When planning, developing, or refining your health tourism offer, the message that you will communicate to your audiences – internal and external – will be critical to your success, the business, and the destination’s sustainability. You will devote time, energy, and money to growing your business, so your messages demand careful consideration. Above all, make your message or messages unique and memorable. Here’s how.
PLANNING YOUR MESSAGE. Here is what to consider when developing your message:
PERSONALITY. What is the “personality” of your organization? What is your service, organization, or business attitude? Is it fun-loving, or serious? Part of the answer depends on the type of services you offer. Projecting an attitude of fun is appropriate when offering goat yoga classes, but completely inappropriate when discussing cancer treatments.
RELEVANCE. Make certain that your message is relevant to your target audience. If you have decided that your offer is “fun in the sun,” information about complex medical care is not relevant to your target audience. Keep your messages light-hearted and the images you employ filled with happy people engaged in the activities that are relevant to your target audience – having fun!
COMPLETE. What do you want your audiences to know about your service, your history, and your location? Customers who are looking for your services in a distant location are eager to learn what they need to know about your services, so keep the message focused on what they want to know or learn. Be sure that the information is complete! Anticipate the most frequently asked questions and provide the answers before your prospective consumers ask.
YOUR STORY. Effective marketing, communications, and public relations consist of “telling a story” and engaging your audiences in the story. Like a television mini-series! What do you want your customers saying about you – your service and / or your location – after they have visited?
CONSISTENT. Match your messages to your customers’ motivations and be as consistent as possible. Effective marketing communications relies on matching your messages to your customers’ motivations and repeating these messages as often as possible.
TIMELY. Keep your message timely and up to date. Dated references (the year you received an award), and seasonal images should be appropriate. Make sure your blog or newsletter (if you have either) is timely. Timeliness is especially important while COVID-19 is a concern. For example, urging travel during a lockdown would be the wrong message.
Your Internal Audience: Those inside, or affiliated with your organization, such as employees, contractors, managers, suppliers, board members, or investors.
Your External Audience: Those who are outside, or external to your organization.
The Go/No-Go Decision
- Your Target Audience
Who are you targeting, and what are their needs for, or interest in your service? For potential customers to select your service over the other options that are available, your messages must be relevant to these audiences.
Your target audience may not be the visitor or consumer herself. For example, your customer may be a travel agent or other facilitator who is deciding on behalf of visitors. Such a business audience will be most interested in your efficiency and their potential profit.
- Wants & Needs
Each of your audiences has somewhat distinct wants or needs. In order to design your message in the most effective way, it should address directly or indirectly, the want or need of your audience. For example, for an audience of single adults who are health conscious, the “want” may be for a restorative and refreshing holiday, as well opportunities to meet and mingle with other like-minded adults.
On the other hand, a family seeking cancer treatment for their child, the “need” is for sophisticated and capable medical facilities and professionals.
- Your Solution
For most customer wants or needs, there is a solution. What is your offer, solution, or experience? How does your offer meet your customers’ needs? Offer your potential customers images and explanations which are graphic and compelling to demonstrate that their needs or wants can be fulfilled by your services. If you can, show them what your solution can provide in “before and after”pictures.
- Your Brand
In advertising and popular media, the word “brand” is used in many ways. Brand often refers to the name of the company, its logo, or other graphic identities. Your brand is what most people think of you. It is that simple. Your brand is the dominant perception of your destination or service by your markets – in other words, your audience.
“Branding” consists of all the activities that you undertake to build awareness, manage perception, and create preference for your destination and service. Marketing participates in branding by defining your offer, developing and communicating messages, managing customer experiences, and measuring results.
- Your Value Proposition
A “value proposition” is whatever features, services, or innovations that make your offer appealing, attractive, or compelling to customers and consumers. It is the “promise” of certain benefits to customers if they purchase your services. Successful Health Tourism marketing is built upon a clear value proposition. Your message should include your value proposition.
Throughout this Marketing Handbook, the difference between features and benefits are emphasized. Features are the characteristics of the place or the providers, whereas benefits are what those features mean to consumers. Beautiful beaches, glorious mountains, and world-class hospitals are features. What consumers want is relaxation, inspiring quiet, or swift relief from their joint pain – these are benefits.
Your value proposition incorporates the relevant features and benefits into statements and images, which, when communicated to targeted consumers or customers, increase their awareness of, and create preference for your offer.
