By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    benefits of using protein powder to build muscles
    Protein Powder for Muscle Mass: Everything You Need to Know
    December 12, 2021
    changes brought on by blockchain in healthcare
    Technology In The Healthcare Industry
    March 28, 2022
    What Does Core Body Temperature Say About Health?
    August 17, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    FDA Approves Diabetes Pill
    May 2, 2011
    Patient Gets Drunk on Hand Sanitizer
    June 20, 2011
    Cultivating Health Improvement
    July 20, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Why You Need a Five-Year Timeframe to Build a Brand
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > Why You Need a Five-Year Timeframe to Build a Brand
BusinessFinance

Why You Need a Five-Year Timeframe to Build a Brand

Stewart Gandolf
Last updated: October 2, 2014 8:11 am
Stewart Gandolf
Share
5 Min Read
brand building
SHARE

brand buildingUntil recently, the concept of “brand” or “brand building” has not been too important for physician practices, medical groups or hospitals. Only a few healthcare entities took branding seriously in their marketing plans…and fewer still were able to carry it off effectively.

brand buildingUntil recently, the concept of “brand” or “brand building” has not been too important for physician practices, medical groups or hospitals. Only a few healthcare entities took branding seriously in their marketing plans…and fewer still were able to carry it off effectively.

Almost overnight, or so it seems, all that changed. To listen to some people in the industry, you might think that hot-topic-brand/branding IS the entire plan. It’s not, of course, but the dynamic reinvention of the healthcare service sector, and the concurrent explosion of competition, has jet-propelled the branding bandwagon.

It seems like everyone’s doing it. They dive in to make a splash, but too often, their quick branding effort comes up dry. There’s a lot of motion, but not much traction or meaningful measure of success.

More Read

Reducing Pre-Term Births; Where Public Health Campaigns Can Make a Difference
5 Ways LinkedIn Helps Physicians in Marketing Their Practice
Repairing Heart Valves Without Open Surgery – A Significant Advance
Hospitals Get Early Start on Medicare Reform Sector
Implementing Kaizen for a Lean Health Care Transformation

Building an effective brand in today’s complicated healthcare environment is a complex, multi-faceted and long-term endeavor. The objective is to be top-of-mind, consistently presenting the public, patients, referring doctors and others with a unique and memorable reason to choose you over the competition.

Why healthcare branding falls on its face…

Admittedly, it’s challenging to get it right. It’s a big challenge, with tons of moving parts and an equal number of pitfalls and roadblocks to success. Developing and communicating the How and Why you’re different usually demands experienced help. But in our experience, there are only a few mission-critical reasons that healthcare branding falls on its face.

Bland is not a brand. Many well-intended branding messages are ineffective because they fail to differentiate significantly…or at all. As one example, the word “care” (as in care delivery and/or caring) is commonly bundled around or into a brand message without much more. There’s something “nice” about vanilla ice cream, but vanilla is vanilla is vanilla.

If your competition can say the same thing, you don’t have a distinguishing, differentiating brand or brand message. Instead, dig deeper and ask: “Why you?” or “What are you known for?”

Budget neglect. A quick way to assure a brand backfire is to shortchange the required underwriting. Recognize that your commitment to an effective branding effort includes a commitment to provide sufficient resources. Plan for full and sustained support and be “all in” before you begin.

And the biggest reason is…

Expect to be in it for the long term. You need a five-year plan, and long-view timeframe, to successfully build a brand. Other elements in your marketing and advertising plan, such as direct response for example, have a short fuse and can bring new patients through the door in a relatively brief amount of time. But a comprehensive branding effort is not “done” at the time it launches—that’s just the beginning.

Consider this: The best-known commercial brands in the US, such as McDonalds (founded 1940), Apple (founded 1976), AT&T (founded 1983), or Coca-Cola (founded 1892), have no recognized business rivals that were launched last week. It just doesn’t happen overnight.

The very nature of branding requires time and a sustained effort to win a place in the mind of the target audience. Clients sometimes mistakenly expect to see quick results, but anything less than a five-year expectation is simply not a healthy perspective.

If you’re uncertain about the future course for your brand—differentiation/distinction, budgeting for sustained support, shaping timeline expectations, or other challenges—please reach out to us. We can talk about a consultative review or market testing that will help you avoid these and other problems.

 

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Dental health
May 21, 2025
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
Dental health
May 21, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025

You Might also Like

Health Wonk Review: September

September 15, 2014

Bad Blood: Orthopedic Surgeons vs. Hospitals

October 15, 2015

Pharma R & D Spending is Down

July 2, 2011

Leveraging Health IT to Strengthen Patient Engagement

April 7, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?