Medical Scanning Lab Business Plan

Scan Lab will leverage its competitive edge of having the most advanced equipment with a seasoned, nationally recognized radiologist providing all of the analysis. Scan Lab will employ a marketing strategy that will communicate the message that offers state of the art technology and medical analysis, developing an awareness regarding Scan Lab’s strengths and distinctiveness.

There is not a significant amount of work that needs to occur to market to the insurance companies. This activity is handled by bid submission. Most activities directed at the insurance companies will occur through the sales campaign. Scan Lab will also embark on a sales strategy that has the goal of converting qualified doctors into referring doctors, Scan Lab’s source of patients. The following three sections provides this analysis.

5.1 Competitive Edge

Scan Lab will a nationally recognized expert radiologist in charge of all analysis. Dr. Carolyn Jones has been practicing radiology for 13 years, has published over 14 articles in renowned medical journals and is often asked to be a speaker at national engagements. Recently, she was the keynote speaker for the American Association of Radiologists Annual Conference where she described a new technique of using contrast in medical imaging that yielded a 34% increase in detail. A medical imaging scan is only as good as the analysis of the scan, therefore it is of significant value to offer a service where you have a nationally recognized expert offering the consultation to the referring doctor.

5.2 Marketing Strategy

Scan Lab will use several methods to communicate that it offers the most advanced technology and the best expert radiology analysis. This message will be communicate through various methods:

• Yellow Pages: While the Yellow Pages are not as targeted as other methods of communication, these advertisements will be necessary as many people turn to the pages when they do not have a specific service provider in mind. The ads are proven to be cost effective.
• Circulars: These will be pamphlets that are sent out to local physicians. The pamphlet will serve to introduce Scan Lab and detail the different services that it offers. It will also provide information on Dr. Carolyn Jones and will include background into her professional accomplishments and activities.
• Networking: Dr. Jones recognizes the importance of networking, getting to know the physicians that work in New Bedford. A high percentage of referrals are made based on personal and professional contacts so networking is a very effective method of increasing the number of referrals. Dr. Jones will be active in the numerous organizations and committees that are present within the medical community.

5.3 Sales Strategy

Scan Lab’s sales strategy will be to convert a qualified lead into a referring physician. This will be done through the emphasis of Dr. Jones’ strength and expertise in the field of radiology. The medical scanning laboratories service both patients and doctors.

For patients the scanning must be convenient, pleasant, and accept most insurance plans. For physicians, it must be a high-quality radiologist analysis. The better the analysis, the more accurate information that the radiologists can offer in the consultation to the referring physician.

Scan Lab will be networking with various insurance carriers. The first step is to determine who the key contact at the insurance company is. These contacts will be useful in providing information on what is expected in the submitted bid.

5.3.1 Sales Forecast

The sales forecast adopts a conservative approach to projecting future sales. As a start-up organization, Scan Lab recognizes that sales will be slow initially but by the seventh month sales will be steady and grow as the marketing efforts are developed.

The sales forecast is broken down by the type of service provided and displayed in the following table. The charts give a visual representation of monthly and yearly figures.

5.4 Milestones

Scan Lab has chosen several quantifiable milestones that have been developed as goals for the organization to achieve. The following table details the specific milestones, the time frame that has been estimated for completion of the milestone, and the specific employee responsible.