only six options for papers written in its APA style.

When logos and brand standards are being redesigned or updated, make sure the designer supports font choices with target audiences in mind. Maximizing the impact of marketing messages depends on maximizing the readability of the message.

How Hospitals Can Build Brand Loyalty
Earning the trust of your patients will help your hospital build brand loyalty.

After more than two years of focusing on COVID-19, health remains top of mind with consumers. Numerous surveys find that US adults are more concerned about health and hygiene than prior to 2020. Of the top five consumer brands they trust most, according to Morning Consult, four are healthcare related—BAND-AID, Lysol, Clorox and CVS Pharmacy.

64% of U.S Adults trust healthcare companies.

Likewise, similar polls show that 64 percent of all adults in this country trust healthcare companies, second only to the trust they place in food and beverage companies. At the bottom of that same poll sit CEOs, with social media and media companies hovering just slightly above them.

This backs findings from the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, which reveals that globally, consumers basically trust no one—particularly government leaders, journalists and CEOs.  The same report, however, shows scientists to be the most trusted societal leaders and healthcare to be among the most trusted industry sectors.

Consumer health concerns present a platform for hospitals and healthcare systems to amplify information that lets audiences know “this is what we’re doing” to prioritize their health and care for them. That starts with strengthening bonds between providers and patients, where trust matters most.

Having Coffee With A Friend

How many times have healthcare marketers been told that, despite best efforts, patients go where doctors lead them? With consumers in the driver’s seat that belief is now less prevalent, particularly with Gen Z and Millennial audiences who harbor a high distrust of traditional methods and approaches.

The traditional model of ambulatory care has gone the way of the horse and buggy doctor making house calls. Or has it?

The digital healthcare transformation offers healthcare brands more ways to gain the trust of their patients and build brand loyalty.

Digital healthcare transformation—telemedicine, wearable diagnostic devices, texting, emailing, or messaging through EHR portals—now makes patient care more direct and personal. Remote doctor visits are becoming more like having coffee with a friend, as opposed to in-person interactions with a doctor.

Patients who trust your healthcare brand are more likely to have brand loyalty. 39% of survey respondents will go out of their way to do business with a brand they trust.

Providers can maintain trust with their patients by acknowledging and marketing themselves as unique, individual brands. In the Morning Consult study, 39 percent of respondents indicate when they trust a brand, they will go out of the way to do business with it. Few things cause a woman more angst than having to change hairdressers or gynecologists. Once they establish a bond, it’s hard to break.

Choosing one doctor over another often depends on four key factors:

  1. Patient experience
  2. Convenience
  3. Reviews
  4. Competitive pricing

Trust between doctors and their patients empowers providers to get back to what most want to do in the first place—keep patients healthy.

Humanizing the Brand

One of the most valuable lessons learned from the pandemic is the need to humanize brands to demonstrate knowledge and solidify consumer trust.

Patients trust providers with their health, time, and money. Credibility and trustworthiness solidify their decisions more than over-the-top promises and exaggerated claims.

Start by getting rid of pre-2020 platitudes. Instead:

  • Share authentic patient stories to inform and educate;
  • Feature doctors, nurses, and other staff to share brand stories;
  • Inform with science and research without hesitation or sugar coating;
  • Listen; ask patients about their visits with quick and easy post surveys; monitor reviews and social media comments.

Carefully Consider What You Say, Do and Share

Consumers tend to lose trust in a brand due to negative experiences and sub-par quality. Picking sides on a social issue that contrasts with the consumer’s views is also a trust breaker.

Even though a doctor’s or nurse’s personal social media pages should be safe forums for sharing personal beliefs, it is a public forum. The public doesn’t distinguish between what Joe says, does or shares while on vacation from what Dr. Joe says, does or shares on the practice platforms during office hours.

For example, providers are now caught in a legal and political quagmire following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. With emotions running high on both sides of the issue, not only can providers lose patients with public or private statements, but their brand can negatively be affected.

