I use a simple framework to help health tech companies get super clear on their messaging before executing a single marketing tactic.

Step 1: Map Your Customer’s Jobs-to-be-Done

Start by listing out what your customer is actually trying to accomplish.

For example, a Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) might be trying to:

• Ensure clinical documentation is complete and accurate
• Reduce physician burnout related to EHR use
• Implement solutions that integrate with existing workflows
• Demonstrate ROI on technology investments to leadership

These “jobs” should be specific to your target healthcare audience. A CMIO has different jobs than a CFO or a Director of Nursing.

Exercise: List 3-5 primary jobs your ideal customer is trying to accomplish. Be specific enough that you could ask them about these jobs and they’d immediately recognize them as their own.

Step 2: Identify Their Pain Points

What’s getting in the way of your customers accomplishing these jobs? What frustrates them? What keeps them up at night?

For our CMIO example:

• Current EHR requires too many clicks and screen transitions
• Physicians are resisting documentation requirements
• IT resources are stretched thin across competing priorities
• Previous technology implementations have failed to deliver promised results

The key is to be specific about the obstacles that are preventing success. Generic pain points like “inefficiency” or “high costs” don’t help you craft a compelling value proposition.

Exercise: For each job you identified, list 2-3 specific pains that make that job difficult today.

Step 3: Define Their Desired Gains

What would success look like for your customer? How would they know if the job was being done exceptionally well?

For our CMIO:

• Documentation completed during patient encounter without extending appointment time
• Physician satisfaction scores with technology improve by 30%
• Integration with existing EHR requires minimal IT resources
• Quantifiable improvement in clinical documentation completeness

Gains are the positive outcomes and experiences your customer hopes to achieve. They go beyond simply removing pain points and create additional value.

Exercise: For each job, identify what “better than expected” success would look like from your customer’s perspective.

Step 4: Articulate Your Solution

Only after completing the first three steps should you talk about your solution. And when you do, focus specifically on how it:

• Helps complete their core jobs
• Relieves their specific pains
• Creates their desired gains

For example: