What is your unique selling proposition?

What makes your practice stand out among other primary care practices in your area? Why should a patient choose to come to your practice, instead of one down the street? Taking a close look at what you have to offer and how you can market your practice to your target patient can make a huge difference in your success as a direct primary care (DPC) provider. In essence, what is your unique selling proposition?

The fact that you are a DPC practice is in itself a unique aspect of your operations, as compared to the primary care practices offering services in a traditional model of healthcare delivery. So, when you promote your practice to potential patients, highlighting the benefits of the DPC model in terms of financial savings, patient-centric care, and improved health outcomes is the first step in establishing your unique selling proposition.

To distinguish your practice further, you will need to ask yourself some questions. How would you define what your practice offers? Use these prompts to help you develop a clearer picture of what you do differently so you can put it in terms that will appeal to potential patients:

• What about your practice do you enjoy the most?
• What procedures do you do that are particularly helpful?
• Are there certain areas of primary care that you enjoy as a DPC provider?
• What are some of the benefits of coming to your DPC practice for your patients?
• What are some things about your practice that you highlight when you describe your practice to others?
• How does DPC solve specific problems for your patients?
• What does your DPC practice do extremely well (ex. telehealth)?
• What makes your patients come to you instead of other practices in your area?

Think of your practice as a small business when determining your unique selling proposition. Your patients are your customers. Attracting new patients to your practice requires a marketing strategy that sets you apart. You can develop that strategy for your practice by reviewing the four Ps of marketing, designed to give a business a unique market position: product characteristics, price structure, placement strategy (location and distribution), and promotional strategy.

Take the time to develop a clearer picture of who your patients are and what they are looking for when choosing a healthcare provider.

• Put yourself in your patient’s shoes. What do they need and want from an independent healthcare provider? You know what they need, medically, but there are other areas that may be more important to the patient, such as the ability to communicate easily with you and your team or to access medical records securely.
• Use that information to better understand what motivates your potential patients’ decisions. Do they need the financial predictability that comes with a monthly membership fee covering basic services? Are they motivated by the idea of being able to spend more time with you at each appointment, rather than being rushed through a 10-minute office visit?
• Do some research to learn more about your patients. Ask your current patients what they appreciate the most about your DPC practice. Also ask them what areas of the practice need to be improved. Use that information to develop your unique selling proposition that will speak to the wants and needs of new patients to grow your practice successfully.