Here’s a scenario you may have experienced: The new free-standing facility on the west side of the city has had a devastating impact on outpatient volumes. Your organization decides it needs to build a competing center on the land purchased on the northwest side. Plans are to go head to head with the competition. Your job: to develop the plan and design a strategy that will make it a success.

Having a new facility can be energizing. Everyone’s on board with the growth opportunity it provides—and as the strategist, it’s your job to consider ways harness this while controlling the urge to show it off. If you can take that energy and ensure internal readiness, you’ll be leading a successful approach.

Evaluate what is ready to market. Think about what you have, who wants it and what’s in place to make this happen. Ask yourself and the team:

• Have we asked the potential clients of the service what they want and how they want the service provided?
• Are access systems in place, for referring physicians, for patients directly?
• Do we have capacity? Will we be able to run at full speed the day we open? Are we prepared with adequate staffing for a new facility at the time of opening?
• Do we have a clear understanding of what makes us different? What are the real reasons they would choose us over a competitor?
• If we’re offering a purchased, price-sensitive service, have we fully explored pricing, billing and the customer side of the implementation?

It’s natural to place a lot of attention on the physical aspects of the building and/or program design. Subsequently, the functional infrastructure of market readiness may be left in the wings. Add to that the fact that many great marketers want to please others, make the deadlines and have the materials look good. Often, we can be so focused on getting the job done that we fail to recognize internal issues that can make or break the program’s early success. It’s every bit as true for physician recruitment and physician relations strategies as for traditional marketing.

Take a deep breath, and take the time to do it right. Play devil’s advocate: Don’t assume that anyone has thought about the entire process from the perspective of the patient or the referral source. It takes time to know what the customer wants and what you have in place to meet this need. Develop a checklist to avoid problems along the way:

Customer-Focused Checklist

• Communicate client expectations to internal stakeholders.
• Develop messages based on what the client wants. Messages need to promote what they need—not what you have.
• Test the internal readiness to deliver.
• Consider a beta site approach. Use a couple of key groups you can count on to test your systems.
• Make sure the care delivery mechanisms are in place and prepared.
• Plan and test access to appointments and communication of results.
• Set standards for responding to referring physicians regarding their patients.
• Train the ancillary team players on patient processes and responsiveness. Let them know Leadership’s expectations for them.
• Recognize and validate your internal team’s good work.
  

Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA, is a senior consultant with Corporate Health Group, a national healthcare consulting firm, and is based in the Twin Cities office. For additional information, please call 715-381-1171 or contact us via the Web.

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