Brand Identity & Healthcare Integration

If we could see into the future, we wouldn’t be in business today. We’d be investing in the stock market, or flying cars, or the next iThing. But because we are open for business, we stay keenly aware of trends and predictions in order to get a good idea of what the future might bring, thanks to the opinions of those who are keenly aware of their business.

Particularly eye-opening is a survey documented in Futurescan 2017-2022, a publication developed by the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD) and the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). The survey polled 651 executive members of SHSMD and ACHE, soliciting opinions of industry trends and their impact in the next five years.

Results of the survey indicate 63 percent of these healthcare executives think it is “very likely” or “somewhat likely” their hospital will enter into a merger or other affiliation with another hospital or health system by 2022.

Considering that the majority foresee mergers in the next five years, another number is equally enlightening: An overwhelming 83 percent of respondents think it is either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” their hospital will invest additional resources “to manage organization-wide cultural change.”These predictions raise a very important question: How does a healthcare entity or system retain relevance with the public it serves during and after a transformational merger or significant cultural change?

By making certain its brand identity moves forward with it. The best way to ensure it does is by investing in a comprehensive rebranding.

A business can build a phenomenally attractive and functional new building, but if it doesn’t let the public know what’s inside – and why they need it – people will simply pass it by.

Similarly, your brand identity encompasses more than your name and logo. It is your welcome mat and main entrance. It informs the public through a variety of communication tools precisely how you think – and why you think it. It conveys your history and your vision. It illustrates skills and specialties, experience and achievements. It bonds with loyal customers and acts as a magnet aimed at new ones.

Your brand identity is what you want the public to see when it sees you. And one of the things you want them to see is the future.