In the world of healthcare marketing, those perceptions are everything. A community hospital could offer the very best care, but if consumers don’t see it that way, it doesn’t matter.

Their opinion of local services isn’t based on objective reality but on their own preconceptions. There are no facts. There are no best products or services. All that exists is the perception in the mind of the healthcare consumer.

That perception is their reality, and a community hospital’s marketing must address that perception before they’ll win their neighbors’ trust and business.

Many community hospitals believe they have to fight on the “clinical excellence” battlefield, comparing their healthcare awards and physician credentials to those of their larger competitors. On this battlefield, community hospitals will lose the war.

Many healthcare consumers simply won’t believe that their local community hospital offers a comparative level of clinical care as the mega hospital in the big city…even if their local hospital can prove that they offer similar or better patient outcomes.

In the battle for consumer perceptions, community hospitals must fight on a different battlefield, one on which they can win. For example, community hospitals are closer and offer more convenient access to care. They make it easier for family and friends to be close to the patient. They provide highly personalized care. And they’re an essential part of their community’s economic health.

This is where community hospitals shine: marrying great clinical care with caring for the entire person in body, mind and spirit.

Quite often, this is where larger regional health systems are vulnerable. Because of their payment models, their physicians are encouraged to cycle patients quickly through the system, leaving little time for the personal care that patients prefer. Because larger systems are often a long drive away, patients and families are forced to navigate unfamiliar surroundings at their most vulnerable time.

When we assure consumers that they can have it all (clinical excellence and personal, holistic care), market share and patient volumes rise.