Marketing Preparation and Planning

www.smartfocus.com/.../0/On-line_Marketing.jpg

Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD

KNOW YOUR MARKET

A sound marketing plan is key to the success of your business. It should
include your market your market research, your location, the customer group
you have targeted, your competition, positioning, the product or service
you are selling, pricing, advertising and promotion.

"You're in business to serve a customer need," says Derek Hansen,
founder of American Capital Access. "If you're not sensitive to customers,
don't know who your customers are, how to reach them and, most of all, what
will convince them to buy your product or service, get help."

Before developing your plan, you must do your homework. Effective
marketing, planning and promotion begins with factual information about the
marketplace. Visit your local library, talk to customers, study the
advertising of other businesses in your community (including that of your
competition) and consult with any related industry associations.
Once you have all the necessary information, it is time to put your
plan down on paper. It should accomplish the following:

1. Define your business
- Your product or service;
- Your geographic marketing area--neighborhood, regional or national;
- Your competition;
- How you differ from the competition--what makes you special;
- Your price;
- The competition's promotion methods;
- Your promotion methods;
- Your distribution methods or business location.

2. Define your customers
- Your current customer base: age, sex, income, neighborhood;
- How your customers learn about your product or service--advertising,
direct mail, word of mouth, Yellow Pages;
- Patterns or habits your customers and potential customers share--where
they shop, what they read, watch, listen to;
- Qualities your customers value most about your product or service--
selection, convenience, service, reliability, availability, affordability;
- Qualities your customers like least about your product or service--can
they be adjusted to serve your customers better?
- Prospective customers like least about your product or service but whom
you aren't currently reaching.

3. Define your plan and budget
- Previous marketing methods you have used to communicate to your
customers;
- Methods that have been most effective;
- Cost compared to sales;
- Cost per customer;
- Possible future marketing methods to attract new customers;
- Percentage of profits you can allocate to your marketing campaign;
- Marketing tools you can implement within your budget--newspaper, magazine
or Yellow Pages advertising; radio or television advertising; direct mail;
tele-marketing; public relations activities such as community involvement,
sponsorship or press releases;
- Methods of testing your marketing ideas;
- Methods for measuring results of your marketing campaign;
- The marketing tool you can implement immediately.

The final component in your marketing plan should be your overall
promotional objectives: to communicate your message, create an awareness
of your product or service, motivate customers to buy and increase sales.
Objectives make it easier to design an effective campaign and help you keep
that campaign on the right track. Plus, once you have defined your
objectives, it is easier to choose the method that will be most effective.
The essential idea is targeted marketing--making sure your message
reaches the people you want to persuade. Today's marketplace is too
fragmented and diffused to reach everyone without the expenditure of vast
sums of money. This makes the formulation of a specific customer profile
all the more important. "Before, we always tried to get everybody and
their brother to buy from us. Need-less to say, that approach didn't work.
Then we started a marketing plan that targeted a specific geographic area."
says one long-time business owner, "and it brought in all the business we
hope for."

MSO Solutions, LLC can help you develop a marketing plan to promote your company or practice. Call us today to get your FREE consultation!

315.701.5821

http://www.msosolutions.com/

Medical Practices Now Face 10.1 Percent Payment Cut

losangeles.redfin.com/.../10/losing-money.jpg

©2003-2007 Medical Group Management Association ® All Rights Reserved
MGMA Washington Connexion, November 2007


Medical practices now face 10.1 percent payment cut


In the final 2008 Medicare physician fee schedule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the cut to physician payment for Medicare services has increased from 9.9 percent to 10.1 percent. Unless Congress takes action prior to Jan. 1, 2008, the conversion factor will drop to $34.0682 from $37.8975. The anesthesia conversion factor will decline to $16.3307 from 17.7594.


The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) will post specialty-specific information on the impact of the final Medicare physician fee schedule on mgma.com early next week. Look for a special MGMA Washington Connexion in your e-mail on Monday, with instructions on what you can do to help prevent the 10.1 percent cut from becoming reality.


Anesthesia providers, one of the few specialties not to see change as a result of the five-year review of work relative value units (RVUs) that occurred in the 2007 Medicare physician fee schedule, are rewarded in the 2008 fee schedule with a 32 percent increase in their work value. However, this boost is offset by a decrease in the budget neutrality adjustor, which affects all provider types. The budget neutrality adjustor for 2008 will be 0.8806.


