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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)
The 5 principles of a healthy brand
Healthy brands are brands that are high performing. I’ll share five principles that I’ve seen that when followed, drives performance amidst external forces.
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The purpose of a brand is to achieve the highest perceived value possible and a healthy brand is able to sustain this kind of performance amidst external forces. In this blog post, I’ll share the five principles of healthy brands, after helping build brands in healthcare for almost a decade.
A healthy brand may or may not be in the health & wellbeing industry, but the health & wellbeing of a brand is key to be continuously high performing.
Principle 1: Stability
Everything begins with a strong foundation of the brand. From positioning to personality and purpose, the core of the brand needs to be an unwavering north star so decisions can be made consistently in service of building brand equity. The market and the competition is going to fluctuate and change, but without a stable core, your brand is going to go where the wind blows–average, bland, uninspiring… Consider iconic brands you know (the Nikes of the world), they are unwavering, and because they lean into a human truth, they are timeless.
Principle 2: Congruency
Brands are like people. If you are incongruent where your actions don’t match your desires, you feel uneasy, your gut tells you something is off, you are unhappy. Brands are the same way. If its actions don’t match its promise, if its expression doesn’t match its personality, your audience and your customers can sniff it out immediately. Congruency is also where a brands memorability and power comes from. Patagonia is congruent–from its backstory to how it communicates, to its CSR programs, it seeks to match its outside with its inside as much as possible, as often as it can.
Principle 3: Tenacity
For a brand to be healthy, it needs to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Why? Because standing apart from the competition means you need to zag when others zig. It’s uncomfortable to stand out from the crowd. And if god forbid you need to do something different in order to stay relevant with the prevailing culture, that’s really painful. But no brands can be loved if it doesn’t do something true to their purpose even if it’s uncomfortable, even if it means sticking to your guns. When CVS renamed to CVS Health in 2014, they pulled tobacco products from their shelves, the investor and business community called it suicide, immediately losing billions of dollars in revenue. It was uncomfortable, but guess what? It was on brand and it delivered real impact.
Image from: https://causemarketing.com/case-study/cvs-health-last-pack-case-study/
Principle 4: Adaptability
In order for the brand to stay relevant, it needs to be constantly listening and adapting. The why remains constant, but the how can change. When a brand is so full of itself, drinking its own “Kool-aid” and blaming its customers for not doing what they are “supposed to do”, it’s in trouble, the ego of the brand is taking over. Much like people, when ego drives decisions, disaster awaits. Brands like Toys’R’Us, Blackberry, Kodak… the list goes on where the lack of adaptability dooms the brand. When you are not willing to change with your customers, you will be left behind. It’s that simple.
Principle 5: Grow-ability
Ok, I made this word up, but it doesn’t mean it’s any less important! A healthy brand is constantly seeking improvement, serving more people and serving them better. Tony Robbins says it best “If you are not growing, you are dying” and this applies to brands so well. Even if a brand seeks to maintain its brand equity, it has to grow, because nothing around it stays the same.
Conclusion
By putting together the right people and leaders, the right processes and governance, the right technologies and competencies, these five principles can be used to build a healthy brand that will drive peak performance even in the worst of times.
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)