Value-based marketing in nonprofit healthcare

There’s lots of talk about digital marketing in nonprofit healthcare. Consumerism. Transformation. 360 customer experience. 

Just one problem…. 

It’s been more talk than reality for over a decade now. For sure, the model is not perfect or easy. Attribution-based digital (and traditional) marketing is straight-forward if you’re selling Nikes, Coca-Cola and Fords. There’s no healthcare data to protect. Zero HIPAA regulations. No third-party payers. No interoperability issues among servers and cloud. 

Because of this reality, there are five fundamentals for nonprofit healthcare leaders to navigate the enterprise technology vendor blizzard of hype and fear of missing out.

1

Technology platforms and any sophisticated paid digital marketing can never make up for a weak nonprofit healthcare brand or lack of go-to-market mastery in the organization’s clinical products and services.  

2

Getting the basic owned digital tools right (versus trying to build the perfect machine before you’re ready) provides business results now vs. years (when factoring in RFQs and RFPs). Mastering the basics doesn’t strain precious financial capital in a time of increasing competition from outside industry — and consolidation within the healthcare industry.

Consumers want:

Answers.

Easy-to-find information.


Clear way finding. Everywhere. 


Physician bios.


Services easily understood by everyday people.


Trusted and vetted health content.


Customer service.


Data security.


Respect. 


3

Healthcare consumers aren’t as demanding or complicated as some marketers make them out to be. Yes, patients can be tougher in their expectations. But who wouldn’t be, for example, if told they have cancer? Or when asked to answer the same health-related questions for the third time in a single clinic visit about something that’s documented in EHR. That’s why there is a clear distinction between healthcare consumers and patients.

The majority of healthcare consumers are doing three things at any given time:

Looking to stay healthy.

Looking to get better.

Looking for information.

These consumers don’t technically consume healthcare products and services. They might research or seek them. They may access them, which brings us to…

4

“Healthcare consumer” is who we are leading up to a medical visit inside a clinic, hospital, outpatient center, or video screen with a doctor or other care providers. 

5

“Healthcare patient” is who we are inside a clinic, hospital or telemedicine visit with a doctor or other care providers.

Bonus

Healthcare consumers are already searching for you , if you have a strong brand. If you don’t, you can still help consumers with trusted content.

The moral of the digital marketing story is simple: Be great at basics before you attempt the high-degree-of-difficulty deployments. Ask permission to use first-party data for cross-promoting other products and services. Support wherever possible: right care, right place, right time. Don’t over-complicate.

Where to shine:

Organic search.

Site search.

Intuitive digital and physical way finding.

Simple “shopping” experience.


Easy-to-read medical content.

Easy-to-search doctor bios and headshots.

Information at-the-ready.

Online scheduling.

Appointment reminders.

Text alerts.

Email sign-ups.


Event sign-ups.


How-To’s.


Nonprofit healthcare remains far behind other consumer industries in digital marketing and consumer experience. But it’s not for lack of trying. It’s because we’re providing privacy-regulated care for the most intimate part of someone’s life.

Doing it right starts with value-based marketing.