In our recent article, What’s Your Health Tourism Brand? we talked about the importance of building your brand in health tourism. So, let’s delve into the steps you can take as you approach developing your health tourism brand.
Here are a few, simple steps to branding.
- RESEARCH.
Find out what your brand position is, and what your competitors are doing. Not just the ones you respect, but all of them! Test your assumptions and ideas, then test them again. It’s almost impossible for destination or organizational leadership to be objective about their perceptions, their assets, and their liabilities. In this regard, it’s essential to have data from customers and reliable third parties.
- WHAT IS THE PURPOSE BEHIND YOUR BRAND?
Ask yourself, “Why? Why are we here, offering and delivering this service?” Draft a Vision, Mission, and Values statement, and get everyone to buy into it. This becomes your “brand promise.” Put it on fancy paper and make posters, put it on your website and your social media, and make desktop symbols that capture the ideas. In other words, decide what your brand will be from the inside out, and recruit everyone on the inside so that they reflect it on the outside.
- FOCUS ON VALUE, NOT PRICE.
Every destination, every health and wellness provider wants to be known as a good value, rather than cheap. Among the factors on which consumers base decisions, price is seldom at the top of the list. (See Chapter 4: Pricing Your Services). Build your health tourism brand around what your customers and consumers want, such as comfort, relaxation, restoration,healing, lifestyle improvement, etc. Remember – customers buy benefits (values) not features (see Chapter 3: Your Offer). Know what you will be known for.
- FOCUS ON YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE.
How do they describe you? What words do they use? Surveys and market research are important here. This is where you need to know the persona of your ideal customers. Are they men or women, middle age or young-ish, how much money do they earn, where do they live, and what are their lifestyle choices?
Based on the above, steps to consider implementing include…
- CREATE A BRAND VOICE AND PERSONALITY.
This can range from serious to frivolous, from academic to spontaneous. The “Brand Personality Profile” can help you with this. What is the personality of your brand?
- TELL GREAT STORIES as part of your on-going branding initiatives. Find or write great stories that reinforce your brand position and its personality. Your audience will have varied appetites for facts and figures, but everyone loves compelling stories.
- LOOK AT YOUR LOGO, TYPEFACE, IMAGE, AND COLORS.
Many destinations and businesses start here, but this is a mistake we hope you will not make. Your logo is NOT your brand! Ask yourself (actually, it would be better to ask some objective friends you trust, or conduct some research): “Is this logo or tagline consistent with the brand personality I want to portray?” Your brand’s logo needs to reflect the brand personality, not yours, or that of the person who designed it for you! Just check the studies about brand recognition and you will see that even the most well-known brands struggle with the rate and accuracy of recognition.
- BE CONSISTENT.
Apply the design aesthetic or ethos across everything you do, from your signage to your physical facilities, your website, and social media to your promotional items and stationery.
- DEFEND, PROTECT, AND FORTIFY YOUR BRAND.
Once you are clear about your brand, and everyone on the inside is enthusiastically supporting it, the next and final step is to protect, defend, and fortify its position. Disney is a great example of this brand stewardship. Monitor what is being said about your brand in the media and online. When necessary, respond to criticism.
Stay tuned for our next article “Brand Recovery in Health Tourism.”
About the Marketing Handbook for Health Tourism
Health tourism and wellness travel markets are in turmoil. The marketing challenges and opportunities for health tourism destinations and providers of health, wellness, dental and medical services have never been greater – or more complicated! Established destinations and providers of health, wellness, dental and medical tourism are looking for ways to remain competitive, and new entrants to these competitive health, wellness and medical travel markets are looking for the path to success. The Marketing Handbook for Health Tourism offers practical, applicable insights for all these audiences.