Five brand mistakes that cost healthcare companies more than they realise

Recently I met with a client to celebrate the sale of their diagnostic business. They had achieved a multiple above the sector average, driven in large part by a highly specialised service offering. But they were also clear about the role the brand played in the outcome. Not all investors and healthcare business owners place the same emphasis on brand. But there is little dispute that addressing brand early in the investment planning process consistently pays dividends.

Across my work, there are five recurring themes where healthcare brands quietly lose value.

1. Purpose

Strong brands are anchored by a clear purpose; a north star that guides everything they do.

Most healthcare organisations are by definition founded on a deep sense of purpose. They are built by passionate teams who genuinely believe in what they do and commit to it every day. Yet healthcare brands are notoriously poor at capturing this energy and channelling it into a clear brand story. The result is often a brand that feels overly commercial, generic or even superficial, despite the reality being quite the opposite.

It is striking that businesses whose very purpose is to care are often so bad at demonstrating it, yet scratch beneath the surface and the evidence is usually there. Unlike many other sectors that have to invent a narrative to justify their purpose, healthcare already has it baked in. The task is not to create purpose, but to uncover it, articulate it and tell it well.

2. Clear articulation

Even successful healthcare brands often struggle to articulate who they are.

A clear brand blueprint, defining purpose, positioning, personality and principles, creates alignment and gives people a simple, shared language to work with. Simplicity is critical. Ironically, modern healthcare branding often does the opposite, over-engineering frameworks in an attempt to speak to multiple audiences at once.

This is typically an inside-out approach, organising the brand around internal structures, service lines or business units, based on the assumption that patients choose healthcare services in the same way organisations build them. They don’t of course.

The result is over-complication. And if a brand is confusing on the inside, it’s going to be ten times worse from the outside. Most people take away one thing from a brand, rarely something nuanced or technical. Clarity wins. Resist the temptation to add complexity. Keep it simple and stick with it.

3. Consistency

Healthcare brands in growth phase are particularly vulnerable to inconsistency.

Changes in ownership or leadership, bullish budgets, tight margins and pressure from shareholders to deliver short-term returns all contribute to frequent brand shifts. Too often, brands are adjusted tactically to respond to market noise or competitor activity, undermining long-term strategy. The result is diluted differentiation, muddled messaging and wasted marketing spend.

Consistency does not mean stagnation. It means understanding what is working, what has potential to evolve, and building on it deliberately. Even if a brand is not of your making, the discipline is to respect its foundations and develop it thoughtfully. The strongest brands layer a single, cohesive story over time. Campaign-by-campaign, they build recognition, memory and trust.

Markets fluctuate, but a consistently performing brand is one of the most valuable assets a business can own. It delivers far greater investor value than short-term sales gains ever will.

4. Emotional connection

The best brands are the ones that make you feel something.

This is where healthcare often misses the mark. The sector is complex and highly regulated, grounded in science, evidence and risk management. Decision-making is necessarily rational. The head must rule.

Yet healthcare is also deeply human. It deals with fear, hope, relief, trust and vulnerability every day.

Because emotion feels risky, many healthcare brands are cautious about using it as a brand pillar. The irony is that one of the most caring industries of all frequently fails to connect emotionally at brand level - even though those moments of emotion happen constantly, in quiet, human ways: a nurse’s reassurance, a diagnosis explained with empathy, the relief when symptoms ease.

The opportunity is to find that emotional truth and express it simply and authentically.

Information and explanation have a role, but they are not the brand. Create space for your brand to connect. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Most people will remember one feeling, not a list of facts.

5. Treating brand as marketing, not strategy

Perhaps the most common mistake of all is treating brand as a surface exercise, logos, websites and campaigns, rather than a strategic asset that shapes the entire organisation. When brand sits solely with marketing, it becomes disconnected from leadership decisions, clinical priorities, service design and culture. The result is a brand that looks polished but lacks depth, credibility and commercial impact. This is not a failure of marketing teams; it is a lack of access to the strategic insight and decisions that fundamentally shape the brand.

Strong healthcare brands operate at board level. They inform growth strategy, guide investment decisions, shape patient experience and align people around a shared direction. When brand is treated as strategy, it becomes a driver of trust, differentiation and long-term value - not just visibility.

We are often invited to review brands preparing for scale or sale. In many cases, significant strategic and commercial planning has already taken place. But it is only when the brand work is done, clearly articulating the vision and opportunity, that momentum builds. The future becomes visible. The value becomes tangible. And the entire organisation can get behind the journey.

This is how real value is created.

Are you planning to scale, invest in or exit a healthcare brand? Get in touch. hello@brand-w.com

brand w. We create and grow brands that inspire joy, for products and services that help people do serious things.