You are Your Brand – in Healthcare

There are many e-books, webinars and seminars on creating your ‘brand’, and that is all great, but in healthcare, should you create a brand around your business, or should you concentrate on YOU first? 

This is a question that comes up quite a bit when meeting with healthcare practitioners, we ask them what makes you unique, and the answer is usually “we give the best care”.  But if we emphasize what makes YOU unique, would that answer be different?  In most cases it is – the practitioner says “I am great at treating spine patients” or “I have great outcomes with my shoulder surgery” or “I spend a lot of time with my patients and listen to their issues”.  

These are great things to capitalize on as a consultant or strategist – the things they do, that others may not do as well.  This doesn’t mean to leave out the brand of their business, it just means to put focus on the uniqueness of the practitioner, and continue to build a culture around what they do well, and what the patients value most.  This will help the patient and consumer identify why they need your expertise.  Once a person has referred a friend or family member to you, that potential patient will probably go straight to the internet and do a search for information and reviews about you. Make sure that you put time into keeping your reputation updated.

A couple of tips to help your professional brand reputation follow you anywhere:

• Claim and update your listings on Healthgrades, Vitals and RateMD’s, and any other pertinent sites. This listing will follow you wherever you go, or if you own your own business.
• Update your LinkedIn profile. If you have your profile updated, other professionals can always find you, and continue any professional relationship you have created. Your profile is your online CV, so make it good, and keep it updated.

Referrals will always be a key factor in your business, especially word of mouth. Make sure you play an important role in keeping your online and offline reputation updated and clean, this may determine if a patient or provider decides to utilize your services!

Have you found it difficult to keep up with your online profiles or wonder which ones are the most important?  I’d love to know what you think.  Comment below or email me at veronica@connectionshealthcarestrategies.com