BalsamRoot Women's Health
Marketing Strategy Guide
Balsamroot Women’s Health is committed to delivering evidence-based healthcare to women of all ages.
Our unique services include preventative screenings,
menopause management, behavioral and hormonal health management, family planning, and education services
Mission: Balsamroot Women’s Health ensures that women of varying demograhpics have access to, and continuity of, healthcare resources necessary to lead healthy lives.
Vision: Balsamroot Women’s Health maintains a position at the forefront of healthcare innovation through its commitment to women’s evidence-based care. Gender bias and the gender gap have impacted far too many women, and BWH’s vision is to merge state-of-the-art practices, seamless access and education, and end-to-end women’s healthcare services to overcome systemic barriers to care.
Family PLanning
Growing your family is one of the most important decisions of your life. At Balsamroot Women’s Health our care team takes the time to understand your lifestyle and goals so that family planning can remain firmly in your control.
Balsamroot has invested time, energy, and understanding in innovative healthcare services anchored to self-administering family-planning medications. Where routine access to family planning resources may have been difficult in the past, BWH is committed to providing sustainable family planning options that empower you (Willige, 2024). These include:
- Once-a-month pills
- Injectibles
- Intra-uterine devices
- Daily pills
Marketing STrategies
Partnership
Our mobile clinic capitalizes on partnership with small, local community businesses that have already gained the trust of community members.
Branding
Our mobile vehicle is wrapped with a balsamroot flower design that discreetly fits into the community's image, whether rural or urban, as these native Idahoan wildflowers are found in nearby foothills.
The Balsamroot has become synonymous with female resilience and beauty.
Direct Marketing
Direct-to-consumer marketing is used to share information about our pop-up family planning clinics and consultation services.
Dominance
As previously stated, Balsamroot Women's Health offers a distinct set of family planning services that other more well-known clinics in the area are yet to provide. Further, it's mobile vehicle approach to care also differentiates BWH from competitors in its ability to reach patients in the most rural communities.
Social media
Roughly fifty-percent of Americans have social media accounts they engage with (Upwork,2022). Considering this, and our target market, social media marketing is leveraged to promote brand association, information on our services and events, and bi-directional communication with our customer base.
tARGET mARKET
Women and girls are considered of child-bearing age between the ages of 12 and 51 years old (Watson, 2018). Roughly 443,635 women and girls, or 22 % of Idahoans, fall into this age bracket and are, therefore, considered part of Balsamroot Women's Health target market (USA Facts, 2024).
Eighty percent of counties within Idaho are considered Rural healthcare deserts. Women who live within these areas are a large component of our target market as Balsamroot Women's Health believes that all women should have access to basic care necessary to live their best life; family planning services included (Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, n.d.).
Demographic & Geographic Breakdown
According to Power To Decide, it is estimated that 87,580 women in need live in contraceptive deserts as shown in the below map (2023). The lighter the colors shown, the more difficult it is for women in these areas to obtain contraceptive methods that enable control over family planning. A primary barrier in this scenario is ease of access to clinics and pharmacices to maintain routine prescriptions linked to contraceptive methods.
Primary Segmentation Variable(s)
Distance to Care
Depending on the distance to neighboring care areas, different contraceptive methods may be recommended to our target market. This approach takes into account the relative ease individuals will have in sustaining adherence to their individualized care plan.
In other words, if an individual has to drive 10 miles or less to a care facility to receive their medication, daily oral contraceptives may be a reasonable solution. However, as soon as this threshold increases to 20 miles or more the frequency of dosage for a contraceptive must reduce so that ideal adherence can be maintained.
Anticipated Challenges
SEX EDUCATION
Beyond this, basic concepts of sexual education are not mandated across schools within the state of Idaho. Schools that do teach sexual education are required to underscore the importance of abstinence rather than highlight the variety of effective contraceptives at their disposal. As such, it is critical to remember that varying degrees of sexual education exist among the target market we serve.
" 27.7% of Idaho Secondary Schools taught students about methods of contraception other than condoms in a required course in any of grades 6,7, or 8. This percentage increases to 67.2% in grades 9, 10, 11, or 12." (SIECUS, n.d)
Religious Views
Religious institutions and home environments bear the brunt of addressing sexual education topics. Marketing campaigns must be particularly sensitive to religious affiliations recognizing their degree of impact within the community. The below chart illustrates the makeup of Idaho, by religion (World Population Review, n.d.)
Political Views
Lastly - Idaho is a conservative state that is scored extremely low in its support for women's reproductive rights due to its recent near-total abortion ban legislation. While contraceptives are not considered tabboo within the state, it is important to recognize that knee-jerk reactions may exist based on the extreme politics of the state.
Solutions:
A wide array of education content and avenues exist for individuals to become more educated on reproducive health and family planning options. Our staff are trained to meet women where they are at education-wise, so that customers are well-informed on both pros and cons of contraceptive methods.
Solutions:
Balsamroot Women's Health believe religion and women's reproductive rights or the right to family planning are two distinctly separate topics. As such, religious views are to be respected as are the needs of the individual patient who presents at BWH.
Solutions:
With a near total abortion ban in place in Idaho, it is more important now - than ever - for individuals to be informed of the contraceptive methods at their disposal. While the topic of reproductive rights is controversial within the state, women must feel empowered to take control of their own care.