How to Position Your Hospital Foundation’s Value to Attract Right-Fit Corporate Partners
Brittany Hill
Published: 10/04/2021
“Purpose” commitments are now a business decision and one that has targeted pain points and a crowded marketplace. As a result, hospitals have to redefine how they position and package their value to corporations to become a true partner and no longer just a beneficiary. We’ve borrowed basic business principles to help you understand your value and competitively position your hospital like a boss!
In business, there’s a concept called value-based selling. It’s a simple sales method that focuses on creating and communicating the value your customers will get from a product or service, rather than on the price or overcoming adoption barriers.
So the first step in developing a value-based corporate partnership program is identifying those pain points. While many companies have different needs and goals, most can cover their pain points in five groups:
- Brand Reputation + Awareness
- Employee Engagement
- Customer Engagement
- Societal Solution
- ESG Goals
Next, a Hospital must define its value to a company. When thinking about value, consider four main categories:
- Business Value: In business, the first question asked is, “what business challenge are we/can we solve for your customers?” A great way to demonstrate business value to your corporate partner is to position your hospital as a thought leader, an expert in your field.
- Financial Value: You can think of your “financial value” as the tangible value of your brand, recognition, and activation opportunities. Some call this your “Asset Matrix” that offers parameters around your minimum requirement for corporate partners to exchange your intellectual property, how you will recognize their support of your hospital and how you will activate your supporters and their constituents. Not knowing your financial value will risk unrealized revenue, overextended resources, or out-pricing yourself within the marketplace.
- Constituent Value: If the product/service is easy to use, encourages consistent engagement, and meets business goals, it’s a win! Your partnerships are no different. Strive to answer these fundamental questions, “How can our partnership help companies:
- Engage more employees
- Increase employee trust and perception of the employer
- Expand their skills.”
- Solution Value: Now ask, “Why are we the best option for a strategic partnership?” What’s YOUR impact on this societal challenge? How do you approach your mission differently or better than others?
Defining the value, you can bring to a company is important. Determining your unique value proposition is critical – and even more difficult. The difference between value and unique value can be illustrated through a traditional sales concept called the “Value Wedge.”
PARTNERSHIP VALUE PARITY: a value proposition that several hospitals can claim and deliver on. Your hospital must evoke similar value offerings to partners as other hospitals to remain competitive. While Partnership Value Parity is necessary, it is not differentiating or unique.
PARTNERSHIP VALUE WEDGE: a value offering that is exclusively unique to your hospital. This proprietary value point could include activation opportunities, programmatic impact, your approach to your mission, or even how you steward your partners.
Once you’ve done the hard work to identify your promise to corporate partners, what they will gain from partnering with you and why they should choose you over competitors, consider this methodology to package your hospital in an understandable and impactful way.
- Why – Why does your hospital exist?
- What – What impact does your hospital have on its mission?
- Need – Why does your hospital need to raise money?
- Promise – What can you deliver to partners?
- Benefits – What will your partners gain from supporting you?
- Unique Value Proposition – Why should a company choose to partner with your hospital?
To download Accelerist’s full Playbook on how to position your hospital to the corporate sector competitively, click here.
About Accelerist
Accelerist is the leader in social impact partnership technology, supporting hundreds of brands and charitable hospitals in finding and growing their partnerships with each other.
About the Author
Brittany Hill is the CEO and Founder of Accelerist, the partnership intelligence SaaS platform where causes and corporations connect. As a passionate data seeker and trend translator, Brittany specializes in using analytics and innovations to support B-corporations and Fortune 1000 companies as well as enterprise and federated nonprofits in their pursuit of sustainable events and partnerships. Brittany’s trendsetting insights have been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, TIME, and MSN.com. In her role, Brittany spearheads social impact product development and leads a talented team that has supported hundreds of customers in effectuating social change.