Currently, earnestly addressing, prioritizing, and managing a patient’s health builds trust.  And that’s important.

How to Improve Brand Reputation

Recognizing When Your Brand Is Losing Its Luster

Illustration of people working together on building a brand reputation. Illustration includes a laptop, graphs, and social media icons.

If your marketing seems less effective or success benchmarks aren’t being met, it may be time to evaluate your brand reputation. Though some shifts in performance can be attributed to the ever-fickle consumer and rapidly changing marketing trends, sometimes the problem can lie deeper beneath the surface and may require long-term solutions. So how do you tell if your healthcare brand is losing its luster? And how do you stay nimble enough to avoid a sliding brand reputation?

Start by examining the relationship between brand and reputation. Your brand is the promise you make to audiences. You earn a reputation by how you fulfill that promise. When the gap between those begins to widen is when the brand begins to slide. You can be a bright, shining star one day with the brand reputation of a dull pariah the next.

Learn from Retail Brands

Paying close attention to the state of your healthcare brand’s reputation could save you from being faced with a timely and expensive rebranding effort on top of falling revenues. One retail brand that failed to keep up with its changing reputation is early 2000s fashion icon, Abercrombie and Fitch. The fashion brand hinged its success on a marketing strategy of elitism, positioning itself as the way teenagers can look cool.  Abercrombie & Fitch quickly fell from grace as changing social attitudes about racial diversity and size inclusivity stood in opposition to the brand’s messaging.

When a class-action racial discrimination lawsuit against the company came to light, it was clear Abercrombie & Fitch needed serious changes in its culture and messaging. In 2017, the brand underwent a full transformation to improve its brand reputation resulting in a resurgence of success with Gen Z consumers. Carey Collins Krug, Abercrombie Brands’ senior vice president and head of marketing told TeenVogue, “Abercrombie today isn’t about ‘fitting in,’ but instead is focused on creating [a] space where everyone genuinely belongs.”

Toxic company culture—mistreatment of employees, discrimination of any kind, misinformation, and inauthenticity—can also quickly tarnish a brand. Healthcare marketers can learn lessons from retail brands like Abercrombie & Fitch. Test your brand regularly to make sure you’re still relevant and well received by your target audience.

Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions.

There are two rules to maintaining a good brand reputation. First, never get comfortable. Second, constantly polish the brand.

Rule #1—never get comfortable or take your eyes off the ball.

Rule #2—constantly polish the brand and monitor your reputation.

How do stakeholders view your brand? Ask them. Perception research is critical to evaluating marketing programs and determining if messages resonate with audiences as authentic, truthful, and what they want.

Whether in-depth consumer and brand studies or short post-visit patient surveys, digital platforms place invaluable data at your fingertips. Questions or comments posted on websites or social channels can also warn of shifting consumer behaviors.

In monitoring your brand, monitor the competition as well. Look for areas where they may be outshining you or losing some of their lusters.

Step outside the marketing bubble to test the brand promise.

Being too close to creating and marketing a brand can skew the perceptions of even the most experienced marketing professional. If you haven’t tested your brand promise since pre-2020, quickly do so.

Does the promise resonate with patients, employees, doctors, and community stakeholders? Does it resonate with your barber, barista, or mother? If the reaction is “what does that mean?” you know it’s time to refresh the brand.

Brand reputation can be viewed as a Venn Diagram. One part is your brand promise. The other part is brand fulfillment. In the center you can build brand trust.

The Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 special report, “Brands Amid Crisis,” chronicled consumer values that quickly shifted from aligning with brands reflecting social status, success and lifestyle to those that put consumer safety first, showed value and cared more about people than profit. Edelman’s 2021 Trust Barometer declared a complete information bankruptcy, with consumers mostly distrusting everyone.

For your brand to stay relevant and resonate with audiences, remember they are watching how you treat employees, what you’re doing for the community’s health, how you’re taking care of them and how you react in times of crisis.

