| In the healthcare industry brands are chosen | | | | a perceived value and which would attract him |
| by patients on trust. People rich, poor, | | | | to your facility. Besides the standard of |
| educated or even illiterates consult their | | | | healthcare practitioners and quality of |
| friends, colleagues and family members before | | | | healthcare services and infrastructure, it |
| choosing a particular doctor. | | | | comes down to the level of services - you can |
| | | | project the minimum wait time, friendliness |
| Referral marketing plays a very important | | | | of auxiliary staff, reporting time etc which |
| role in establishing the credibility of any | | | | build a cumulative experience for a client. |
| healthcare set up - the only question being | | | | |
| that how we promote or rather brand the | | | | A specialized treatment centre, which is a |
| healthcare facility and what is the extent of | | | | pioneer in its field, has to speak from the |
| the geographic areas which we can consider as | | | | mantle of a leader - all the communication |
| the catchment areas for generating new | | | | and branding has to deliver the same message |
| business. | | | | and evoke trust and confidence in the minds |
| | | | of the patients. |
| There is no rational spreadsheet or framework | | | | |
| available. That being so, it all boils down | | | | Catchment Areas - for a healthcare set up to |
| to trust. In healthcare the TRUST word rules. | | | | determine the extent of geographic area it |
| Word of mouth is the most important tool. | | | | needs to advertise in, the following points |
| | | | have to be taken into consideration: |
| Branding the healthcare facility - a brand is | | | | |
| an emotional relationship ( an intangible) | | | | The patient population has to be compared |
| which creates or gives an impression to the | | | | with the hospital's catchment-area population |
| customer which makes it choose one healthcare | | | | in terms of demographics and other |
| facility over the other - there are myriad | | | | characteristics |
| factors which go into branding a healthcare | | | | |
| facility, from whether it is a multi | | | | The size of the set up - how many clients can |
| specialty facility or whether it is a | | | | it serve effectively |
| specialized treatment centre. | | | | |
| | | | Presence of other players offering similar |
| For a multi specialty centre, it would be | | | | procedures |
| advisable to compare the healthcare set up | | | | |
| with the other similar existing healthcare | | | | What do we perceive the market size of the |
| setups and chalk out a plan to project the | | | | procedure and not to mention the |
| perceived shortcomings (in other setups) as | | | | consideration of the geographic distance |
| our strengths - however caution needs to be | | | | which the patient would be willing to travel |
| exercised in projecting strengths, which | | | | for the treatment. |
| should be something for which a consumer sees | | | | |