Efficiency in Marketing

There is as much if not more opportunity to improve productivity in marketing as there is in any function in the HME industry.

The foundation for marketing efficiency is good differentiation. But since you rent or sell essentially the same equipment and supplies as other providers, how are you different? Most providers say “quality of service.” That doesn’t work, however, because it fails at least three (and sometimes four) of the six tests for good differentiation.

What are those tests? Differentiators should be:

1. Supportive of vision and values: All strategies and tactics that violate the vision and values of an organization will always inject inefficiency.
2. Desirable by the market: In order for a differentiator to have value, it must be desired. To find out what your market wants — ask. Start with “What are the basic needs?” to define price, delivery time, etc. Then “What are the expected needs?” to define quality, product capability, etc. Finally, “What is desired?” to learn what can really be appreciated.
3. Targeted: The differentiator should be targeted to the best customer, not the next customer. Remember these are product-payer combinations and should tie to the business strategy.
4. Unique: Make a list of all rivals and how they differentiate. If any other provider in the market is differentiating on the same factor, it won’t work. However, a good imagination and creativity might be able to redefine or position your company as unique.
5. Inimitable: The best differentiators are those that no competitor can duplicate, or even imitate. Some achieve this with patents, trademarks and copyrights that may be the most defensible, but it can also be achieved with exclusive contracts and other mechanisms.
6. Provable, which most likely means there is a metric that shows how well the company performs against its claims. It’s nice when competitors’ inferior performance can be measured and reported, but in most cases the position statement has to be that “the competition doesn’t even get on the chart.”

Once you know what the market expects and desires, and what all of your rivals claim, how do you find a unique point of differentiation? Consider these possibilities:

• Results could be clinical (i.e., re-admit and compliance measures) or operational (i.e., fulfillment rates).
• Credentials that belong to the organization (like accreditation) or that belong to individuals (degrees, certifications or other recognition of expertise and competency).
• Personnel could focus on courtesy, credibility, responsiveness, communication and patient-to-clinician ratios.
• Warranty that is exceptional for either products, services or charges.
• Convenience, as in location, delivery and accessibility, whether physical or through the Internet.
• Products/services includes factors such as range, exclusivity, style and design.
• Range of payers if it is inordinate and especially if there are exclusive contracts.
• Specialization in a clinical therapy or product category.
• Affiliations that might build an affinity. They don’t have to be health care-related.
• Performance like customer satisfaction or delivery time.
• Reliability of equipment, people and processes.
• Ordering ease such as an Internet-based referral system, or time on the phone.
• Customer training like documents, videos and structured telephone support.
• Customer consulting, especially with referral sources for in-service or clinical training.

Brainstorm with your team to get the longest list you can, then run all of the possibilities against the six differentiator tests. It should pass at least five. Once a differentiator is adopted, test it for market acceptance. If that test is positive, then it is time to integrate the point into your company’s operations and communications. Operations includes collecting the metrics to prove the differentiator, and managing the company’s compliance with its claim. Communications includes stationary, business cards, websites, fax covers, ads, promotional items and brochures, etc.

Once your company can set itself apart from all of its rivals with a good differentiator, your marketing team will be able to get results more efficiently.

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Wallace Weeks is founder and president of Weeks Group Inc., a Melbourne, Fla.-based strategy consulting firm. You can reach him at 321/752-4514 or [email protected].