(Pictured above: Jacques Spitzer, his wife and son)
The 3 Marketing Channels Every Fertility Clinic Should Be Investing In
Article by: Jacques Spitzer, founder of Raindrop
Emotional, intimate, and uncertain, fertility is one of the most delicate topics to market. To even call it an “industry” or “business” feels like an injustice to the level of vulnerability involved with visiting a fertility clinic. Other medical services might be equally personal, but they do not carry the same amplification of emotion—from fear to hope to anxiety and around again—as needing assistance to fulfill the deep desire to bring a life into the world.
For fertility clinics, marketing is more than a means to revenue. It is an investment in your cause and a platform to expand your reach, so more people can benefit from your life-changing treatments. With that said, you want be sure you’re investing in the right areas. Here are the three key channels we focus on when partnering with fertility clinics:
1. Online Search
Because fertility treatment is such a personal journey, many people put off a face-to-face doctor’s visit for as long as possible. The Internet is a safe haven for conducting both fertility and fertility clinic research, incognito. The problem is that while Googling works just fine for a lot of things in life, the financial and emotional magnitude of fertility treatment can make it an exhausting obsession that only feeds doubt.
Take a moment to look at your website, blog, and social media accounts from a patient standpoint. The question to ask right now is, “Are we helping or hurting their search?” Is your online content helpful, thorough, and reassuring?
2. Direct Referrals & Success Stories
Testimonials are influential by nature. In medicine, the power of a real-life story can bring even a non-invested audience to tears. Realize that if or when someone is ready to discuss infertility, the first place they will go is to someone they know. If they don’t know anyone who has gone through the fertility process, guess where they will go next: back to the Internet, this time in hopes of finding someone who has succeeded with one of your clinic’s treatments.
Online marketing is indeed tactical, but success stories are simply a matter of creating and capturing positive experiences, whether those experiences end up being shared organically or through a marketing lens.
3. Medical Referrals
Referrals from other doctors are the lifeblood of a fertility clinic. After all, you exist to help solve medical challenges that other providers don’t specialize in. You should be constantly educating referral partners about your services. Ongoing blog articles, email newsletters, and those irreplaceable success stories help your clinic stay “top of mind” with your current referral partners, while also reaching new potential partners.
Meet Them Where They Are
The overarching theme in all of the above is that it is your responsibility to first understand your audience and then go to them. Patients and referral partners alike need to know that you are confident, compassionate, and proactive with your communications. They also need to be reminded that although fertility treatment is an unpromised endeavor, you do have a promise to offer in that you will be there through the experience.
Marketing with Empathy
My wife, Tiffany, and I have personally gone through the fertility treatment process. We were unsuccessful with IUI and explored IVF before eventually turning to adoption after learning that IVF would likely fail as well. Throughout our decision, we explored each of the three channels I mentioned—multiple times. We met so many wonderful, caring people along the way who helped lead us to our own success story in the arrival of our beautiful baby boy.
Being an agency that specializes in creating and deepening relationships for our clients, we understand the empathy that you must meet your audience with. We share your sincerity and value your purpose. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to learn more about how we tailor our marketing services to your specific vertical.