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Learn the four traps when branding is mistaken for marketing
Branding is NOT marketing. So when organizations thinking they are the same thing, the brand is in jeopardy! Learn what can transpire when this happens…
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Brand, the feeling and perception anyone has about a company, product, person or service is the result of all touch points and interactions. And so branding, the way to create that feeling and perception, is essentially everything.
But because the idea of brand and branding is born out of the field of marketing, it’s usually seen as the same as marketing. I want to tell you that it is NOT! And it can be detrimental if it is seen as such. Marketing is not everything. There is communications, there is customer service, there is HR, there are many functions that make up the entire experience! From before the purchase to during the purchase and after the purchase.
Four traps when branding is mistaken for marketing:
ONE: Time pressure
Marketing is driven by campaigns and campaigns are time bound. How did it perform? What were the metrics? While campaigns are short term, building a brand takes time. Every campaign that we introduce in the market adds to the brand, it continues to build that feeling and perception. Think about Coca Cola or even J&J, their brand is forever solidified in the minds of their audiences. Each campaign throughout time etches that perception and feeling about the brand ever so deeper into our minds. If we abandon the brand strategy because the campaign did not “perform”, we are missing the opportunity to create a snowball effect.
TWO: Stifled potential
When branding is solely seen as marketing, it’s just infinitely harder to align every touch point to create the perception you want. You are not enrolling every tool in the tool box, instead trying to imprint that perception only through one function. The potential of creating an aligned experience across every function in the organization that drives brand equity is lost. Think about the Zappos brand–an entire ecosystem that communicates and exemplifies their brand of WOW and QUIRKY DELIGHT. It’s their HR, their customer service, their culture, their emails, their shopping experience… it leverages everything the organization can muster.
THREE: ROI rabbit hole
Marketing and ROI has become inseparable. It’s fair, because marketing is business of capturing the increased perceived value through branding! It’s capturing that value by an increase in revenue, either through higher prices or a larger share of the market. A marketing budget needs to be substantiated by ROI. How much return or increased revenue are you going to deliver based on the spend? This kind of thinking would quash branding efforts… as they go beyond revenue generation (at least in the short term). It’s creating that perception, it’s shrinking the consideration set, it’s building fans. If it’s about ROI, Patagonia will not run an ad saying not to buy their jackets. If it’s about ROI, CVS would not have pulled tobacco from their shelves.
FOUR: The “not my problem” problem
Branding requires everyone. It’s not just a marketing “thing”, nor is it a “sales” thing. Successful and powerful brands permeate entire organizations internally and all those they serve externally. When branding is seen only as a marketing “thing”, disaster strikes. Other functions have no skin in the game and hence they don’t need to cooperate, they don’t need to chip-in and fund a branding initiative. When the brand is not owned by everyone, it becomes dismissed and departments/ functions can easily look the other way.
Conclusion
Insist that branding is NOT marketing. Even if marketing is accountable for initiating, organizing and orchestrating branding efforts, branding is EVERYTHING. Organizations can bring together people, processes and incentives to design branding into everything they do.
Ways I can help you
Download free guides (Healthy Brand Blueprint & Branding 101) to help you build healthy brands
Work with me as a fractional CMO/CBO or through Healthy Brand Consulting (Schedule a 15 min intro call)
How positioning works for multiple stakeholders
Positioning is a strategic concept that’s been around for decades, but most people get it wrong. How do you use positioning in the healthcare space? Or in any space where there is a complex web of stakeholders? In this blog post, I’ll break it down for you…
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Positioning is a strategic concept that’s been around for decades, but most people get it wrong. In the healthcare industry, it can be even more complicated with very different types of stakeholders: Payers, healthcare providers, patients, caregivers etc. How do you use positioning in the healthcare space? Or in any space where there is a complex web of stakeholders? (I use stakeholders, because not all of them “buy” from you, but all of them influence and have a say in deciding and paying for your product or service) Should you have one positioning or multiple positionings? In this blog post, I’ll break it down for you and at the end of it, you’ll be able to wield this tool to help you in your marketing and communications efforts as you build your brand.
Definition
You know this, but it’s worthwhile to get on the same page about its definition: Positioning is capturing a specific place in the mind of the consumer (in our case, the stakeholders). And since brand is the feeling and perception anyone has about your product, service and company, positioning is THE strategic tool to build that brand, to create that feeling.
Positioning principles
By adhering to these four principles, it gives you the greatest opportunity to capture that position in the minds of your stakeholders.
Specific
Your positioning needs to be concise and sharp. When you are trying to be known for everything, you will become known for nothing. So the key here is to cut things out, not pile things on.
Relevant
Whatever you stand for, it needs to be what your stakeholders care about. It needs to fit into their current context and what they are trying to accomplish. So instead of me, me, me, think them, them, them.
Differentiating
The key point of positioning is to stand apart from your competition. Lean into something your competition is not being perceived as and have the courage to zig when everyone else is zagging.
Sustainable
Long term defendability. Whatever your positioning is, it needs to be continuously defendable. So whether it’s adequately resourcing your positioning or a bullet proof portfolio of patients, base it on something that can withstand the test of time and competition.
