Healthcare marketing strategy2 min read Five ways marketing can help reach hospital donors

No matter the size of your hospital or health system, there’s always a need. Whether it’s for new equipment, enhanced programs or upgraded facilities, fundraising is ongoing. And for these efforts to be successful, your development team has to be creative and collaborative.

That’s where marketing comes in.

When hospital foundations and marketing departments work together, everyone wins. Your efforts help fund needs in the organization. More people learn about your programs and providers. And you build affinity within the community.

Enhance fundraising with marketing

These efforts don’t require huge budgets or multi-year strategies. Simple measures can make a big impact now. Here are five ways marketing can help foundations target donors and enhance the gift process.

1. Tell your story. Clear messaging helps potential donors understand your mission. When that story is consistent across multiple channels, it reaches more people and shows that you’re dedicated and serious. Feature the stories of people who have been touched by your work. When donors feel a personal connection, they tend to be more generous.
2. Make it easy to give. An effective online donation form is worth its weight in gold. Even if your foundation is separate from your facility, you can make it easy for potential donors to learn how to give. An easy-to-use, professional online donation form can build donor confidence. It can also increase income by making it easy to set up recurring gifts.
3. Don’t forget about direct mail. It can seem like digital is the only way to go these days. But direct mail is an effective way to reach seniors. Older adults prefer print communication. And people aged 61 to 75 give more to charity than other age groups. Identify your audience and meet them where they are.
4. Utilize microsites. A small website that lives outside of your main site can help you focus on a specific topic. It’s a natural go-to for projects like capital campaigns. But a microsite can also allow you to expand your storytelling. Without the space limitations of print, you can provide valuable backstory, detail and data that might otherwise be left unsaid.
5. Remember nondonors. Tell the general public about your fundraising and its outcomes. You’ll educate them about the importance of your foundation and its donors. This tells patients and prospective patients that your hospital community is active and flourishing. Include foundation updates in your regular communications—you never know who is reading.

Start reaching donors now

Even if the path ahead is clear, making progress can be a challenge. That’s where Coffey Communications comes in. We can help you develop and implement a communication plan that works for marketing, development and leadership.

Our print and web experts can help you get your message out and track efficacy. We specialize in healthcare, so we understand the unique challenges hospitals and foundations face today. Give us a call at 888.805.9101 or email us to get started.