Developing a Value Proposition for Your Behavioral Health Business

What do you offer your behavioral health clients? How do you contribute to your community and your field? What makes you different from other providers in your area?
The answers to these questions determine your value proposition. This is an essential part of defining your behavioral health business and guiding many of your decisions.
What’s in a behavioral health value proposition?
Your value proposition should focus on what is unique to your behavioral health business. Some possibilities include:
Newness: You address a particular set of needs that customers were unaware of, or offer something different from what is already available.
Performance: Your organization is results-oriented and focuses on improving existing services.
Customization: You tailor your services to specific needs of individual clients or a client segment.
Design: You can make your service stand out due to design elements, such as a great website or a beautiful, relaxing office space.
Brand/Status: The client finds value in simply using or displaying a specific brand due to the organization’s reputation.
Price: Offer similar value at a lower price to serve a more price-sensitive client base.
Cost Reduction: Your organization helps the customer reduce monetary and other costs.
Risk Reduction: This angle emphasizes how you help clients reduce risk, such as reducing the symptoms of depression that can otherwise put relationships and careers in jeopardy.
Accessibility: Offer services to clients who otherwise may not have access to them, such as operating in an underserved neighborhood.
Convenience/Usability: Make your services easier to use or more convenient for clients, such as virtual therapy options.
How do you determine your value proposition?
Your value proposition won’t include all of those factors. So how do you decide which ones apply to your organization? Start with a little research.
Conduct a stakeholder analysis to determine the audience of your value proposition. Who is affected by your work, has influence over it, or has an interest in your success? This includes clients and payers, but also policymakers and potential partner organizations.
Internally review your organization’s capabilities to determine what you do well, what you are best known for, and what advantages you have over others.
Look at your organization’s strategy and consider what success looks like and how to achieve it. Don’t forget to consider potential risks and weak spots, too.
Gather data that is most valuable to your stakeholders, and what will demonstrate positive outcomes and costs. Consider how your data compares state- or nationwide. This may include health outcomes, how quickly clients are seen, and client engagement.
Once you have the right information, you can begin to create your value proposition. You may want to create both a short “elevator pitch” and a longer value proposition document that incorporates your answers and the data you’ve collected. Write in language targeted toward all relevant audiences.
With an established value proposition, you can articulate the unique value your behavioral health business brings to your market. You can also use it to inform decisions, such as marketing, hiring, and partnerships, that will also contribute to your organization’s success.
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