To retain brand trust with audiences, stay ahead of them. Implement such tactics as:

  • Provide the best digital experiences possible from website to mobile apps.
  • Curate content that’s authentic and relevant, not platitudes about the brand.
  • Invest and engage with community needs.
  • Position leadership as leaders in the community, particularly in times of crisis.
  • Identify local micro-influencers whose brand values align with yours; leverage their influence.
  • Listen to them.

In this time of rapidly shifting consumer perceptions and social attitudes, move swiftly and strategically if you recognize that your brand is beginning to lose its luster. 

If you feel your brand may be losing its luster, we can help with strategic planning, rebranding, and more. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363.

How to Choose a Healthcare Marketing Agency
even points to consider when selecting a healthcare marketing agency

Seven Points to Consider When Selecting a Healthcare Marketing Agency

Unless you’ve been lucky enough to escape downsizing, healthcare marketing departments often need to contract with outside agencies for tasks that your team cannot handle on its own. Consider these seven points before starting the search for .

1. Healthcare Marketing Experience.

An outside agency can add creativity and expertise to the in-house team. It also lends a third-party perspective that sometimes leverages more weight with the C-suite. However, ensure that the agency has healthcare marketing experience and proven results to back up dazzling visuals and lofty recommendations.

Healthcare industry experience is necessary due to standards and regulations that physicians and hospitals are required to follow.  The account team must be familiar with HIPAA compliance, CMS, and FDA regulations to craft marketing messages.

2. Creative Capabilities.

Creative talent should be evident from the onset, starting with the marketing agency’s website and digital presence. It can also reveal their intangible personality.  The best way to discover what they can do is by getting to know them. Conduct initial research and select two or three agencies that interest you. Talk with them; invite them to visit; figure out if there’s chemistry.

Instead of the requisite “request for proposal,” issue a “request for partnership.” While many agencies won’t do spec creative, assign a project, even at a nominal fee, to a couple at the top of your list. This can provide a preview of their creativity. You want to see innovation and vision. Look for “wow” moments.

3. Mutually Beneficial Partnership.

A successful relationship between client and agency is a 50-50 partnership. Producing the desired marketing results requires collaboration, transparency, mutual respect and realistic expectations on each side’s part.

One healthcare marketing director recently shared his thoughts about forging a client-agency partnership, explaining that the client needs to have a level of trust and confidence in the agency. For their part, the agency must have the skills and expertise to prove their worth to the client.

4. Financial Discussion.

The quickest way for relationships to break down is over money. During the review process, ask about billing, fees, retainers, up charges and rate sheets. Open and transparent discussions at the beginning can prevent misunderstandings later.

Before work starts on your account, define the process for authorizations, approvals and change orders so both sides share the same expectations. Failure to have these discussions can lead to loss of trust later.

5. Measurable Goals.

When reviewing a healthcare marketing agency’s portfolio, ask about results and case studies that include quantified measures of success. Just as with talks about money, work openly with the agency to establish performance criteria at the onset.

Beware of results that seem too good to be true—those probably can’t be proven. In the age of digital marketing, analytics are readily accessible to both client and agency to help direct the marketing spend and move the needle.

6. Relationships and Responsiveness.

Like all interpersonal relationships, people usually work best with people they like. We measure our own client relationships not just by the longevity of the account but those that produced lasting friendships.  Chemistry is the number factor in a successful agency-client relatioinship.

Ask about the team, along with bios, likely to be assigned to your account. You want experienced marketing professionals with proven credentials and core values that align with your own.

Talk to some of their current clients to discover how they interact with the agency and their responsiveness.

Establishing a successful relationship with your account services team depends, in part, on flexibility, responsiveness and willingness to listen. With the right chemistry, they can become an extension of your marketing team.

Evaluation of healthcare marketing agencies includes their research capabilities, knowledge of trends in the healthcare industry and familiarity of the local market.

Research and data should drive the development of any campaign. Review qualitative and quantitative research processes. With the myriad changes in the marketplace knowledge of trends within the marketing industry and familiarity with current media options and effectiveness is essential.

