The brand equity part of value

Biomedical and health entrepreneurs pursue opportunities with scarce resources with the goal of creating user defined value through the deployment of biomedical and health innovation. Value is the difference between the perceived user defined  tangible and intangible benefits of the offering less the tangible and intangible costs. Intellectual capital is an example of an intangible asset adding to the value of something. Brand equity is another.

There are many definitions of brand equity. One that seems to cover the elements is:

“The tangible and intangible value that a brand provides positively or negatively to an organization, its products, its services, and its bottom-line derived from consumer knowledge, perceptions, and experiences with the brand.” — Susan Gunelius

This definition hits the three main points that define brand equity:

1. Tangible and intangible value: This can be tangible value such as revenues and price premiums or intangible value such as awareness and goodwill.
2. Positive or negative effects: The organization, products, services, and bottom line can benefit or suffer from brand equity.
3. Consumer catalysts: Brands are built by consumers, not companies. Therefore, brand equity is built by consumers too.

Building brand equity in healthcare has only received recent attention and is the concern of organizations, like the Mayo Clinic, companies, like Apple or Medtronic, countries, like Malaysia trying to attract medical travelers, or individual practitioners, trying to compete against other service professionals, like those doing cosmetic surgery or dentistry or Lasik surgery.

Building brand value is a long term process that involves many steps.

Some people confuse building personal brand value with shameless self-promotion. The difference between the two is how much user defined value you deliver.

Value based care goes much beyond the tangibles like quality of outcomes and price. As medicine becomes more and more commoditized and doctors become more and more fungible, brand equity will be what separates the best from the rest.

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs at www.sopenet.org