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Dan Beckham: Defining A Brand

H&HN Weekly: Dan Beckham on "Defining the Brand."
"If a brand stands for anything, it stands for consistency...(and) that's why most health care brands are so vulnerable.

"Apply the test of consistency to everything you know about hospitals and physicians. How consistent are they from department to department, floor to floor, unit to unit, practice to practice? A long tradition of inconsistency lies at the heart of many of the quality and cost problems that bedevil health care today. (emphasis mine)  Inconsistency makes a product suspect, and no strong brand can be built on the shaky foundation of a flawed product. To build a strong brand, you first have to build a strong product. Absent strength in the product, a brand is a hollow claim, a kind of lie."
A respect-worthy brand reflects that which the organization is CAPABLE of delivering and WILLING to deliver...consistently.

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