Marketing Matters
Important Things about People and Place
How to apply these two principles in your quest for success.
BY BRAD RUDEN, M.B.A.

 This month, we continue our analysis of the seven principles of service marketing with "place" and "people."

PLACE IS MORE THAN YOUR LOCATION

Place has its obvious meaning, but it's also referred to as distribution. If you were dealing in goods, distribution would be the means by which your product is delivered to your customers. In a service industry such as medicine, place (or distribution) can be defined as accessibility of your services for your patients. In other words, how, where and when a patient receives your services. In this aspect, accessibility means much more than simply establishing a convenient location or locations for your patients.

For example, when a practice has a main office and one or more satellite facilities, it has extended its distribution channel and its accessibility. But in the business of medicine, the key to distributing your services is interpersonal alliances -- the building of relationships with people through trust -- rather than the consummation of a transaction.

You must build trust through consistency and reliability. Every location you have is a representation of your service and commitment to your patients. Therefore, if you choose to have multiple locations, make sure you're providing the same quality and standards at each location to maintain your good reputation. If that's not possible, reconsider having additional offices. To help determine how you're doing, ask yourself:

• Do we offer our range of services at both the main office and additional locations? If not, why?
• Do we face physical limitations to providing all services at all locations (e.g., space too small for necessary equipment/supplies/staffing)? If so, could we offer additional services at least on a limited basis?
• Do we provide the same level of service at all of our locations? For example, the design of all of your facilities must enable your staff members to adequately perform their duties while also moving patients through in an efficient manner.
• Do our additional locations offer the same office hours as our main facility? They should.

 In addition to place, people are an important aspect of marketing in any service industry. As you know, your front-office personal and technicians will often have more contact time with patients than you do. So, how do you hire good people?

Sean Bruckner, the manager of the Nationwide Laser & Vision Center in Phoenix, Ariz., says he believes in hiring personnel who view their positions as a career, not just a means of earning a paycheck. He feels that "career-minded" healthcare workers will take more pride in their work, and that dedication is reflected in the level of care provided.

"Those who are committed to a career in medicine define the job," says Mr. Bruckner. "They don't let the job define them. They are typically the ones who come early, stay late, and ask if there's anything else they can do before leaving for the day."

To find such career-minded, self-motivated staff members, Mr. Bruckner places quite a bit of emphasis on personality. "We believe we can train a motivated person for most of our staff positions," he says. "We look for someone with the right personality, who fits into the culture of our office. We would rather spend time training that person than hire someone who may be more experienced but comes with bad habits."

Mr. Bruckner also believes that to truly succeed, practices need to be environments where everyone can take pride in the organization and feel responsible for its success. One way to accomplish that, he says, is to put staff members in charge of themselves. "Each employee is responsible for his or her own position," he says. "I won't hire anyone if I think I'll have to look over his or her shoulder to make sure the job is being done correctly."

His practice also utilizes patient surveys to provide feedback directly to each staff member in a timely manner. "Our staff takes pride in positive feedback from our patients," he says. "It creates an environment that builds on itself. When you get positive feedback, you work hard to keep the accolades coming. At the same time, when our staff see others getting positive reviews, they work hard because they don't want to be the one left out."

Once you hire quality people, to make sure all continues to run smoothly, periodically ask yourself:

• How well does each staff member know the duties and responsibilities of his or her position?
• Is my staff up to speed on the latest developments related to their positions? If not, are they motivated to learn?
• Are my staff members motivated to help wherever possible, or do they consider themselves "specialists" in their jobs?
• Can we handle an unforeseen absence of any particular staff member, or would the practice and work environment suffer? Cross-training may be called for.

STICK TO YOUR MARKETING MAXIMS

Most patients have no tangible evidence of their visit when they leave your office. They can only rate their experiences on their feelings of being cared for and treated with respect and courtesy. As such, patients' opinions of the practice will be heavily influenced by nontangible factors, such as convenience of location, timeliness and reliability of service, and professionalism of the staff -- people and place.

Brad Ruden, owner of MedPro Consulting & Marketing Services in Phoenix, Ariz., is a frequent author and lecturer on ophthalmology practice management topics. You can reach him at (602) 274-1668, medpro@uswest.net, or via his Web site at www.medprocms.com.

Tying it All Together
In each installment of Marketing Matters, Mr. Ruden provides advice on one or more of the seven Ps of service marketing: product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence.