WHAT WE BELIEVE
Promoting a health care organization should feel less like "selling services" and more like "sharing a vision of the way healthcare should be."
The alliance between marketing and medicine is at best, uneasy. Words like advertising and branding are unpopular with people who have chosen caring for others as their life's work. Most health care workers do so because they want to make a difference, they want to feel that what they do has meaning. Authentic storytelling captures this spirit and provides digital content that is used to communicate, both internally and externally, an organization's committment to a culture of caring.
Health care organizations should be perceived as likeable.
Healthcare seems to be in the headlines daily, and sadly, most of the news is negative. Costs are soaring and access can be problematic. Consumers are aware of this and may feel angry and resentful if they perceive that "their" health care dollars are being spent on glossy self-promotion. On the other hand, consumers seem to be drawn to organizations that tell stories honoring the courage of patients as well as the compassion of caregivers.
Marketing targets are important, but what if it were possible to actually make a difference in the quality of healthcare given?
Organizations who have chosen to tell authentic stories report tangible evidence of marketing success (growth of market share and revenue, increases in the number of referrals and web hits, etc). In addition, the subtle results gained when consumers see medical staff and employees portrayed in an authentic manner may be even more transformational.
A shared vision of pride may improve morale, productivity, and attention to patient experience.
Employees and staff learn from what they see. There is no better teacher than example.
Recruiting medical staff and employees may be easier when it is apparent that appreciation is woven into the fabric of an organization.
©2012 LERNER