Blog: Is Your Organization’s Mission, Vision and Core ValuesBeing Factored into Your Marketing Plan?

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By Barbara L. Cerrone, Senior Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications

Most healthcare organizations of substance have a Mission Statement, Vision Statement and Core Values document. Typically, this represents a very real investment in company-wide soul-searching to define who they are and their goals for the future. The process involves time, employee engagement, research and funding, and is often lengthy and substantial. So the question is: “how does your Mission, Vision and Core Values figure in your healthcare marketing plans — if at all?”

Mission, Vision and Core Values are typically the standard against which companies measure themselves and serve as a barometer for how the company conducts itself in all phases of business. It also serves as a signpost pointing to the organization’s future objectives. These tenets are the “beating heart” of the organization, its “true north.” Yet, few marketers view their plans through the lens of these defining elements.

Think of your Mission, Vision and Core Values as the foundation supporting the house, the engine that propels the vehicle forward. Leveraging the guiding principles contained therein — and integrating them into your marketing strategy — gives you an important advantage. Your brand purpose and messaging can now become tied to previously established tenets that are cornerstones of your organization. Equally important, you have now created a platform for disseminating your Mission, Vision and Core Values to an external audience. Combining your company’s Mission, Vision and Core Values with your marketing strategy is, simply put, an unbeatable combination.

By way of example, General Mills recently retooled its brand image of Wheaties, one of its most popular cereals. Wheaties had an old-school brand for years, touted as the “breakfast of champions.” This focused on the use of prominent sports figures on the cover of the box. Seeing this strategy wane prompted General Mills to rethink its focus. They looked to their Core Values for inspiration. What they discovered was their primary pledge to focus on consumers. Thus, the new focus of Wheaties is now shifted to the end user, and the brand has been refocused based on this new purpose. The results to date have been very positive.

When we look at healthcare, we need to ask how these lessons can be applied to our industry. The sustainable and fundamental differences between providers come into sharp focus only when we successfully define, carve out and define our brand purpose. The method by which we do this will not only resonate with outside audiences, but inspire and align the internal teams that drive the organization. Using Mission, Vision and Core Values to inform marketing efforts can change how consumers, patients and communities perceive us, and can engage them in ways that mere clever marketing slogans can never do.