Hats off to Kelly Robbins in her latest e-newsletter with her Feature Article - reprinted with permission, below.  If you have not yet signed up for her free The Healthcare Marketing Connection e-newsletter, do it today!

How Does Your Brand Effect Your Practice?

Your Image effects what people say about your practice and the type of clients you attract

What does "image" or "brand" mean to you? My first thought is a big company, such as coca-cola, spending millions of dollars to create a "feeling" - something I would never recommend a small business owner do. As a small business owner myself I know I am going to spend my marketing on dollars on activities that produce results, not feelings.

A new grocery store opened up by my house, Sprouts. They call themselves a farmers market (I'm told it's very similar to Sunflower owned by Whole Foods).

The store feeeeeeels fresh and natural. It feeeeels organic and healthy. And, to make things even better, all of the produce is about half the price of our local Kroger store - a huge plus! My husband and I enjoy going to Sprouts together every weekend and purchase fruits and vegetables for our family.

This weekend I was expressing my joy and love of Sprouts to my husband and telling him how the produce department at Kroger's feels empty now. I wondered aloud why Kroger - who is so much bigger - pays so much more for their produce.

My husband gave me an incredulous "duh" look.

He went on to inform me that Kroger probably does get their produce for less, but charges more because they can. As a marketer I obviously should have known that. As I thought more about it I realized that Sprouts is in fact small, it's hard to maneuver the aisles, the store is always packed, the parking sucks, and they actually carry many of the same brands Kroger's does. The produce is not organic or natural. It is not locally grown. In general I'd say the produce is smaller in size and not as "good looking" as the Kroger produce. It "feels" organic and healthy, but it's the same and I feel great shopping there.

Let's take a look at what Sprouts is doing right - besides being the new guy on the block.

They are new and different

Specialize. A "farmers market" has a much different feel than "grocery store"

Less expensive - can't beat that one. In fact it's about ½ the price.

Perceived quality. 

Feels fun. There are free gourmet coffee samples for everyone. Barrels of fresh nuts. Employees are helpful and cheerful.          

Being the new guy is not enough for me to make me add yet another stop in my quest for healthy and affordable food for my family. I already shop at Costco and Kroger's - which is enough for me. 

Less expensive is a huge one, but Wal-Mart produce is less expensive and I don't buy fresh foods there.

How can this information on branding help your healthcare business?

Without spending thousands of dollars a month on branding and image advertising, simply take a look at how your office feeeels. Does it feeeel different and special? What experience do your patients have when they visit you?

I recently changed chiropractors. As I sat in the waiting room I noticed they did ongoing classes throughout the month. Unlike my last chiropractor that had healthy eating and exercising classes (which are fine), this chiropractor has classes on "why you shouldn't get flu shots for your family" and "A body detox session" where patients detoxed together and shared experiences on a blog.

This was different than what I had experienced before and just by the tone of their workshops I know a lot about what they stand for and whether I fit in or not with their beliefs. They believe in something, something that's different, and aren't afraid to speak out about it.

This chiropractor does the same adjustments as my last one, takes my same insurance, and is just as conveniently located. However....the feeeeel of the practice is different. Their brand is different. I like them and am going to continue to go to learn more.

And you know what? I grabbed a flyer when we were in Sprouts this weekend. Guess who's giving a talk there? You guessed it - my new chiropractor!

What small things can you do to create a brand for your practice? You don't have to be a multi-million dollar mega corporation and spend thousands of dollars to create a brand that works for you.

Kelly

(c) 2009, A Marketing Connection 

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