Healthcare PR and marketing professionals rely on varied methods to promote, publicize, and push out newsworthy topics, companies and events, but let’s not forget about one substantial and influential marketing tactic: word of mouth marketing. Word of mouth can be as effective as a million dollar publicity campaign.

For many medical practices today, their main source of new patients comes from word of mouth – patients have the online world as their forum, where they can voice their opinions 24/7 and if you’re not careful, they’ll build your reputation and brand for you if your practice doesn’t develop an effective marketing campaign first. Scott Public Relations recognizes how imperative it is to build a flourishing brand for your medical practice, and the five tips for successful branding (below) work not only for medical practices, but for any healthcare, insurance, or technology company in our opinion.

The five healthcare marketing tips below, presented in Sue Jacques’ Physicians Practice article regarding medical practice branding, are very helpful to follow when creating a successful, thriving brand for your practice.

Tip #1: Stay in alignment

Set aside one hour for a brainstorming session about branding with your team. The message will be meaningless, however, if it does not match your corporate philosophies, systems, and guiding principles—have everyone think of as many core messages as possible pertaining to your practice. Consider:

  • Courtesy (how you treat colleagues, patients, etc.)
  • Punctuality (the level of commitment to meeting deadlines)
  • Expertise (what you specialize in)
  • Referrals (how you accept and forward recommendations for services)

Tip #2: Excise the excess

After sharing the messaging developed in the brainstorm, condense each category’s statements into one or two words that you think click (as a group). Choose words that are most in line with the personality and standard of your practice—prioritize them and select the top word from each category.

Tip #3: Develop credibility

The chosen words will be fundamental to your brand message. Make sure you can deliver to become known for the characteristics your words represent, stay on schedule if that is one of your tenets, and have a sincerely friendly staff if you say that they are. It is crucial to make a personal, professional, and overall team commitment to develop a reputation for consistency in these qualities.

Tip #4: Make a declaration

To go public with your new branding message, turn your words into an edict that depicts who you are, what you do, and how you do it. Use this message to talk with your patients instead of at them.

Tip #5: Exhibit your brand

Look for ways to display your new brand (company website, business cards, etc.). Finding a way to share your brand messaging using your words, attitude, and general behavior is extremely important. Despite what is displayed externally, it’s who you are internally that defines your brand.

What do you think of these five branding tips for medical practices? Do you have some tips you’d like to share? If you own a medical practice, what did you find most effective when developing your own marketing strategy?

We’d love to see what other tips we can provide to healthcare, insurance, and technology companies. Leave your comments in the section below or leave us a comment on our social media pages.

If you’re in healthcare, insurance, technology or other professional services industries, and need help with a PR, marketing or social media campaign, contact Scott Public Relations.

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