Case Study – Changing Up Bluestream Health’s Marketing Message

Problem: Bluestream Health’s Marketing Message Was No Longer Working

In this case study, you will learn how to improve your marketing message strategy. Bluestream Health, a telehealth software company,  faced a slowing business climate and increased competition for fewer opportunities. Working with our team at health launchpad, Bluestream Health changed its marketing message strategy to improve its business performance.

In 2020, the telehealth market exploded in response as healthcare organizations frantically adapted to the pandemic so that they could deliver care remotely. This created massive growth for companies like Bluestream Health, a virtual care platform serving health systems, clinics, developers, and payers. Bluestream Health’s sales soared as they created awareness of their virtual care platform and used typical SaaS tactics to generate demand.

Their marketing message, as shown in this screenshot of their old website was all about Simplicity. This message made sense in 2020, given that customers and prospects said that ease-of-use and ease-of-implementation were the most important decision factors.

In 2021 the market abruptly changed. Telehealth was available in some form everywhere. Nearly everyone who was going to buy a solution had done so in 2020. The pace of inbound opportunities declined and maintaining a high growth rate became a tough challenge for Bluestream Health.

Solution: Developing a New Marketing Message Strategy

In early 2021, Bluestream Health engaged health launchpad to help improve marketing effectiveness. One of the first things we did was examine Bluestream Health’s marketing message strategy.

Brand Positioning is central to health launchpad’s marketing message strategy approach. We use a simple framework that looks at fours factors:

1. The company’s mission and what they are trying to achieve with the product or solution
2. What customers say the solution does for them, i.e. value and benefits
3. Competitor messaging
4. What market trends and other external factors affect the positioning.

The health launchpad team got to know Bluestream’s executive team, spoke with the sales and product team to understand what drove them and how they were trying to differentiate from other vendors, and what was special about Bluestream. We analyzed web traffic, leads, and deals. In addition, we looked at how competitors were positioning themselves. And last but not least, we spoke to several customers to get their feedback on different positioning statements.

We surfaced the following insights:

• Bluestream Health’s uniqueness is the ability to create personalized experiences for patients and providers with customized solutions for each client. In particular, Bluestream Health’s APIs made this possible and relatively easy to implement. As a company, they aspired to be a leader in the new area of Virtual-First Care.
• Most of Bluestream Health’s more recent opportunities were coming from developers and healthcare organizations that were interested in creating their own applications or solutions. This was a leading indicator of where future opportunities lay.
• Customers said that what they liked most about Bluestream Health was its ease of use and how they were able to tailor the solution to their workflows, i.e. to match the way that worked.
• Lastly, when we looked at the competition, it was clear that the vast majority had almost identical messaging around simplicity and ease of use. There was no differentiation.

As a result of this research, we recommended to Bluestream Health that their positioning reflect how customers and prospects planned to use the product, why they were most interested in Bluestream Health, and most importantly, to own a positioning that was distinct from competitors. We proposed a new positioning and tagline:

“Virtual-first Care That works the Way You Work”

Implementing the New Marketing Messaging Strategy

This new positioning checked all the boxes. We then set to implement the new marketing message strategy across the entire marketing ecosystem, specifically:

• Updating the web site, especially the home page to reflect the new message
• Updating case studies to reflect the new positioning
• Securing a major case study in HIT News on the work they do with NYC H+H
• Training the sales team on the new message
• Developing new sales tools that reinforced the message
• Running a blog series that both brought this message to life and improved SEO
• Launching a white paper for developers on how to implement virtual care applications
• Creating a resource center of content that positioned Bluestream Health as a leader in Virtual Care with a heavy focus on how customers were implementing new models of care with Bluestream Health’s platform
• Presenting at a regional telehealth conference on new models of virtual care and how telehealth is being customized.
• Running a webinar where customers spoke about how they had implemented innovative new care delivery models by tailoring their telehealth solutions.

The Launch of Care Navigator

Most recently, we have supported Bluestream Health in the launch of a new product: Care Navigator. This platform-as-a-service is a virtual-first product marketed to health systems and developers that wish to create their own unique telehealth experience. This brings the notion of Works The Way You Work to life in a new solution. Care Navigator makes creating a customized solution less daunting – with a lower price point and less time to implement. Care Navigator brings together all the best parts of virtual care – customization, affordability, and the ability to create engaging virtual care experiences for patients that improve health outcomes.

Results: How a New Marketing Message Strategy Reignited Sales Velocity

Together Bluestream Health and health launchpad have successfully implemented this new marketing message strategy that fits their business better and meets their target customer’s needs more clearly. Most importantly, lead velocity has increased. Leads jumped by 125% quarter on quarter. The sales team has matched the new focus and is experiencing good traction, especially with healthcare organizations and developers who want to implement a more customized solution.

Bluestream’s revamped approach has also changed the conversation with the media – resulting in more exposure with the press. Health Launchpad specializes in creating nuanced marketing approaches like Bluestream Health’s – establishing a new presence in a rapidly changing climate and pushing forward with the right strategy in place.