Blue Ridge Health System of the Carolina Healthcare System
A Proposal for Strategic Marketing Consulting
Anthony L. Cirillo, FACHE, ABC: President
Fast Forward Strategic Planning and Marketing Consulting, LLC
Prepared by:
15645 Northstone Drive
Huntersville, NC 28078
704-992-6005
704-992-6160 (fax)
1. Situation Analysis
ComForcare Senior Services is one of the fastest growing non-medical home health franchises in the country. The growth of the company can be traced to an obvious need for these types of services by an aging population but also to a reputation of providing exceptional customer experiences that spread word of mouth referrals. At this juncture the company could do nothing and still experience organic growth. However, ComForcare has chosen to take a strategic look at it position in the marketplace and what it needs to accomplish in order to place itself as the premiere provider of non-medical in-home senior services in turn attracting more customers and more franchise owners. Fast Forward Consulting has been asked to submit a proposal to help ComForcare accomplish its goals. The most immediate need for the company is crafting the appropriate message or messages for its varied customers and referral sources. This discovery process could result in a short term tactical strategy that incorporates new messaging into various advertising mediums and perhaps leads to a new tag line and even advertising jingle. However, the larger goal is to craft a marketing plan that positions the company for long-term growth. While the immediate need is to reach the 20 percent of the traditional referrers responsible for 80 percent of the business and to grow the traditional referral base, the shifting of referral sources and a movement in the future to more consumer self referral dictates that any plan crafted be visionary in its approach to the marketplace.
2. Fast Forward Consulting Approach
Fast Forward Consulting knows only one way to approach a marketing opportunity and that is in a comprehensive and all encompassing manner. That is why it is extremely important to keep the following in mind.
Fast Forward constructs its proposals in a modular
fashion so you can pick and choose what is right for you.
A comprehensive approach is outlined, soup to nuts if you will. The intent is not to pile on consulting services but to lay out all services in a logical manner so that the client can choose which makes sense. It is a simple and clean way to edit a proposal into a tailored program that meets your needs and your budget. Similarly, the time needed for each step is listed so the client can see how the final figure was determined. There is no gray area or one price that leaves you scratching your head trying to figure out what you are getting for your money.
3. Determining the Message
3.1. Research with a cross-section of audiences
Neither Fast Forward Consulting nor ComForcare can determine the messaging and positioning going forward. It is ComForcare’s employees, franchisees’, referral sources, customers, caregivers and others that will determine it. That is why any project we undertake first entails market research to uncover the messaging and suggest the positioning.
Steps:
- Interview ComForcare key administrative and marketing staff.
- Interview top five and bottom five franchisees of ComForcare to determine their value proposition.
- Make overtures to leading competitor as if interested in pursuing a franchise and then talk to franchise owners to compare and contrast.
- Shadow ComForcare Charlotte, NC franchisee to understand operations better and observe interactions.
- Interview care providers employed by Charlotte franchisee to include the CNA as well as the registered nurse and the social workers who make the initial patient assessments.
- Interview caregivers/family members of Charlotte franchisee as well as those receiving care.
- Interview a cross section of referral sources – hospital discharge planners, nursing homes, skilled agencies, assisted living facilities, geriatric care managers, continuing care retirement communities, clergy members.
3.2. Competitor Overview
Fast Forward Consulting and ComForcare will produce a list of competitors and Fast Forward Consulting will then perform competitive intelligence gathering that will serve to understand the unique selling proposition of each vies a vie ComForcare.
Steps: internet research.
3.3. Produce Discovery Document
Synthesize all of the research into a tangible document that can be used by an interactive agency who will then produce concepts, taglines and other deliverables that can be used by franchise owners and corporate.
Steps: write document.
4. Hire and Liaison with Interactive Agency
Document in hand, Fast Forward Consulting will work with ComForcare to hire an interactive agency and work with that agency to produce a set of deliverables that ComForcare can use immediately in its marketing efforts.
