In our last entry, Branding for Medical and Healthcare Businesses, we discussed the importance of brand differentiation to your marketing efforts. In other words, you have to demonstrate how you stand out. But how do you make sure that customers continue to perceive your services as unique and superior to your competitors’? By providing excellent service and taking every possible step to make sure every interaction is a constructive one.
The key is to make sure all employees know how important each customer interaction is. Every time a customer calls, visits, or corresponds in writing, your employees have an opportunity to listen to what he needs and wants, to deliver that, and to reinforce the relationship, securing the client’s high opinion of your business. When employees respect and pay attention to clients, they discover information that will be crucial to the customer’s satisfaction, and, in the case of medical practices, to their successful treatment.
In addition, customer satisfaction is directly tied to the growth of new business — both negatively and positively. When someone is happy with your service, they will enthusiastically spread the word and become devoted clients. However, when a customer is not satisfied with a business’s service offering, the negative effect on new business can be several times as big.
According to a 2006 study by the Wharton School of Business with the Verde Group, only six percent of people who experienced bad service at a retail store told the company — but almost a third told people they knew [1]. What’s more, about half of people surveyed had avoided a business because someone else gave a negative recommendation. Your branding efforts will place your company’s image in customers’ minds, and your service should cement the positive association.
A technological component is also crucial to branding success. These days, people get their information online. According to the Pew Research Center, three-quarters of Internet users research health issues online, and one-eighth of users will research health information on the Internet today [2]. Potential customers see your brand not only through advertising and paid search results but on social-networking sites. Facebook, for example, has more than 900 million users — around a quarter of whom live in the United States. That means that more than half of the American population uses this site, and according to the company, more than half of its users use the site daily. Whichever market you’re in, that translates to a great opportunity to broadcast your brand identity.
Just as we advise our clients to pay attention to their customers’ needs, we do the same. We maintain a selective client list to ensure we maintain individual focus and personal service. We know our clients well, and we keep abreast of industry changes and our clients’ growth, so that we can adjust branding efforts as needed. We’re active partners, taking a global interest in your marketing efforts. We invite you to get in touch with us so we can help align the brand and business to drive your business’s expansion in the healthcare marketplace.
2. Pew Internet and Social Life of Health Information, May 12, 2011, www.pewinternet.org, accessed December 2011
