INTRODUCTION
The average attention span is down from 12 sec. in the year 2000 to now eight seconds, according to a BBC News article.
With that in mind, as an entrepreneur, being able to ace your “elevator pitch” in that average attention span timeframe will help move your startup’s business forward (e.g. gain funding, attract investors). The goal is to be able to efficiently and effectively answer the question, “what does your company do?” Ultimately, your key messages are the foundation that your startup’s value rests on.
Here are tips on how to develop a messaging strategy for your health tech startup.
MAKE YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION OBVIOUS
One of the purposes of key messages is to differentiate your health tech company from other. In other words, your messages can make it more likely your potential customers or investors will remember your business. To accomplish this, you need to create messages that are broad and value-based, NOT specific and featured-based.
- Specific and featured-based message example: “We developed a platform for population health management that leverages FHIR, uses a predictive modeling algorithm and has an intuitive user interface.”
- Broad and value-based message example: “Our platform helps IDNs quickly and easily deploy population health management programs.”
See the difference? Eventually, your key messages should become second nature when speaking about your company and can be used in other branding materials such as press releases and tradeshow materials.
KEEP YOUR AUDIENCE IN MIND
Once you have developed your startup’s main messages, create 1-2 tailored messages for each of your target audiences. Keep in mind, if your message isn’t relatable to your audience, it’ll feel like spam and they’ll move on. For example, if your health tech platform changes the way care is provided to patients, you may initially be inclined to create messages for patients and providers. But if insurance companies are the ones who are driving adoption, you will actually need messages specific to the payers.