Interviewer:Mahmoud Mansi
Ilan Geva is a global branding and consumer behavior expert, an author, speaker, trainer, and university professor. He co-authored the book “Global Brand Management” and wrote many articles for international healthcare and medical tourism publications. Among his clients are Ministries of health, trade and commerce, chambers of commerce, medical travel clusters, city councils, hospital organizations and private clinics. His work has won over 100 industry awards around the world.
Ilan sits on the board of a few organizations and serves on advisory boards for others. He also taught at the University of Chicago and DePaul University, besides speaking and judging at several conferences and awards.
HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: The art/science of marketing and branding is evolving year by year, how can healthcare entities enhance their marketing campaigns and branding strategy?
Ilan Geva: Some will argue that both Marketing and Branding are no longer considered “Art” but are actual sciences. After all, people earn university degrees learning these subjects. It is important to remember that any healthcare entity is a BUSINESS, and as such it needs to implement strategies involving marketing and branding to survive. Enhancing the marketing and branding impact requires first a complete commitment to the subject, and to never treat it as a necessary evil that costs money. Healthcare entities should not “enhance” anything by learning the generalities of marketing and branding, they are highly individualized from one brand to another. So do not rush to spend all your money on TikTok or Chat GPT just because everybody else does.
HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: As a Healthcare Branding Strategist, who are your main stakeholders in the Healthcare sector, and what do you expect from them to build the overall brand of your client?
Ilan Geva: Stakeholders are all individuals and organizations that are involved with all the brand touchpoints. They include employees, from C level to janitors, patients and their family members, suppliers and the entire supply chain members, vendors, investors, politicians, chamber of commerce…etc. I expect all of them to be completely honest about the state of the brand, what are their contributions to the brand emotional and functional benefits. And ultimately, I expect them to pay attention to all the brand KPI and not just the bottom line and profits.
HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: From a patient experience perspective, how can patients not be deceived by creative healthcare marketing campaigns, and make sure they are making the right choice when it comes to their health?
Ilan Geva: Patients should never decide about choosing a healthcare provider based on marketing alone. Buying healthcare services is not like buying a box of chocolates…They should always search for second opinion, consumer reviews and word of mouth. Unless it is a repeat visit, all patients should never be tempted by “The Lowest Price” promises and ask for performance reviews available online. There are quite a few portals that provide this kind of information, and they should be considered. A good search in publications should be conducted as well. I was made aware of a complete illegal medical operation in a neighbouring country only because it was exposed in the press. But it operated successfully prior to that exposure and was profitable until it was discovered.
All patients should conduct their own interview with a hospital they have in mind. They should ask to speak to the international patient department and ask relevant questions that are important for them personally. For example, do you serve Halal food, do all staff members speak English, can my family bring my pet to visit, will I get an individual room, will you pick me up at the airport…etc. As we learned many ads and marketing materials portray a glorified version of the truth in the medical tourism business and some are not depicting the reality.
HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: Organizational Excellence Awards is a trending matter, how does it affect the brand of the winning organization? And if it is a healthcare organization, does it matter with the patient?
Ilan Geva: Every organization is made of three prominent constituencies: Employees, Shareholders (or stakeholders) and Customers (patients). Managing these three very different components is the essence of the organization, and creates the brand experience, not only for customers, but also for the employees. Unhappy employees will not be motivated to contribute for the benefit of the brand, and/or the bottom line. Organizational Excellence Awards are motivating the stakeholders and the employees to do the best for a successful working experience that will contribute immensely to the customer experience. At the end, whether it is a healthcare organization, or a car manufacturer, delighted customers are not only contributing to the bottom line but are the basis for future business as well.
HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: Recently Vmarsh Healthcare Consulting was one of the distinctive winners of Medtop Award. Would you tell us more about that, and the reasons why Vmarsh was selected as a winner?
Ilan Geva: Vmarsh Healthcare is a unique organization since it is truly spread all over the world, and the consulting members are veterans in their respective areas of expertise. For such elite group of seasoned veterans, there is no need to build human relationships from the base up. After all, many of our members have been fully employed for years at a C suite level. Vmarsh members do not take lightly shaky human relationships, and they admire warm relationships with high level of collaboration. In today’s working environment, where we are positioned literally all over the globe, we do not meet face to face, unless we collaborate on a specific project. We spend a lot of time discussing thing on Zoom, or other online platforms, and we discuss things via written communication. We are extremely cordial to each other, very respectful, and collaborative in all our interactions. We support each other on assignments that require contributions from a variety of experts in different fields, and we continue to learn from each other as we progress.
HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: From a talent management perspective, which category in the healthcare sector needs more focus on talent development, and what are the futuristic skills that need to be built or enhanced in that category of healthcare professionals?
Ilan Geva: We live in a very exciting time, and it is more than just a feeling: the world is accelerating in blinding speed. Scientific discoveries are proliferating faster than ever, new technologies are popping up every day, and so are the creation and adaption of new habits that force us all to catch up. I tend to hold senior management of healthcare institutions responsible for helping their staff advance in knowledge and allow them to catch their breath and catch up. Training has been neglected in recent years for the sake of making profits faster and bigger. But owners and business shareholders are kidding themselves if they think that all they must do is hire the people who know how to operate the latest technology. They should invest more in training their existing staff to build loyalty and reduce the phenomenon of revolving doors at hospitals and clinics. Th more stable the organization is, the better brand performance has a chance. And with it more delighted customers.