Written By Lucy Peters

A sound branding strategy is key for businesses in any industry, with statistics compiled by Oberlo showing that around 86% of consumers value authenticity, and 81% feel they need to trust a brand before they support it. When it comes to healthcare branding, these values are of the essence, as is a respect for diversity. Demographic trends show that the US is experiencing a major transformation – so much so that non-Hispanic whites no longer dominate the census. By the year 2045, this group will represent less than 50% of the population, and by 2060, this number will shrink to 43%. Savvy marketers should be in tune to these changes if they wish to survive and thrive in an ever-changing world.

Key Components Of Successful Healthcare Branding

Branding strategies for the healthcare sector should contain various targets – including showing a brand’s value; building a good relationship with suppliers, peers and patients; providing patients with personalized, speedy and effective treatment; attracting top professionals to join one’s team; and boosting brand awareness. Your brand logo, website, social media channels, blogs, and other forms of media should focus on your target clients’ needs, with a view to building authentic connections based on shared values. Simplicity, emotion and continuity are additional values that should be expressed in your logo and communications. Branding in healthcare comprises everything from selecting colors for your logo or website that express trust and experience, to providing patients with feedback and good customer service, so that public reviews of your business are mainly positive.

Diversity Is Not Optional

The increasingly diverse nature of patients in America means that healthcare companies wishing to stay at the top of their game need to ensure that racial, ethnic, and other minorities are listened to. The Pew Research Center found that over 52% of American adults feel that brands should address concerns such as racism in society, and that they should actively find ways to be inclusive and avoid unconscious racism and exclusion of minorities in branding, product promotion, and all areas of business. Digital communications catering to diverse audiences should be prioritized, with areas such as language, imagery and topics being chosen in line with the needs of diverse audiences. Current advertising is increasingly representing people from various genders and cultures, as well as those with diverse body types. Authentic diversity should be more than tokenism: in order to truly work, it should arise from diverse teams that understand the needs and wishes of minority and diverse groups.

Total Market Infusion

David Maricich, President of Maricich Health in California, recently published an article on the importance of “looking at diverse communities for what they have in common, then fine-tuning the messaging by tailoring to their respective nuances.” This approach is known as ‘total market infusion’. It takes into account that various ethnic groups and other minorities have different ideas about healthcare, disparate abilities to access food, and different attitudes towards health itself. Marketing messages sent to different groups must contain essential truth, without skimping on “additional educational and grassroots awareness efforts” aimed at specific populations.

Building a reputation for trust, authenticity and continuity is vital in any sector, but arguably more so in the healthcare sector – since life and wellness depend on healthcare services in many cases. Marketing within this sector should be patient-based as well as diverse, bearing in mind the rapidly changing demographics of the nation. In order to authentically speak to various minority and diverse groups, marketing teams should themselves be diverse in order to build the additional awareness that is necessary for effective communication.

Please also review AIHCP’s Healthcare Manager Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.  The program in online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a Healthcare Manager Program

Do you have a Leadership Style ?

There are a number of different leadership styles that you can use to keep your team working towards you goal. Most of the time, individuals have their own best leadership styles, though sometimes different styles are required to work with different teams or in different circumstances. This article will discuss some popular leadership styles as well as what kinds of people, teams, and situations they fit best.

Are You An Autocrat?  Autocratic leadership means that you’re the boss and you let everyone know about it. Autocratic leaders call all of the shots and aren’t usually receptive to recommendations or complaints from other people, specifically their team members.  Autocratic leadership, of course, only knows when you know what you’re doing. It can also work if your team doesn’t know what they’re doing. Say for example, you’re running a new department in your company, or working with interns. Chances are your leadership is more valuable in these instances than listening to your team.  Of course, as your team begins to develop their skills, backing away from an autocratic style can help you to gain insights on how best to help your team, rather than just bossing them around.

Are You A Democratic Leader?  Democratic leadership is more or less the opposite of autocratic leadership. Democratic leadership involves working closely with your team to determine what they think is best rather than making all major decisions yourself.

Democratic leadership works best if you are taking over a leadership position in a new company, or if you are comfortable with leading but may not be familiar with the exact nature of your goal. Democratic leadership can also be the way to go if you are a “leader” because it is easier for one person to pass on all of the deliverables and give all of the updates, but you don’t really have any more experience or authority than other team members. Democratic leadership can slow things down, however, so sometimes it can be important to make “executive decisions” to move things along.

Is Laissez-faire Right For You?  Laissez-faire leadership means that, as the leader, you basically do nothing. You delegate tasks to others and then let them call the shots.  Laissez-faire leadership can be particularly effective if your team is very large or if your leadership position is pretty high up the chain. Of course, in order to engage in laissez-faire leadership, your team needs to be able to get on without you. If your team needs to be led by the hand everywhere, you’re probably better off using a more authoritative leadership style.

Is There A Place For Bureaucratic Leadership? Bureaucratic leadership is similar to laissez-faire leadership in that it involves delegation of tasks to smaller committees within the larger team. This system of government is often derided for the time that it can take to perform certain tasks, but as a leadership style it can be surprisingly effective.  As a result, the limits of bureaucratic leadership are similar to the limits on laissez-faire leadership – you need to have a large team and you need to have quite a bit of authority within your organization.

Your team needs to have fewer experts on your team, however, as the experts can be made the leaders of their own smaller teams. This method is most effective if the activities carried on by your team are very similar from day to day. Changing circumstances have a way of throwing off bureaucratic systems.

This article has only scratched the surface on the number of leadership styles that you can read about. Some might say that there is one leadership style for each leader. Still, finding out which leadership you like best can help you discover which leadership method you can use the most effectively. Of course, you should also consider your team and your situation when settling on a leadership style.

Leadership is critical to management.  Your type of leadership will play important roles in how your department functions.  As a healthcare professional it is critical that one utilizes the best leadership qualities to meet the needs of a healthcare department.  If you are looking into leadership, please review AIHCP’s Healthcare Manager Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.

Managers in any field or industry need to be helpful towards the mental health of employees.  Healthcare managers who work also need be aware of their staffs mental needs.  Nurses and other healthcare professionals need to be mentally sharp and aware and signs of mental depression or issues can be dangerous.  Healthcare managers need to be aware of their staff’s overall morale and mental well being.

The article, “8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health” by Kelly Greenwood and Natasha Krol look at how managers can help their employees.  They state,

“As we navigate various transitions over the coming months and years, leaders are likely to see employees struggle with anxiety, depression, burnout, trauma, and PTSD. Those mental health experiences will differ according to race, economic opportunity, citizenship status, job type, parenting and caregiving responsibilities, and many other variables. So, what can managers and leaders do to support people as they face new stressors, safety concerns, and economic upheaval? Here’s our advice.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review AIHCP’s Healthcare Manager Certification and see if it fits your academic and professional goals.