Recently, I had a conversation with an administrator and one of her staff (whose title was Communications and Marketing Supervisor).

The purpose of our meeting was to discuss issues they were having with lost market share and competition for programs such as immunizations and family planning.

I discovered that they had just gone through a week of after-hours, back to school immunization clinics where virtually nobody showed up! When asked how they marketed the clinics to the community, they shared that they used ads in the local paper and a flyer they sent to schools.  These methods are not marketing, they are the equivalent of a yard sale sign on the side of the road, not very exciting or effective….

With the cold season right around the corner, I asked about flu clinics and whether they have seen a decrease in traffic. I was informed that they experienced over a 50% decrease in flu clinic traffic last year. Their pricing is in line (if not cheaper) than their competitors like pharmacies and Wal-Mart, so I asked two questions; 1) Why the decrease? 2) What is their USP?

USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition. Every health department has one, they just don’t know it yet.

When people talk about your health department, what do you want them to think about? What do you want to be known for?

In order to avoid what I call R.S.A.O.M. (random-sporadic-acts-of-marketing), you first must cultivate your USP. But how do you do it?

First, know your target audience. Explain the problem you solve. List the distinctive benefits. Define your promise. Refine.

Your USP should be the number one reason your patients/customers come to you instead of another provider.

With a USP, a little creativity and an outside the box approach to marketing I have no doubt we will turn those clinic numbers around.

M&M’s USP is “Melts in your mouth, not on your hand” -Alka-Seltzer’s is, “Plop, plop, fiz, fiz, oh what a relief it is!” Burger King’s “Have it your way”…….

What is your USP?