Everywhere you look, new options for telehealth are popping up. From local primary care offices to global apps, accessing medical services over the internet is becoming more and more common. Marketing trends researcher BCC Research estimates that the market for telemedicine will increase from $43.2 billion in 2019 to $104 billion by 2024, growing by 19.1% year-over-year.

Many healthcare organizations are partnering with existing telemedicine systems to bring care closer to home. How can you take advantage of and stand out in a market that is only getting more crowded? Here are some tips:

1. Get the Message Out

When you’re introducing a new telehealth service, it is important to be clear about what it is and what it isn’t. If your organization offers telepsychiatry through an app, you don’t want consumers who use the app to ask about bug bites or scrapes. Not only does that create confusion for your providers and waste their time, but it is also a poor experience for the patient.

When communicating about a telemedicine service, be clear about what type of patient it is for. You can even list specific conditions or treatments that are ideal for telemedicine. (Be sure to add that the list is not exhaustive—unless, of course, it is, and those conditions listed are the only ones appropriate for the service.) Consider a “Know Where to Go” infographic that differentiates telemedicine from other types of care that you provide and describes what is appropriate for each service line.

2. Focus on the User Experience

For many people, especially older healthcare consumers, telemedicine may be intimidating. They might not be familiar enough with smartphones or computers to confidently navigate the system, or they might simply distrust it from the start because it’s not in person. For these consumers, it can be helpful to identify the pain points they will likely have and address those in your messaging.

For example, if you know that creating an account with your service can be overwhelming for some people, include a step-by-step explanation of the account creation process. Another option would be to include a testimonial or narrative from a patient who was initially skeptical of the process but ended up having a great experience. This can go a long way toward encouraging others to check it out.

3. Differentiate Your Service

Is there anything unique about your telemedicine offerings? Many healthcare organizations use off-the-shelf or turnkey systems that could be sending patients to providers in a completely different region of the country. Is your system local? Or is it targeted to a specific type of care that others don’t treat? If so, use that to your advantage.

A regional healthcare system we work with runs a telemedicine program that is facilitated through a national service, but its implementation only sends users to local providers who work at their centers. This means users will be treated virtually by the same team that would treat them in person. For many consumers, this is a big plus, and it has become an important part of the healthcare system’s marketing campaign. If your system has unique aspects like this, be sure to make that clear to consumers. It could make the difference in their choice!