Brand level positioning
At the highest level, you need to have a positioning that spans all your stakeholders. Yes, ONE positioning that go across all your stakeholders. By looking across your stakeholders and finding a common, homogenous need, you can position your brand accordingly. In healthcare, while payers, healthcare providers and patients have specific needs, you can start to create one segment by defining the collective issue they all grapple with that your brand uniquely solves. Iterate until you can find the most specific, relevant, differentiating and sustainable positioning.
Example:
1st iteration - an infectious disease test for those in need of a diagnosis
2nd iteration - a quick turnaround infectious disease test for those who are the most vulnerable
3rd iteration - the most direct route to an infectious disease diagnosis for the immunocompromised
Stakeholder level positioning
Once you have positioning at the highest level for the brand, you can then focus on each stakeholder group. In order to make your positioning uber-specific, you will want to target specific segments within each stakeholder group, addressing each specific issue:
What type of immunocompromised patients? How far along are they in their diagnostic journey?
What kind of lab directors? What kind of tests do they currently have? How do they make their decisions?
What kind of infectious disease physicians? What is their approach? What kind of decision making power do they have?
What type of payers? Are these integrated delivery networks? What about employers? Which types of employers?
By understanding these target segments, you can then operate within the brand level positioning to craft something very specific for each segment. This will then guide messaging and campaigns to communicate your offer distinctly, while still aligning to a higher level brand positioning.
Conclusion
Positioning as a tool and strategy allows us to capture that specific place in the minds of our stakeholders, and by going this process, you can be targeted to each stakeholder group and yet build brand equity at the highest level.
Ways I can help you
Download free guides (Healthy Brand Blueprint & Branding 101) to help you build healthy brands
Work with me as a fractional CMO/CBO or through Healthy Brand Consulting (Schedule a 15 min intro call)
What is your healthcare company DNA?
Every company has an intrinsic DNA. And it is imperative that its brand reflects its DNA in order for its expression to be authentic and real. What is your healthcare company’s DNA type?
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Every company has an intrinsic DNA. And it is imperative that its brand reflects its DNA in order for its expression to be authentic and real. You can try to force a personality on a company, but you will probably fail, such misalignment requires a cultural change, which can take many years to complete. Some DNA changes however, come naturally as the company grows.
During my many years of working with healthcare companies, I’ve come to find a handful of DNA types that show up again and again. By recognizing them, it guides the entire strategy of the brand, making it more likely to be adopted and aligning the outside with the inside.
The four DNA types:
The Scientist
Scientists pride themselves in technical and scientific discovery. These are companies that typically have a scientific platform that they’ve discovered and patented, using it to create multiple treatments and therapies. Scientist companies are usually led by founders who are researchers and have deep technical expertise. Scientist companies stand apart by educating and communicating to stakeholders the potential of their platform.
OPPORTUNITY:
Scientist companies have a defendable secret sauce to help them stand apart.
TRAP:
Messaging that is so esoteric that only the internal team understands and cares about, resulting in an irrelevant brand expression.
Examples:
The Mother
Mothers are all about the people. In the case of healthcare companies, it would be patients, members, or the general public. They pride themselves in the best service and experience over everything else. These are companies that tell patient stories and celebrate the impact on their lives. Mother companies are typically commercial stage companies and later in their lifecycle.
OPPORTUNITY:
In healthcare, there is plenty of room to innovate on customer service and experience because of the disjointed and complex nature of the industry.
TRAP:
In a B2B2C environment, it can be seen as an over-reach, because when companies rely on physicians and healthcare professionals to treat patients, the companies themselves don’t actually deliver the care.
Examples:
The Designer
Designer companies are obsessed about their products and the systems they put together. They appreciate both form and function, taking a user centric approach when developing their solutions. High quality and reliable are typical descriptors of Designers. There is usually a very strong engineering and UX culture in the company and execution is deemed as an essential principle of success.
OPPORTUNITY:
Safety is such an important facet of anything healthcare related and Designer companies can build a strong sense of trust in their brand.
TRAP:
Too much focus on products and systems can come off as self-centered and cold.
Examples:
The Visionary
Visionaries are on a mission to change the status quo of care. They are typically thought-leaders and have a very strong point of view about what is wrong and what needs to be done in the healthcare space. Their purpose is often very clear and they can attract the biggest names in the industry. True Visionaries in healthcare combine both a strong opinion with the goods to back it up.
OPPORTUNITY:
Visionaries are charismatic and is able to tell stories that galvanize an industry, bringing awareness easily.
TRAP:
Too much “talking”, not enough “walking”. Touting some kind of a silver bullet without proof can backfire in the complex world of healthcare (ie. Theranos).
Examples:
Conclusion
The four DNA types are not mutually exclusive, but understanding which is the lead is important for any brand building initiative. Once you’ve identified which is the core DNA for your company, alignment and adoption can be attained more efficiently.
Which DNA is your healthcare company?
Ways I can help you
Download free guides (Healthy Brand Blueprint & Branding 101) to help you build healthy brands
Work with me as a fractional CMO/CBO or through Healthy Brand Consulting (Schedule a 15 min intro call)