The Singularity of Hospital Branding Success

If today’s patient-now-informed consumer isn’t at the center of your branding universe, you don’t have an effective brand.

In the rarified world of physics and mathematics, “singularity” is a point at which a function takes an infinite value. Sci-fi readers find the term applied to “space-time when matter is infinitely dense, as at the center of a black hole.”

If today’s patient-now-informed consumer isn’t at the center of your branding universe, you don’t have an effective brand.

In the rarified world of physics and mathematics, “singularity” is a point at which a function takes an infinite value. Sci-fi readers find the term applied to “space-time when matter is infinitely dense, as at the center of a black hole.”

And, for those of us doing battle for top-of-mind branding and brand recognition, hospitals and doctors need to find and communicate the infinite value “singularity” that declares why or how you are recognizable, different and better than the competition.

Unfortunately, many providers and hospitals are slow to accept the sweeping changes in healthcare, clinging to “old school” traditional attitudes and systems that (a) fail to effectively differentiate their brand, and (b) fail to fully embrace today’s consumer-oriented society as a business fact-of-life.

Lessons in success…

Insightful large enterprises and main street stores understand that consumers expect them to cater to the needs of the paying customer. And the best of the brands that consumers like you and I want to do business with are, first and foremost, customer-centric. For example, what comes to your mind with the mention of:

• AMAZON points to its “customer experience culture” as a primary factor in its success. Amazon has no stores, but it’s bigger than Walmart.
• An army of fanatical followers and loyal customers follow APPLE and its consumer electronics products. Its billions in market capitalization exceed the GDP of hundreds of countries.
• STARBUCKS sells coffee, but hundreds of other vendors do, also. It’s reasonable to conclude that Starbucks’ success is more the product of the unique customer’s experience than the beverage.

Who is at the center of your hospital brand?

Many, if not most, hospitals and health systems communicate the patient-focus concept of caring in their tagline. And in fairness, most providers strive for a culture of concern and satisfaction. But an assembly line legacy still exists below the surface. The old school hospital foundation was built on satisfaction for their doctors, and for the operating convenience of the facility.

Marketing savvy doctors and truly innovative hospital communicators are working to reinvent healthcare’s delivery system as a customer-focused service product. Giant ships take miles to turn, and old ways are glacially slow to change.

But the singular concept that will eventually lead to success in branding is for healthcare to steer away from being operational driven. This requires a completely fresh perspective, a blank piece of paper, and delivering a uniquely superior product rooted in what the consumer needs and wants.

As the nation’s health care system continues to redefine its place and purpose, and as medical competition continues to intensify, a critical change factor is that consumers have choices. Patients get a meaningful vote. They recognize exactly what they want and what kind of experience they truly appreciate.

Unlike any time in the past, the singularity of success in hospital branding puts the patient at the center of infinite value.

We’d like to hear what you think, and we welcome your comments. And for related resources, connect with the following articles. Or connect with us today for a confidential conversation.

• Thinking Forward: Taking Your Hospital Brand to the Next Level
• Healthcare Branding: That Was Then. This Is Now.
• 5 Key Concepts to Bolster Your Hospital Brand

Stewart Gandolf, MBA

Author information

Stewart Gandolf

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Healthcare Success Strategies

Stewart Gandolf, MBA, is CEO of Healthcare Success, a medical marketing and health care advertising agency. He is also a frequent writer and speaker. Most importantly, he is happily married and a “rock-n-roll daddy” to two wonderful girls.

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