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I had an interesting conversation with a new client this week about market competition. The challenge was this... The client's practice was in a midsized market with many competitors, plus additional competitors in surrounding communities. The conversation wasn't about how to survive but rather how to grow and thrive! To the client's credit they wanted to grow! I love spunk!
Its tough to grow in a crowded market in which referral patterns and loyalties are well established. It's unlikely they are going to grow using traditional "me too" strategies of yellow pages advertising, newsletters, prescription pads, office calls - you know the drill. Such activities may be an incidental part of one's marketing activities but they are not the seeds for growth when everyone else is doing the same things.
There's an old marketing truth that says, "When everyone else is zigging there can be a lot of value in zagging." What does zagging look like in your market?
For this client we identified two unique high impact growth strategies that taken together hold strong potential for being a game changer in their market. Both were chosen because of their potential positive impact on growth in a crowded market and because they were a good fit for the practice's long term vision, values, and resources. The concept behind the strategies was simple, "If you can't win the game everyone else is playing, create a new game that you are uniquely equiped to win."
Our marketing conversation took place in the context of a larger discussion that included benchmarking the practice's current performance operationally and financially, establishing new performance expectations, implementing a real-time performance tracking and management system, and the formation of a long term marketing strategy. Their team is motivated, competent, and willing to work hard. I think their prospects are good despite a competitive market.
Only time will tell, but I've got advice for this practice's competition - "Keep an eye on your lunch because I know a practice with an appetite that is getting ready to eat it for you!
Bob
(c) copyright 2009
Performance Builders
Saturday, August 22, 2009
1 comments:
Bob,
This is a classic case of trying to identify a comparative advantage.
I feel that your advise was good However, I feel that there are a large number of factors that can be used to differentiate between the client and the competition. Obviously the key differentiation is usually associated with cost. However, with physical therapy this is not relevant due to the reimbursement methods that are currently employed. As such, economies of scale, managerial influence, organizational issues, employee competencies, control of costs, product differentiation, emphasis on service quality etc are all important issues that would provide a competitive edge to your customer.
In PT I am not convinced that the clinic needs to zag, if everyone else is zigging. What they must do is zig much better than everyone else.
Sincerely, Richard Leaver
www.richardleaver.com
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