Your brand can be thought of as the concept that you own inside the collective minds of your stakeholders and contacts. These groups include employees, customers, partners, community members, and prospects.
Though intangible, your brand is one of the most valuable assets you own. And each group, most especially your employees guided by their sense of partnership with and belief in their place of employment, strongly influence your brand with the messages they convey and the relationships they establish.
One exceptional brand of “good people, great medicine”
Every experience I’ve ever had with one particular brand, the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, illustrates this fact beautifully. The overwhelming majority of individuals on their staff diffuse remarkable professionalism and warmth. Because of my interactions with these physicians, nurses, and many of the administrative professionals, this healthcare facility owns the following concept in my mind:
It’s my go-to hospital for receiving great care from the best and most warm-hearted medical professionals while enjoying their environment of competence, respect, and affability.
An experience I had there recently with some minor elective surgery was no exception. This team managed to provide exceptional medical care and a relatively enjoyable experience.
Don’t forget how important the short term relationships are
We usually think of relationships with our stakeholders as being developed over time, but we shouldn’t overlook the many shorter term relationships that take place over the span of a few moments or hours. During my recent experience, there was the pre-op nurse who took my blood pressure and chatted warmly to help me relax. And the anesthesiologists who engaged in delightful conversation while reviewing my medical history. Then there was the star-of-the-show surgeon who earned my complete confidence, and the dearest post-op nurse who waited for me to wake up and told me how wonderfully I did.
In the past, I had once commented to a radiology nurse how well they treat their patients, and she replied with a bright smile, “I agree, we really feel that our patients are just the best.” How’s that for an engaged brand ambassador, providing something of great value and yet promoting their customers’ greatness without hesitation?
All of these contacts and briefly established but genuine relationships add up to a meaningful set of impressions. Just imagine if some or all of this contact had been neutral or even worse, negative. You’d find yourself in an altogether different universe, a place that would leave you feeling you deserve better.
Your relationship/brand alignment
What brand or concept do you prefer to own in the minds of your stakeholders (or on a personal level in the minds of your friends, family, and network)? And what kind of impressions and relationships, even the briefest ones, are you facilitating in alignment with that desired concept?
