22
2010
Why smaller hospitals should celebrate being small
With nearly 6,000 hospitals in the US, not everyone can be number one in their market. If you find yourself perplexed at how to stand up to the behemoths, the last thing you should do is try to be like them. In fact, you should embrace your compact size and use it to your advantage.
Take Avis. Back in the 60s they were suffering a serious butt kicking from market leader Hertz. Avis had much smaller market share than Hertz, and hadn’t managed to turn a profit in over ten years. Their “We Try Harder” campaign was a celebration of being the underdog. It was refreshingly honest. It was amazingly simple. And it was different than Hertz. They didn’t try to compare themselves to Hertz. They didn’t try to say they were better (which the market wouldn’t have believed). In the first year of the campaign, Avis turned a profit and in just three years they tripled their market share.
So what lessons can you learn from Avis? Turn your small size into a competitive advantage.
- Audit your organization to uncover your true point of difference. Narrow your focus. Are you trying to be like your competitors? Are you trying to be all things to all people?
- In what areas do you truly excel? Can you specialize in one or two key service lines? Perhaps you can focus on expanding the continuum of care. Instead of focusing solely on joint replacement, consider offering services to address pain management and increased mobility before surgical procedures are needed.
- Instead of focusing solely on birthing, offer a full range of services designed for every stage of a woman’s life.
- Perhaps you can specialize in delivering your service exceptionally well. Often the behemoths fall victim to delivering clinic excellence at the expense of the patient experience. You can offer an attractive alternative to consumers by showing that they’ll be treated with a level of respect and compassion far beyond what they’ll experience within the cold, impersonal walls of the giant city hospital.
Need help finding your true point of difference or want to talk healthcare marketing? Point to Point can help. Visit our contact us page and say hello.