Steps:
- Write request for proposal.
- Interview agencies.
- Work with agencies.
Note that the actual costs of the agency work are not included in this plan. We have
asked for example estimates from one of our partner agencies.
5. Write a Detailed Marketing Plan
The interest in Fast Forward Consulting’s services had its genesis in a Health Leaders article that attracted the attention of ComForcare because of its somewhat controversial approach to marketing that bucks most of the traditional approaches particularly within the health care space. Using that as a blueprint, Fast Forward Consulting proposes to craft a detailed marketing plan that ComForcare can implement on a national or franchisee basis. That plan would incorporate:
- word of mouth marketing strategies
- customer relationship management
- data collection to identify influencers and customer interests
- experience audits
- ongoing monitoring of the environment
- customer engagement strategies
- internet strategies
- blogs, podcasts and videocasts
- customer testimonials using Web 2.0 strategies and technologies
- brand extensions such as pet sitting, moving services, packing estates
- cause adoption
- leading research that sets ComForcare apart; the idea of giving important information to the public for free in exchange for goodwill and tipping points for choosing you when they need you.
- strategic national partnerships and local partnerships such as working with a hospital to provide free in-home assessments to post-surgical patients. Fast Forward Consulting is also working with a national gero-psychiatric provider who is interested in national expansion. In talking with ComForcare staff it is evident that psychological manifestations such as depression are on the rise. While this is the purview of skilled facilities, even they lack the resources to fill this needed gap. A strategic partnership with this type of firm allows ComForcare to reach a new audience while still retaining it core mission.
- formation of the ComForcare community(ies) such as a caregiver community, family community, franchisee community – ways for ComForcare to step out of the way and promote dialogue among like minded people while elevating the company brand.
- search engine optimization.
- intersecting prospects non-healthcare priorities for use as tipping points for future selection.
Steps: complete research and writing of marketing plan.
6. Ongoing Assistance
The above steps are a logical first step in the relationship and will showcase Fast Forward Consulting’s ability to ComForcare. There are three further areas where we would anticipate that our services could be needed. We are not pricing these in the proposal but they could take the form of a retainer relationship, a project by project relationship or an hourly rate.
a. Implement the Marketing Plan: In-house staff may need assistance and guidance with the marketing plan implementation. Fast Forward Consulting can assist.
b. Update the Marketing Module for Franchisees: With new entrants continually coming into this market, it is important that ComForcare’s marketing tool kit separate it from all others. That would involve a make-over of the current marketing module.
c. Franchisee Consultation: Fast Forward Consulting is available to travel and meet with every franchisee to provide one on one counseling that will be invaluable going forward.
About Fast Forward
Externally, we have helped position clients through brand creation, strategy development, market determination, messaging, public relations, grassroots and political advocacy campaigns - all effectively executed for results.
Internally, we have helped clients use strategic marketing and communications to build or change a culture, to engage employees in public relations activities and to develop recognition programs - all designed to retain and satisfy employees who in turn are motivated to help the company achieve its strategic goals.
Our Values
· Actively listen to the client.
· Do what’s right. Do it once. Get it right.
· Be visionary. Plan now for the anticipated future.
· Fast Track.
· Focus on the details of implementation.
· Focus on Results.
Find out more at www.4wardfast.com
Anthony Cirillo, FACHE, ABC
president Fast Forward, Strategic Planning and Marketing Consulting, LLC.
When you engage a consultant you are entering into a relationship built on trust. In some respects you are adopting the consultant’s philosophy and point of view and trusting that you will receive advice couched in that philosophy and based on solid analytical skills and experience.
You want to feel assured and comfortable that the opinion you are buying is going to guide you to success. You want the person offering it to have a depth and breadth of knowledge, a thorough understanding of the problem, a diverse experience from which to draw and respect within the industry.
