Creating A Compelling Value Proposition for Your Healthcare Business

When I mentioned to our San Francisco Healthcare Round Table Members that I'd recently written about "Creating more valuable value propositions" in ABL Technology Online newsletter, there was a unanimous request that I post a similar article - featuring great healthcare value props - in this week's ABL Healthcare Online newsletter. So, here goes:

In Geoffrey Moore's 2006 classic, Crossing the Chasm, he familiarized a new generation with the high value associated with "Value Propositions." Today, they're even more powerful when communicating with your target audience via a webpage or app. As Tor Gronsund summarized in his article, "7 Proven Templates for Writing Value Propositions That Work," Moore's Template goes like this:

• For __________ (target customer)
• Who _________ (statement of the need or opportunity)
• Our (product/service name) is _________ (product category)
• That (statement of benefit) ____________ (helps you gain; or, even better, treats a pain).

Tor goes on to illustrate a "standard" Value Proposition using this formula: "For non-technical marketers who struggle to find return on investment in social media, our product is a web-based analytics software that translates engagement metrics into actionable revenue metrics."

Using this "formula," ABL's value proposition is: "For healthcare and technology chief executives who want to take their companies to the next level, our industry-focused Round Table forums and events promote shared insights, leveraged connections, and best practices that accelerate corporate and personal growth - even in uncertain times."

But today, there's more to creating great Value Propositions than just "For, who, our, that," as Peep Laja, of CXL, explains in his article, "Useful Value Proposition Examples (and How to Create a Good One)." According to Peep, there are five key elements for making good value props:

• Clarity! It's easy to understand.
• It communicates the concrete results a customer will get from purchasing and using your products and/or services.
• It says how it's different or better than the competitor's offer.
• It avoids hype (like 'never seen before amazing miracle product'), superlatives ('best'), and business jargon ('value-added interactions')
• It can be read and understood in about 5 seconds.

Once you get to "read and understood in about 5 seconds," you're no longer talking about a Value Proposition that's a multi-story "elevator pitch," but, basically, just a tagline - a catchphrase or slogan that incorporates the essence of your organization's value prop, memorably. For example, in "converting" a Value Proposition Statement to a Tagline, Geoff Moore's "You" is understood as "you, the reader." The "Who" is also inferred, as "who wants something you don't currently have." "Our" is understood within the name of the product, company, or service. And that basically leaves "That" as the creative tag line.

Using this approach, Tor's original example might be converted to: "SM Analytics - Translating Metrics into Revenues." And, ABL's to "Adaptive Business Leaders Organization - Where CEO breakthroughs happen."

Want even more examples? Franklin Street is a healthcare brand consultancy that lists hundreds of taglines on its website. Listed below are 28 healthcare systems' taglines that I've divided into six categories, each of which "builds on" a prominent aspect of each system's Value Proposition. 

Building on Name:

• Albert Einstein Medical Center: Genius in Healthcare
• Deborah Heart and Lung Center: Where Healing Comes From the Heart
• Medical City Children's Hospital: The city just for kids
• Summit Health: The peak of good health

Building on Mission:

• Dana Farber Cancer Institute: Dedicated to Discovery. Committed to Care.
• Kaiser Permanente: Thrive.
• Sisters of Providence Health System (Trinity Health): Our mission is to heal. Our passion is to care.
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: Finding cure. Saving children.
• University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center: Making Cancer History

Building on Location/s:

• Bayshore Community Hospital: Taking care of New Jersey
• Community Memorial Hospital: The Knowledge to Save Lives. The Location to Save Time.
• Lawrence General Hospital: So good. So caring. So close.
• Miami Valley Hospital: The Region's Leader
• St. Vincent Health Center: The region's only catholic health system
• TriStar Health System: A family of hospitals for your family.

Building on Tenure:

• Good Samaritan Hospital (LA): A Tradition of Caring
• Northeast Florida State Hospital: Providing Quality Mental Health Care Since 1959
• Ouachita County Medical Center: Your community safety net for over 50 years
• Providence Hospital (Ascension): Serving, Caring, Healing since 1854

Building on Staff:

• Archbold Memorial Hospital: The care you need. The compassion you deserve.
• Boston Medical Center: Exceptional care. Without exception.
• Duke University Hospital: Extraordinary People. Extraordinary Care.
• Maimonides Medical Center: Passionate About Medicine. Compassionate About People.

Building on Outcomes:

• Hospital for Special Surgery: Where the world comes to get back in the game.
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: The Best Cancer Care. Anywhere.
• St. James Hospital and Health Centers: Miracles Made Daily

Now that you have great examples, what's your organization's Value Proposition and Tagline?

Mimi Grant, President, Adaptive Business Leaders (ABL) Organization - Round Tables and Events for CEOs of Healthcare and Technology Companies