When it comes to providers, today’s patients have more choices than ever. This is especially true in larger cities across the country. So, how can you set your healthcare business apart? At AMNY Health Marketing, our team specializes in helping hospitals, health systems, private practices, and homecare agencies attract and retain new patients. Here, we’ll discuss how health-specific differentiation marketing can help your organization stand out.

What Is a Differentiation Strategy?

In the ever-evolving healthcare landscape, many providers find it challenging to achieve a competitive advantage. This is where a well-rounded marketing differentiation plan comes in handy. This business strategy helps distinguish your brand and successfully engage your target audience. Health-specific marketing differentiation yields several benefits, such as:

• Unique value propositions (UVP): Knowing what makes your healthcare business unique is the first step in resonating with your target audience.
• Patient retention: When people across your community relate to your healthcare brand and its offerings, they’re more likely to stick around.
• Patient satisfaction: Targeted marketing lets patients know what to expect – and meeting expectations helps increase overall satisfaction rates.
• Brand identity: Making your brand stand out in novel ways supports other marketing efforts.
• Revenue: More loyal patients mean more reliable revenue for your healthcare organization and a better chance to grow in the future.

Start thinking about what your patients truly want and how competitors market themselves – this could be specific services, caregiving philosophies, or facility amenities. This list of differentiators may be broader in the beginning, but you should be able to narrow them down into subcategories that make them sound more exclusive to your health organization. Creating this list helps you find ways you can refine your own messaging and bridge any gaps that exist between your patients and providers.

Leverage the Power of Storytelling

Every organization has a story to tell – why not make it an integral part of your brand’s identity? In terms of marketing capabilities, storytelling is an impactful approach for many reasons. People not only relate more to a personal story that sparks interest, but it also shows how your organization is unique. Sharing how your organization got started also humanizes your brand, making you more relatable to patients.

However, telling the story of how your organization was founded and why its core principles matter is just one way to draw attention. You can also reveal stories from your patients, caregivers, and providers. Some of the benefits of this approach include:

• Building relationships between providers and patients
• Raising awareness about vital services
• Improving patient referral rates
• Elevating public health by persuading patients to receive essential screenings

Whether a patient used your services to achieve a better quality of life or a physician is living her dream of providing the best possible care through your organization, peoples’ stories are powerful. They help your target audience get to know your organization better and visualize what may be possible for them.

Highlight Healthcare Awards and Recognitions

If your healthcare organization has won prestigious awards, show them off. Becoming an award-winning hospital or homecare agency takes hard work and this type of recognition shouldn’t go unnoticed. Recent honors can be the topic of a timely healthcare blog or press release. As they accumulate, you can illustrate them as permanent installments on your website through images and periodically feature them on social media.

Healthcare awards can be used as a part of your marketing strategy that helps build trust between your organization and your community. When people see you’ve been recognized for a particular achievement in the industry, they see you as a credible, dependable option and may feel more compelled to choose you over a competitor with similar offerings.

And don’t forget to emphasize the awards of your physicians, nurses, and caregivers, as well. This helps build your organization’s reputation from the inside out. A highly qualified medical team with a passion for what they do and an outstanding work ethic are just a few specific things that can be celebrated about your organization.

Advertise Community Involvement

Many healthcare organizations are known for being deeply rooted in their communities and these endeavors play a primary role in their success stories. From hosting special events to raising awareness, your organization’s community involvement can be used as a selling point. Some of the things you can highlight as part of your brand differentiation strategy include:

• Breast cancer walks
• Annual wellness rides
• Volunteer work at local shelters
• Fundraising events for medical research

These endeavors show that your facility or organization is a foundational part of the local area and dedicated to making a real difference. It can also help increase transparency and authenticity, which are a couple of key traits that many patients seek.

Create Your Healthcare Differentiation Strategy

It all starts with deciding what you want to be known for – identify what makes your healthcare business exceptional with AMNY Health Marketing. Our award-winning creative team takes a multifaceted, data-driven approach to every health-specific marketing plan. For more information or to schedule a consultation, contact us today.