by Nikhil Gharekhan, Managing Partner, Presciant
The power of a hospital brand is highly relevant to marketers today: Speaking with executives at this year’s SHSMD conference, I felt deep angst among marketing professionals in healthcare in the US these days. The hubris of mergers and wonderment for AI seen at past conferences has given way to an uncomfortable feeling of uncertainty, driven by political and financial volatility. But marketers should not despair. They have at their command one of the most powerful assets of their organization—their brand.
Why are hospital marketers worried?
The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act enacted in July 2025 is projected to reduce federal spending on healthcare by $1 trillion through 2034. This equates to tens of billion fewer dollars sloshing through hospital systems annually. This is leading to increased administrative burdens, service line eliminations, staff cuts, and lower revenues and operating margins. In such an environment, marketing is being seen by CEOs and CFOs as highly expendable.
The imbalance of demand and supply is another factor causing heartburn to marketers. On the one hand, there is a shortage of qualified providers, driven by early retirements due to excessive stress, cost squeezing by private equity owners, and restrictions on immigration. On the other, there is a growth in demand for healthcare services, due to an aging population, increased prevalence of chronic diseases, and the emergence of tripledemics (flu, COVID, RSV). Management is asking: why invest in marketing when we are already at excess capacity? Why do we need more patients when it already takes them 6 months to get an appointment?
In addition, hospitals are facing extreme volatility in their business environment—on a daily basis. A healthcare strategic planning executive told me, “It’s hard to plan anything. I literally wake up each day not knowing what new issue there will be waiting for me.” Supply chain pressures, fluctuating tariffs on medical equipment, inflation, interest rate hikes, and changing patient care models are making long-term planning nothing more than a shot in the dark. Meanwhile, AI is leaving its mark across the industry, not just as a productivity tool, but in replacing the provision of care, starting with radiology and pathology. In the face of business unpredictability, marketers feel they are increasingly flying blind.
Bring the hospital brand to the rescue
Here’s how marketers can tap into their hospital brand strategy to help not only their departments, but the entire organization.
- Articulate what your brand stands for. We noticed at the conference that the hospital brand is still equated with creative execution and visual identity. But brand is more than just a name and a logo. It is a strategic driver. We’re not saying to go invest in a major campaign. Simply start by clearly articulating what your brand stands for—why it exists, what its proposition is to stakeholders, and how it is distinct from your competitors. Just doing so will shine a light on all kinds of decisions for your organization, not just marketing initiatives, but also business ones like service line prioritization, technology investments, provider recruitment, and so much more.
- Quantify the financial value that your hospital brand is contributing to the organization. There is no better way for you to gain a seat at the executive table than talking about the net present value of cash flows attributable to brand in dollar terms. You know instinctively that your brand reputation influences consumers to select your hospital, healthcare professionals to join you, and donors to give to your cause. Linking this brand influence to financials in the language of the CEO and CFO will help unlock the investments that marketing deserves.
- Uncover deep brand insights. In this volatile environment, it is especially important to conduct research among your stakeholders to understand the drivers of decision-making. At very little incremental cost, you can go beyond superficial NPS numbers to delve into opportunities and pain points of your customers as well as those that did not select your institution. Doing such studies regularly will ensure that your organization can make strategic decisions like how to attract a more diversified and profitable patient mix, and what improvements in the customer experience to prioritize.
- Clarify your brand architecture. After a relatively slow start in 2025, hospital system mergers and acquisitions are in full swing again. More likely than not, your hospital system is right now recovering from a recent merger, or is about to embark on one. This means more confusion for your patients, physicians, payors, and employees, with inconsistent hospital brand names appearing on white coats, answering services and signage. Applying clear brand architecture principles, codifying brand guidelines, defining brand transitions, and establishing brand governance councils can help mitigate the confusion and drive business value.
Of the 900 hospital systems in the US managing over 6000 hospitals, only a handful are truly leveraging their hospital brand as a strategic asset. For these few, brand is contributing as much as 30-35% to their financial value. But for the majority, brand’s role is negligible. This means that if marketers across hospital systems were to build their brands and make them accountable for driving business, the industry could generate an additional $320 billion in revenues annually.
So yes, as a marketer you are in charge of an asset that can generate significant business value for your organization. If you’d like to know more about how to do this, reach out to us.