When first looking for healthcare solutions, choosing the right place to go can be challenging. You may start with a Google search to find a physician on a hospital’s website, read reviews from previous patients or even visit the facility. Hospitals are pillars of the community where people go to find resources and answers. Creating an atmosphere of safety and comfort early on can make or break that person’s experience. This is why it’s so important to have a consistent healthcare brand.
Consistency in Healthcare
Having a clear and consistent brand is important for every business. In healthcare – it’s vital. With an unprecedented amount of patient choices and consumerism in the healthcare space branding gives an important first impression. Branding in the healthcare industry plays a role in building trust with patients, creating connections for lasting relationships and becoming a hub for community resources. A consistent healthcare brand can make all the difference.
Brands Build Trust and Familiarity
According to a study done by Procter & Gamble Co., people only have about 3-7 seconds before making a decision to purchase something. Often, they make this decision based on branding alone. Our familiarity, trust and reputation of the brand persuades us to choose one over the other. The same can be said when we are deciding what hospital to have our baby at or where to get our child’s first check-up. When people are quite literally putting their life in your hands, knowing they are going to be taken care of by someone they can depend on is key to having a positive experience. You want your brand to take people from “that hospital” to “my hospital”.
Creates Connections to Community
Healthcare institutions are seen as staples in the community. An essential business and resource people can turn to when they are making important life decisions. Staying consistent with healthcare branding instills trust with the people you wish to serve. If the branding is consistent, patients are more likely to recommend that facility to family and friends because they know what to expect.
If a patient’s experiences do not align with their perception of that healthcare provider’s brand they will seek a more reassuring option. Failure to have consistent branding in every aspect can diminish the overall perception of the healthcare institution. This consistency could be something as simple as having easy to read wayfinding signs around the hospital facility.
A Healthcare Hub
It’s more important now than ever that healthcare institutions are seen as a hub for public health emergencies. During the pandemic, trying to navigate such uncertainty around what COVID-19 truly is and how it could be spread was unsettling. We turned to the nurses, doctors and scientists for knowledgeable and actionable guidance. Establishing a consistent brand makes the research that comes out more credible to those looking for answers. Being a community resource people can turn to when they need critical advice makes the hospital a dependable part of the solution instead of just providing a service when needed.
Having a consistent healthcare brand fosters trust, credibility and reliability among patients, staff and medical personnel. In an industry where trust is vital to the patient’s outcome, brand consistency will initiate and strengthen that relationship.
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