Even if an agency hasn’t worked with other local clients, their ability to learn the market and assimilate into the community can help increase your brand awareness.

Checking off these points makes the process of selecting a healthcare marketing agency easier.

TotalCom is a full-service hospital marketing and advertising agency that believes in getting great results from telling great stories. Contact us to explore if we might be a good fit for your organization.

Managing Your Hospital’s Reputation

Why Reputation Management Is Key for Hospital Marketing

At the doctor's office, a female doctor is performing a checkup on a young girl.

Reputation is everything in business. It’s even more important for hospital marketing because a hospital’s reputation is its most important asset.

Without a strong reputation, your hospital’s patient intake will suffer. After all, people don’t want to entrust their health to a hospital that has a poor reputation. (more…)

Make Your Community Hospital Standout with Hospital Marketing

How to Make Your Community Hospital Stand Out with Hospital Marketing

Medical staff and patients with hands together

Running a community hospital in an area dominated by larger hospitals with more brand recognition and bigger budgets can be very difficult. It’s hard to stand out unless you have a convincing brand value proposition, a competitive advantage to exploit, and a smart hospital marketing strategy to gain market awareness.

This challenge is particularly seen in suburban or rural areas where community hospitals are going up against urban medical centers in larger nearby cities. Standing out can be hard, but it is possible to carve out a competitive advantage and stand out in a crowded market dominated by larger competitors.

The means to this outcome is a well-crafted hospital marketing strategy built around the natural benefits of being a community hospital.


Finding Advantages You Can Claim

The main advantage a smaller hospital has versus a larger hospital is simple: smaller hospitals mean doctors have fewer patients on average, thus improving patient relations and creating a more personable feel.

We see this all the time in the retail and service industries. You may not get the same selection in a smaller store as a larger one, but you’ll probably get better customer service than going with a larger chain. For example, if you’re using a plumber who knows you by name, you’ll probably get more prompt attention than going with a larger, more corporate plumbing company.

Caring comes naturally to thing caregiver who is helping an elderly patient

The same logic applies to hospitals. No patient wants to feel like they’re just one face out of thousands who make their way through the larger hospital, almost like an assembly line. Patients in, patients out. That’s the image of a large metro hospital that you want to portray. Your contrasting image is one where doctors and nurses have the time to get to know the members of their community and give them more direct attention.

Another major advantage is proximity. No one wants to travel 45-60 minutes each way to visit someone in the hospital, or go to see a doctor for a checkup. Community hospitals have a big advantage in that they are in their patient’s own backyard. You’re only a short drive away, and in emergency situations, that can be invaluable.

Finally, a big advantage is wait time. Wait times at large urban hospitals are almost always longer than they are in smaller, rural ones because of the sheer volume of patients they have to process. The message here is this: “Go to a place where you won’t spend more time waiting than you will actually being seen by a doctor.”


Hospital Marketing Methods to Capitalize on Advantages

Business People Meeting using laptop computer, calculator, notebook, stock market chart paper for analysis Plans to improve quality next month. Conference Discussion Corporate Concept

Hospital marketing is all about creating perceptions. You want to paint a perception through your ad campaign that large hospitals are just too big. They’re impersonal, overcrowded, and inefficient. They can’t possibly care more about you as an individual as a community hospital does, because we’re your neighbors. Those are the perceptions you’re working to create.

Painting this picture with a traditional ad campaign is one way to differentiate yourself. Having an active social media presence is another. You can probably be more responsive to patients and their families online than a bigger hospital can, even if they have more resources. Capitalize on that.

Make sure you are creating a cohesive message across all of your marketing channels, traditional and digital. A campaign-style format is best because you are working with a central theme and everything synergizes well with everything else.

A smaller, rural community hospital can compete with larger, big city hospitals. It’s all about playing to your strengths and creating brand perceptions that favor you.

TotalCom is a full-service hospital marketing and advertising agency that believes in getting great results from telling great stories. Contact us for more information or view our previous work and see what stories we can tell for you.