Episode Highlight:
“A strong positioning strategy helps guide business development efforts while also making sure you spend time and effort in the areas that provide the highest ROI for the business”
A Few Thoughts on Healthcare Positioning Strategy:
I was talking to a lawyer the other day about business scaling, growth, and specialization. As we’re talking, he says something in passing that totally exemplifies both the concept and the power of a strong positioning strategy. He says, “You know, it’s like if I was a furniture maker and someone asked if I could give them a price to build a deck. Sure, I have all the tools necessary to do that job, but if I say yes, they’re not going to be happy, and I’m not going to be happy. So I just say ‘no’ to those types of inquiries, even if there’s good money involved.”
I know I’ve said this before on interviews: but the worst deals I’ve ever put together —the worst clients, worst results, most stressful projects— have all come from saying “yes” to jobs that I should have rejected. I quickly learned with my consulting work to only accept projects and clients that fit in my positioning. In broad areas, healthcare has adopted this idea of specialization. Orthopedic MDs do not accept cardiology referrals etc. However, within each specialty area, there are countless specializations or sub-specialties. Take Physical Therapy as an example…Often times, I hear one of two problems from practice owners, each of which can be fixed with a good dose of positioning:
1. Too many referrals
2. Not enough referrals
Interestingly, no one ever says, “I think we’re good. We have enough referrals.” It’s either “we have way too many” or “we need any referrals we can get”. But how does positioning help solve either of these problems? It solves these problems like this:
Too many referrals? Look through the variability in those referrals. If you have a selected specialization (positioning strategy), and you have more referrals than you have capacity to handle, you simply take all of those excess referrals that don’t fit in your stated specialization and refer them out to other providers.The patients will be happy, because they’re not on a wait list. The referring provider will be happy because their patients will get seen sooner, AND they’ll think of you with more respect in your area of specialization…
Too few referrals? Reach out to ONLY the referral sources that match your stated positioning (specialization). Often, when the schedule gets light, clinic owners and managers reach out to anyone who could possibly refer them a warm body to treat…
This does harms the practice in 2 ways:
1. Patients don’t get the best results (which means less positive reviews and likely less referrals from that referring provider)
2. They just sound desperate (no one like groveling…)
In addition, you only have so many resources to commit towards marketing & business development. Having a clear and specific positioning keeps you from spreading those resources too thinly to make a real, meaningful difference in referral generation.
What we cover in this Episode:
-Positioning Strategy in Healthcare
-Putting positioning to work in Lead Generation
-Building a team and culture at a healthcare business using positioning
-Reducing the stress involved in business development strategy
-Achieving Better Outcomes by dialing in your healthcare positioning strategy
Full show notes: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-143
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The Better Outcomes show is a Strata Studios podcast that explores the possibilities of a new healthcare system. Guests range from clinicians trying new techniques and treatments to executives and entrepreneurs exploring new service delivery methods, business models, and organizational structures.
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