Folks often ask me why I developed my company to focus specifically on Healthcare and Healthcare providers, when I could just as easily parlay this into a full blown business catering to hoteliers, etc? In fact, I recently wrote this article outlining the similarities between nursing homes and hotels and their virtually identical challenges in increasing their revenues and profits.

The answer is simple.

I’ve developed a tremendous acumen as it relates to digital marketing in the healthcare space and I’m thankfully really good at what I do.

Healthcare providers need help with their digital marketing and profiles and I am uniquely positioned to help.

There are plenty of business opportunities in healthcare and my company is virtually singular in this sphere. Conversely, if i’d be marketing to other industries, i’d be just another name and another number.

In short, I’ve developed a niche for my business and as a healthcare provider, you should do the same for yours (and this brings me to my point).

First, let’s distinguish between niche marketing and your target market.

As a healthcare provider, your target market is certainly far broader in scope than your clinical niche.

However, whereas you are competing with every other LTC Nursing and Post-acute facility for hospital referrals targeting your broad market demographic, you certainly have the ability to close the playing field considerably for those referrals most suited to your specific niche.

The hospitals may be working with a certain ACO (Accountable Care Organization) and may have their own network of preferred providers. You may/may not even be on that short list. However, if you have developed a robust and legit cardiology or pulmonary program at your facility (as an example) and you are the only one in the area who provides this service, chances are, the hospital social worker(s) will have no choice but to refer suitable patients to you (perhaps kicking and screaming, but they will be compelled to refer to you nonetheless).

Who would you rather be: A small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond?

From where I stand, the beauty of creating a digital marketing strategy to promote your healthcare niche online, is that there is far less competition for your short and long tail keywords and it is much easier to generate an effective SEO campaign around a niche product.

I should mention a common mistake I’ve seen, whereby, facilities cultivate a niche in name only and think it will be their key to long term sustainability and profits. In my experience, when a “program” exists in name only and is high on fluff and short on substance, it may work for a time to drive sales, but ultimately, will not withstand the litmus test of time to draw appropriate patients.

In 2017, hospitals have your re-admission rates and track them  very closely. If you purport to be a pulmonary program and yet you keep sending your pulmonary patients back to the hospital within the 30 day window, it won’t be long before the charade catches up to you.

Hospitals aren’t dumb and your families and the patients themselves certainly aren’t stupid either.

So find your niche, create a real program and then market the heck out of it!

And don’t forget to ultimately do right by the patient and they will do right by you (and will become your greatest referral source).