Antimarkup requirement for both technical and professional componentsof diagnostic tests
At MGMA's recommendation, CMS reversed a proposal that would have applied the antimarkup provision to part-time physicians and technical employees. The antimarkup provisions limit payment to the lowest of:


The performing supplier's net charge to the billing physician or other supplier;


The billing physician or other supplier's actual charge; or


The fee schedule amount for the test that would be allowed if the performing supplier billed directly.


Under new language in the regulation, the antimarkup requirement will apply to both the technical component and the professional component of diagnostic tests ordered by the billing physician or other supplier (or a related party) when such services are purchased outright or are performed at a site other than the billing physician's office. The proposed physician fee schedule did not contain this new site-of-service-test, which appears to subject diagnostic tests to the antimarkup rule even if they are not purchased. MGMA has serious concerns about this provision is seeking clarification from CMS.


No changes to Stark law


As a result of numerous recommendations from MGMA and others in the provider community regarding changes to the physician self-referral (Stark) law, CMS decided not to finalize any of its Stark law proposals at this time.


Final rule covers wide ground


Other highlights in the final rule include:
An expansion of the number of imaging procedures subject to the payment limitation imposed by the Deficit Reduction Act.


An increase in restrictions on independent diagnostic testing facilities (IDTFs), including limiting an IDTF's ability to share space with other Medicare-enrolled individuals or organizations and establishing a later date of enrollment for IDTFs than under the previous policy.


A decision, based on recommendations by MGMA and others, not to increase the equipment utilization rate assumption. A change in this assumption would have decreased the practice expense RVU, given that the cost of the equipment would have been spread across more services.


Further study of potential changes to payment localities. While CMS proposed three possible methods for adjusting the boundaries of payment localities, it opted not to select one based on the number of comments and suggestions it received.


A cap of $1,810 on reimbursement for outpatient physical therapy and speech language pathology services, and a separate cap of the same amount on outpatient occupational therapy services. CMS is required by law to cap payment for outpatient therapy services.


An additional payment for practices that administer intravenous infusion of immunoglobulin (IVIG). In its comments on the proposed rule, MGMA supported continued payment for this service, given the difficulties faced by medical practices in obtaining IVIG.


The acceptance of all measures adopted by the National Quality Forum and AQA by Oct. 31, 2007, based on the recommendations of provider organizations. CMS also confirmed the creation of two structural measures for the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative.



MSO Solutions, LLC can assist you with strategic business planning to help ensure your future business growth. Contact our office today!!



315.701.5821

Eight Steps to Transforming Your Organization

According to John P. Kotter, of the "Harvard Business Review on Change," there are eight steps to transforming you organization:

Step 1: Establishing a Sense of Urgency

Examining market and competitive realities

Identifying and discussing crises, potential crises, or major opportunity

Step 2: Forming a Powerful Guiding Coalition

Assembling a group with enough power to lead the change effort

Encouraging the group to work together as a team

Step 3: Creating a Vision

Creating a vision to help direct the change effort

Developing strategies for achieving that vision

Step 4: Communicating the Vision

Using every vehicle possible to communicate the new vision and strategies

Teaching new behaviors by the example of the guiding coalition

Step 5: Empowering Others to Act on the Vision

Getting rid of obstacles to change

Changing systems or structure s that seriously undermine the vision

Encouraging risk taking and nontraditional ideas, activities and actions

Step 6: Planning for and Creating Short-Term Wins

Planning for visible performance improvements

Creating those improvements

Recognizing and rewarding employees involved in the improvements

Step 7: Consolidating Improvements and Producing Still More Change

Using increased credibility to change systems, structures and policies that don't fit the vision

Hiring, promoting and developing employees who can implement the vision

Reinvigorating the process with new projects, themes and change agents

Step 8: Institutionalizing New Approaches

Articulating the connections between the new behaviors and corporate success

Developing the means to ensure leadership development and succession

Because of today's ever changing business environment, it is important to be aware of how you can transform you corporation to remain competitive and successful. If you would like more information on how you can diversify your current organization services, please contact us today at 315.701.5821 or on the web at www.msosolutions.com.