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Some would argue that healthcare is all about delivering great service and quality care. We would agree in part, but it's really quite more. A powerful service experience doesn't just begin when your patient or "customer" walks through the front door. If you've done your homework, the experience begins with a promise-a brand promise to be more exact-the culmination of the external communications you use to promote your organization. The brand promise generates a set of expectations that your patients bring with them into the hospital or clinical environment. In this sense, the brand promise links to the customer-service experience. The promise-almost as much as the services being delivered themselves-contributes directly to your patients' satisfaction, and the resulting loyalty, to create a powerfully branded patient service experience.