Feb. 15, 2008 at 2:33pm

Coffee and a colonoscopy

Posted by Shari Campbell in Advertising, Care Line Marketing, Planning and Strategy
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Last week’s episode of “Dance War: Bruno versus Carrie Ann” provided surprising inspiration for one of the key elements of branding: differentiation.

For those of you who missed the show, country sensation Taylor Swift made a guest appearance and offered advice to the dance teams. ”When I was 11-years-old,“ the now 18-year-old recalled, “I knocked on the door of dozens of record companies. Now I don’t know if I’d advise you to do that, but I learned one thing from that experience: figure out how you’re different and stick to it.”

For hospitals and health care systems, differentiation can be a struggle. Your CEO and senior leadership may believe branding and differentiation is all about a logo and the latest series of print ads. Physicians may put pressure on your department – and the CEO – to promote the latest medical gizmo, which may be almost identical to your competitor’s technology. At least in the eyes of consumers.

A few thoughts for you to consider about differentiation:

Customers (patients) expect more. In his book The Brand Mindset Duane E. Knapp suggests that “customers expect more from products than just performing certain functions.”

A case in point: My neighbor recently told me how much she enjoyed waiting for her husband at a Tacoma-area gastroenterologist. This physician-owned practice offers guests of their colonoscopy patients a comfortable waiting room decked out with a flat screen TV, the latest DVDs and a complementary coffee bar.

“I watched a movie I’d wanted to see and had a latte – it was so enjoyable I’ll definitely take my husband back there for his next colonoscopy,” she told me.

One other key point: She made no mention of the quality or reputation of the physicians or the hospital he’d previously visited for this procedure. Her decision was based solely on a difference that meant something to her.

Features and benefits probably aren’t enough. I’ve been scanning a lot of hospital ads lately and am left with one key sentiment: confusion. One hospital claims it is the best at hip surgery while the hospital across town asserts it’s the best as rated by yet another organization.

I think hospitals would be wise to take the advice of Jonathan Kranz. He writes that when your business is hospitality, professional services and other industries in which the thing sold is a thing lived, you need to communicate what it feels like to see, hear, touch or taste your product.

Rather than just run print ads promoting the quality or benefits of a particular service, create materials, Web site tours and other tools that clearly illustrate to consumers how you are the best hospital for hip replacement surgery.

Can your employees express it to others? If your organization is truly distinct and different, your employees, from the custodial staff and grounds crew to nurses and pharmacists, should be able to tell their family, friends and neighbors about it.

Try this simple exercise: My hospital is different because it _____________________ and always offers ________________________________.

Can you fill in the attributes in ways that mean something to your neighbor?

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