Mirror Mirror on the wall
Can you really subscribe to the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” strategy in this age of change and competition…
Just as you would send your car in for its annual service, have you ever considered doing the same for your medical practice? Quite often this is called a Business Health Check. We would prefer to call it a Business and Marketing Audit and suggest that this should be a matter of routine rather than a once off process (usually brought about when things start to slip).
In my past I was an international sales & marketing manager for a leading scotch whisky company owned by a large foreign operation. After my first year in the new position, I basked in the glory of vastly increased sales and share of market in the crucial N American market. It came to my annual review and confidently I met with our foreign owners anticipating their praise and sales bonus. It came as quite a shock when I was asked a simple but serious question: Why are sales so good and what’s so different from your operation to that of other market managers? I remember flustering around some answers but really not impressing them (or myself for that matter) with my perceived grip of the market. Something tells me that had sales been poor I would have had a ready account of reasons (ahem ...excuses!) and action points to remedy the situation.
It turned out that our owners were strategically thinking of investing big time in the US market to expand our business even further and were looking to me and our scotch whisky operation to deliver the growth. Before investing, they wanted to see that the controls and disciplines were there to manage the ups and downs that would inevitably face the business. I learned a valuable lesson about not just being an expert in my products but also really understanding their place and potential in the marketplace.
So what are you doing with your practice? How many marks out of 10 would you give it and more importantly what do your patients and referrers think? What’s happening in the marketplace? Have you got the skills, time, resources and energy to go after it?
Even if your business is going well, don’t just admire yourself in the mirror. Others will watch and copy you and the market will evolve so you need to stay ahead of the game. Gather in all the information you can on your own business and that of others. Armed with this information, any marketing initiative or new service you embark upon will have far more effectiveness in the marketplace than just doing a bit more of the same.
Internal Audit
If you are a sole trader then this can be more difficult so involve colleagues, friends/family – your accountant or friendly consultant even! If you have employees(full and part-time), it’s crucial and illuminating that you involve them in the process. Once you have the analysis and outcomes, the staff will buy into the new strategies and change far more willingly if they’ve helped to shape them.
Basically, you are trying to find out:
- How you are doing?
- Where do you think you want to be (and when)?
- How are you going to get there?
- What are the obstacles to getting there?
The easiest way to get your mind round this process is to run a SWOT analysis on your practice. It’s a well used term and process (which has been updated and “jargonised” ad nauseam), but it still works and does focus your attention. It can be done individually by an internal questionnaire etc but usually is far more effective and team building if done together around a table. It’s a serious and hopefully honest process and therefore not one to be hurried over at the pub!
Strengths: List what are you doing well? It could be financial, patient service, referral development & recommendations.
Weaknesses: What are you poor at? Do you have an Achilles heel that a competitor could exploit?
Opportunities: Market trends, weak competitors, new product / service opportunity, NHS initiatives
Threats: Competitor(s), new technology/techniques, Insurer referral systems and consolidation.
You should have an extensive list. Tabulate and prioritise the list and alongside each item write down the action points against them, asking yourself what needs to be done and by whom and when. Finally, how much might this cost and what measurements will be in place to see if they fail or succeed? This is your business strategy.
A useful exercise:
Picture your success! Tiger Woods visualises every golf shot before hitting the ball. So should you.
Imagine you and your colleagues in a pub five years on celebrating your first five years in business. You’re patting yourselves on the back for a job well done. How do you visualise that success and how did you get there? Be realistic! Is your current business and strategy in synch with your vision? Now sketch out your action plan to achieve your objective.
Posted on Thursday, 02 October 2008