how can a public relations officer change the image of its organization which has a mirror image contrary to current image?
how can you mirror image contrary to current as a public relations officer of a hospital?
how can a public relations officer change the image of its organization which has a mirror image contrary to current image?
2 Responses
January 9th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Let me help you.
Organized Hospital
January 11th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
The issue with public image is a product of “perception”, which is a very tough thing to change, though not impossible.
Changing perception is like turning around a big steamship: many small corrections over a long period of time. If you do it too quickly, you might lose credibility, or not penetrate the consumers’ psyche.
First, understand how the hospital want to be perceived. What are the two or three key things you want people to think, when they see the name of the hospital? These are called “branding” elements. High-technology, low-cost, specialty expertise, fast hospital stay, plush environment, or compassion are some of the possible elements.
Second, figure out what about the hospital characterizes those elements. Is it customer service/care? is it the bedside manners of the staff? Is it the fact that all doctors come from Ivy League schools? Is it that you’ve never been sued? Or something else altogether?
These are the elements you want to leverage in your PR campaigns.
Third, figure out what the perception currently is, among consumers. Is it that the hospital is dirty? People have died on the Operating Table? Doctors are not knowledgeable? Nurses always yell at people?
True or not, if people “think” that the hospital is run a certain way, that’s “reality” to them.
Fourth, figure out what PR strategies you can put in place to obtain, in the same “sweep” of actions, a shift in the image of the hospital and the perception of the consumers. In other words: what can you do that - at the same time - shows consumers that (for example) nurses are not nasty, and that the hospital prides itself in the use of hi-tech procedures in administration and surgery?
Once you have these four elements in place, your PR strategy should be broad and deep. It should “trickle out” over a long period of time touching patients who come to the hospital, potential consumers that read about you, writers who write about you, opinion makers who will tell many people about you, etc.
Have an ‘open house’ to invite local people to visit the hospital (do so in a controlled environment); issue press releases; talk to local news and media outlets, and try to pitch the story to them on how you want people to understand that the hospital is all about x, y, and z. Take surveys and - if they point in the right direction - publish them. Pick a good slogan for this new “face” and promote it. These are some of the ideas. The ideas are secondary, really, to the first three steps!
Make sure the PR plan includes changing the culture of the people who work in the hospital, so that every one of them, from the CEO to the janitor, know that the hospital is all about those three or four branding elements. Ask them to be “ambassadors” for those elements and to ensure that their daily jobs reinforce that concept in words and actions.
It is a fail-safe plan, as long as you’re committed to the PR strategy in the long run.