I'm writing a book on Integrative Marketing, which I've tentatively titled "Integrative Marketing: How to Build a Kick-Ass Marketing Program." Drawing from my extensive experience in academia, marketing consulting, and the wine industry, I've developed a set of tips, tricks, and techniques to help natural healthcare professionals succeed in their marketing efforts. However, the strategies outlined in the book apply to any industry, including automotive service centers, medical clinics, bookstores, and wineries. The book is a comprehensive guide to building a successful marketing program that can help any business grow and thrive.
In the book I cover chapters as expansive as Brand Building, Persuasion and Behavioral Change, Website Do’s and Don'ts, Essential Marketing Planning and Analytics, Social Media Marketing, Digital Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations. It’s written to serve as a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) guide to marketing. Let’s take a peek a section from the brand chapter.
Excerpt Draft from the Brand chapter:
"Think of a brand you're familiar with, and most likely, your mind will drift to one of the biggies, such as Nike, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola, for example. Each of these companies will elicit an emotional response from you when you read their names, and you probably have an opinion about them, too, whether or not you are or have been their customer. Big business spends a tremendous amount of time and financial resources to create their brand, protect it, and shape how they view it. And, as small business owners, we need to do the same.
In his 2005 book, The Brand Gap, author Marty Neumeier states,“A brand is not a logo. A brand is not a corporate identity system. It’s a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company. Because it depends on others for its existence, it must become a guarantee of trustworthy behavior. Good branding makes business integral to society and creates opportunity for everyone, from the chief executive to the most distant customer.”
Hold on for a moment. In other words, companies spend a fortune to create a brand and protect a brand in the hopes that we, the consumers, agree with how they present themselves.
Kind of!
As a business, we initially forge our business's identity or personality by establishing our mission statement, which serves as our guiding principle for conducting ourselves. Next, we create the voice or tone for our organization (e.g., friendly, warm, kind, professional, cutting-edge, traditional, clinical, etc.). Finally, we communicate with prospective and current clients/patients using this tone. The brand, therefore, becomes a co-creation between our business and our clients' perception of us. When both align, we're on the right path - and our brand is strengthened.
"Your Brand is a Co-Creation Between You and Your Customers" ~Brad Johnson, Coach & Writer
In addition to the guiding principles of a mission statement expressed through our voice, we also need to create a visual identity in the form of logos, style, and fonts. Consistently using these elements in our communications and marketing reinforces how our business is perceived and enhances our brand presence in the marketplace.
A natural health practice can build its brand by creating a mission statement that reflects its values and goals, such as providing high-quality, client/patient-centered care. They can also create a professional and approachable logo and visual identity and establish a consistent message and tone across their website, social media, advertising, and patient interactions.
One example of a well-known medical operation that has built a strong brand is the Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic has a clear mission statement, "To inspire hope and contribute to health and well-being by providing the best care to every patient through integrated clinical practice, education, and research." a recognizable logo and a consistent message and tone across all communication channels. Additionally, Mayo Clinic is known to be a pioneer in the medical field, and its brand is associated with the highest level of medical expertise and patient care.
For many early pioneering businesses, the brand emerged as a consequence of marketing, only later to be systematically organized into a guide that keeps everyone on the same page. This document became known as a Brand Guide or Brand Book.
Do you find this helpful, or do you want to know when the book will be ready? In the meantime, if you still need to, download our Free Marketing Plan guide (visit my 'Books' page) and get to work on it, and before you leave please sign-up for my newsletter. Once the book nears completion, I'll send you a notification."
Cheers! ~Brad
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