Mr. Cirillo has worked in marketing and communications since 1979 and in healthcare since 1985 holding senior level roles reporting to the CEO. As a solo consultant, the client receives Mr. Cirillo’s full attention and he deliberately limits the amount of client engagements going on at any one time. This assures personal attention and continuity.
Reading between the lines of the attached resume, you can see more than just solid healthcare marketing experience.
Holding a Masters Degree in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Cirillo is well positioned to serve as a facilitator as well as review and assess company culture and dynamics so that behaviors can be changed that productively help the organization implement and achieve its goals.
Mr. Cirillo’s immediate past board membership in the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development attests to the respect he has throughout the healthcare marketing, strategic planning and public relations communities. He is frequently a national speaker at conferences. And he was the only U.S. consultant asked to speak at the 1st Middle East Marketing Forum in Dubai in December 2004. He was joined by industry innovators from Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Medical School and John Hopkins. He spoke there again in 2005 and a result has expanded his consultancy to include international clients. He recently taught a marketing course in Dubai in December.
In addition to a deep healthcare marketing background, Mr. Cirillo is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, which attests to a knowledge about all aspects of hospital operations. Few marketers possess this credential. By being able to tie all aspects of operations together, he can provide better insight into how they should be marketed.
In his consultancy he has tried to push the traditional boundaries of marketing. For example, he was one of the first to spot and write about the impact of consumer driven healthcare and has since developed a suite of tools to address the price transparency issue, twice last year addressing hospital chief financial officers in this area. Through his writings and his speaking, he has become a thought leader in the industry. His Health Leaders’ article on the Chief Experience Officer was the most feature on Health Leaders in 2007 and was the impetus behind the Cleveland Clinic creating an experience officer position.
Mr. Cirillo is an accredited business communicator of the International Association of Business Communicators, a rigorous certification process that documents his ability as a professional communicator versed in all areas of professional communication. He serves as an exam grader for IABC International and was past president of the Philadelphia Chapter.
While primarily working in the healthcare industry, Mr. Cirillo has had a diverse workplace experience that gives him a broad perspective from which to draw. A frequent contributor for Health Leaders online, he often stresses in his articles the need to look outside your industry for best practices and to apply them as appropriate to your needs. He has worked in other industries from which to draw knowledge as detailed below.
Prior to starting Fast Forward, he served as chief marketing officer for a Wall Street healthcare startup, Touchstone Health Partnership. Previously, he directed all marketing and communications for Unisys Corporation training organization, Unisys University, in Blue Bell, PA where he also served as director of employee communications. He acquired extensive internet, intranet and interactive media experience in this position, well ahead of these technologies being adopted in the mainstream.
He has directed the marketing and public relations for Rancocas and Zurbrugg Hospitals, part of a major health system based in Philadelphia.
He also has radio and television broadcast experience, serving as a television producer for the local CBS affiliate in Philadelphia, as a producer for the nationally syndicated CBS Radio program, Sports World Roundup and as on-air radio talent covering sports for Mutual Radio, CBS and others.
Anthony is also a senior advocate who devotes his free time to performing for older adults residing in assisted living facilities and nursing homes. His first book about aging and long-term care in America, entitled, Who Moved My Dentures? published in March of 2004.
Anthony L. Cirillo, FACHE, ABC; President
15645 NorthStone Drive
Huntersville, NC 28078
704-992-6005 / 704-992-6160 (F)
Cost Breakdown
Research with a cross-section of audiences
Interview ComForcare key administrative and marketing staff. 1 day
Interview top five and bottom five franchisees of
ComForcare to determine their value proposition. 2 days
Make overtures to leading competitor as if interested in pursuing
a franchise and then talk to franchise owners to compare and contrast. 2 days
Shadow ComForcare Charlotte, NC franchisee to understand
operations better and observe interactions. 2 days
Interview care providers employed by Charlotte franchisee
to include the CNA as well as the registered nurse and the
social workers who make the initial patient assessments. 1 day