Communication is often seen as a touchy subject when it comes to the healthcare sector, given the tight regulations and fierce competition. In their struggle and rush to find more innovative ways of combating diseases, the companies in the industry forget that they are dealing with humans first. Pair this with the fact that almost every company has a different approach and products, for curing the same condition, and we get a clearer picture on why communication is regarded such a hassle in this industry. A solution to all of this is to look at and improve all the touch points between the targeted audience and company. This process is also known as branding.
The importance of Branding in the healthcare sector
Why is branding the solution? There are quite a few reasons for this, but two of them stand out the most: The first one is the fact that because of the tight regulations, many of the traditional marketing techniques and strategies aren’t effective or usable. The second thing refers to something that I’ve already said earlier on, the fact that companies usually forget that their audience is made from people and not diseases. By building a brand, a company can differentiate itself from the competition, humanize interactions and create a loyal audience. Naturally, in order for the results to be top notch, the branding process must be carried out by communication agencies with a vast amount of experience and expertise. If the process is carried out in a wrong manner, by inexperienced people you can find that your company’s image has been greatly damaged. When done by professionals, the branding process can offer you certain advantages such as:
Increased Awareness
People tend to stick to what they know, and in the healthcare industry things are not so different. When the branding efforts are implemented correctly, the brand will experience a surge in the awareness area. This translates into more people finding out about your brand, as well as more people, being able to identify your brand’s visual elements. Another bonus to all of this is the fact that not only more people will be able to easily associate your business with the industry, but also see it as one the best in it.
Customer loyalty
People are attracted to companies that share the same values with them. A good branding process identifies the common values, enhances them, and creates emotional connections between the audience and the company. Connecting at an emotional level is the most powerful thing a company can do to create a loyal audience and increase its credibility. An added benefit of this is the fact that your reach is greatly extended, as there is no secret that a happy client will tell around 4 people about his experience.
Decreased Marketing costs
A large audience of loyal clients has a lot of perks, and one of the most important is the fact that your marketing costs will be significantly lower in the medium to long run. How low will they go? Well, taking into consideration that to attract a new client is up to six times more expensive than retaining one, there’s no doubt that the impact is significant.
The importance of design
People are visual beings, with a capacity of processing images 60,000 timesfaster than it would with a text. Given this trait, there’s not a big surprise that design is at the heart of the branding process. In a strictly regulated and competitive environment, everyone is focused on finding better cures for diseases and forget about the patient’s experience.
A human-centred approach to design in the healthcare industry can greatly improve your branding efforts, and the experience of the patient, who is in the end, the ultimate stakeholder. How can it do this? A company whose brand identity design that showcases the common values and views it has with the targeted audience can greatly enhance the emotional connection between them.
A key thing that many people miss, is the fact that design doesn’t mean only the brand’s identity, and stretches to many areas, from the company’s website to apps, packaging and interiors and much more. Almost any interaction between the brand and the customer has design elements in it.
By working with a professional communication agency, you can finely tune these interactions to enhance your company’s connection to your audience at an emotional level. The results will be a more immersive and intuitive experience for the clients and a much loyal audience.
Conclusion
It’s time to see the bigger picture, where the people are the final and most important pieces in the healthcare ecosystem. To make sure that your relationship with them is based on trust and loyalty, the touchy subject of communication and subsequently branding in the industry has to be approached with professionalism and courage. Failing to do so will leave your company in a vulnerable position, where people your relationship with the people is based on distrust.