For example, showing an image of a young woman, in a relaxed yoga position, or receiving a Thai massage with messages about restoring your inner strength, poise, and well-being is an example of a wellness center’s value proposition.
Showing an image of grandparents playing with their grandchildren, with messages about restoring pain-free joint movement with prompt treatment and / or surgery, is an example of an orthopedic hospital’s value proposition.
Pictures of young families, having fun, or during intimate moments, accompanied by language about the joy and satisfaction of a growing family is an example of a fertility center’s value proposition.
- Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
- What do you offer that no-one else does?
- How does your destination or service stand out from others?
The answer to these questions is your Unique Selling Proposition or Unique Selling Point (USP). The central task of marketing Health Tourism is to give customers real reasons why they should travel to your destination and use your services! If yours is another nice location, with pretty beaches or beautiful mountains, how will customers choose you versus other destinations that also offer nice location, pretty beaches, or beautiful mountains? If you have a clean, soothing environment where your guests can relax, enjoy yoga, eat healthy food, and meet other like-minded people, how will your prospects decide between you and the many other providers offering similar experiences? Yours may be a state-of-the art clinic, with broad skills and facilities, but why would someone choose you for their medical or dental treatments?
If you are unable to answer these questions, your marketing will be “me too” and will not be as successful as it might be. The purpose of our Handbook is to help you answer these questions and to develop the answers into a marketing program that delivers measurable results.
Matching what you are offering to what customers want or need is the central task of marketing. You cannot do everything for everyone. It is critical to determine the specific service you will offer and who will be your customers.
Finally, as you draft your message, be sure to put the audience, the value proposition, and the unique selling proposition front and center.
- Your Benefits
What benefits will your customer gain by selecting your offer? Describe the potential benefits as specifically as possible. Remember that benefits are the emotional values realized from the features of your offer. The benefits of a yoga retreat are restoration and relaxation, while the features are clean, comfortable, and sustainably maintained facilities with convenient access to transport.
- Your Difference
Consumers almost always have choices. Customers can select you or another provider or destination. Why should yours be their first choice? This question can be challenging to answer!
For help in finding the right answer, it is useful to rely upon current or past customers. Ask them why they selected you versus alternative providers.
Remember that different is not necessarily unique. Men and women are different but that is not what makes them unique. Instead each person or organization has certain characteristics that make them memorable, special, and engaging from every other one. Take time to find your unique difference.
- Your Team
Customers recognize that it takes many people to deliver even simple services well. Feature your team as trustworthy and skillful, as well as attractive and personable. Describe their qualifications and experience in addition to their characteristics and personalities.
Look beyond the people serving your customers directly. Consider others in the area who will interact with your customers; for example, transport, hospitality, and other local vendors. They, too, are part of your team.
Describing your team is an opportunity to give your offer real personality and credibility!
- Test Your Message
When you have identified your audiences, described their wants, needs, and problems, then describe how your offer benefits them. It is foolish to assume that you have the right answer before taking the next important step.
It is imperative that you test your messages with an appropriate target audience to determine their reactions. You may be convinced that your messages are great, but your target audience might say, “So what?”
To test your messages, look for places and situations where you can show your message to your potential target audience and obtain their direct, objective feedback. You should, of course, avoid influencing their reactions.
The Internet provides an excellent vehicle for testing messages. Words and images can be measured by their effectiveness in attracting visitors or “conversions.”
Websites, emails, and social media offer you opportunities to share your message with potential customers and measure the results. A process like “A-B Testing” describes how two different messages (web pages, email messages, or social media posts) are offered to the target audience to learn which performs better. This process can be repeated again and again until the most effective message is developed.
Testing messages can be done at any time, but during pandemic related travel restrictions may be particularly good because people are spending more time online.
Points to Remember
- Plan your message by targeting specific customers, patients, or consumers.
- Give your message personality!
- Emphasize benefits rather than features.
- Be sure your message has a Unique Selling Proposition.
- Test your messages with the target audience.
Exercise Download: For Your Offer, What are the Features and Their Related Benefits?
About the Marketing Handbook for Health Tourism
Health tourism and wellness travel markets are in turmoil. The marketing challenges and opportunities for health tourism destinations and providers of health, wellness, dental and medical services have never been greater – or more complicated! Established destinations and providers of health, wellness, dental and medical tourism are looking for ways to remain competitive, and new entrants to these competitive health, wellness and medical travel markets are looking for the path to success. The Marketing Handbook for Health Tourism offers practical, applicable insights for all these audiences.