Last month I had my gallbladder removed at the North York General Hospital. While an unfortunate medical event, it was also a noteworthy and memorable human experience illustrative of the secrets to effectively branding a health care practice.

As I tell my medical clinic clients, in order to develop a powerful marketing strategy, we need to capture the patients’ experience with their professional services.

Patients are always be pleased when their medical condition has been expertly handled.

That is not, however, what they remember.

Patients remember how the doctor made them feel, not physically but emotionally.

I am now on the mend and I am of course thankful for the expert medical care I received at the hands of Dr. Jaine (insert name of others)..

But what will I remember?

How the doctor held my hand and gave me eye contact to calm my nerves before they rolled me into the operating room.

How the nurse made a point to update my family on my progress even before I was awake.

How the doctor personally telephoned me to see how I was feeling after my trip to the emergency.

How the doctor gently patted my back and made jokes to soothe my nerves.

For those readers not familiar, the removal of the gallbladder is a fairly routine procedure. Yet, as routine as it is for the doctors, nurses and staff of the hospital it was new to me and I appreciated that this was acknowledged and understood.

Ironically, as a marketing consultant I also teach branding to professionals and the North York General happens to be one of the references I have used in my seminars. The compassionate treatment I received happens to be exactly aligned with how I described the branding message this logo communicates.