Educating the PUBLIC - Our collective NEED to get the message of Medical Tourism out there !
THIS IS A START-UP INDUSTRY, AND WE ALL NEED TO 1ST: FOCUS ON INTRODUCING THE CONCEPT OF MEDICAL TOURISM AS A VIABLE AND VALUABLE INDUSTRY... 2ND: IDENTIFY THE ROLE THAT YOU AS A COMPANY CAN BEST PERFORM IN THIS INDUSTRY - AND LEARN TO DO THAT BETTER THAN ANYONE.
WITH EVERYONE TRYING TO DO ALL THINGS... NONE OF THEM ARE GETTING DONE VERY WELL.
We need articles in main stream magazines and newspapers... interviews on talk shows... press releases introducing ourselves and/or our new partnerships. We need a couple dozen more Newt G. interviews. We need a famous person (known to everyone) to speak out. We need to start getting out there and driving this bus rather than sitting back waiting for it to stop at our station. THIS PRODUCT IS NEWS WORTHY. WE COULD START GETTING PRESS IF WE WOULD SENSATIONALIZE IT ! Saving 70% on a Medical Procedures IS sensational... Having facilities like Johns Hopkins and Harvard affiliated with offshore facilities IS SENSATIONAL... Having a patient receive a treatment overseas that saved their live, that they couldn't get here IS SENSATIONAL... an AFFORDABLE answer for the uninsured IS Sensational... THAT'S WHAT THIS INDUSTRY NEEDS - AND WE ALL NEED TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT EFFORT. !!!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Roshan Shah on -
Jack,
This is normal for any industry in its nascent stage. I do agree that we need more awareness and more media coverage. More is we need more real life patient stories and its happening. But who will pay for the time to do videography, editing and promoting these stories?
Also one thing we must understand is Doctors and Hosptials are interested in patients but they have ZERO marketing skills. They can't even respond back to an email inquiry. It is upto facilitators to be glued to hospital and be their face. Industry will get there, it has to and once it does, it will be fun and financially rewarding for everyone.
BTW - We are doing first medical tourism Bootcamp in Ahmedabad, India on 10, January 2010. This will help small hospitals/clinics to get started in Medical Tourism. We will certainly share as much info as possible and hopefully we will see lot more international audience in next bootcamp ( Train the trainer) for facilitators who will then do bootcamps in their local regions and widen the network.
Roshan
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Permalink Reply by Jack Schafer on -
Roshan,
Not sure what you are saying that does not support the concept of forming a Marketing Consortium. We need the video's you mentioned... of course, none of us can afford to market the entire industry - (we're lucky to have enough budget to market ourselves) THAT however is exactly the work for the Marketing Consortium. Having an Industry Lobbyist, Media Management, Advertising & Marketing, and a Public Relations firm in place to represent this industry IS something we need, and something we all need to financially support - (THAT'S who will pay for it... the beneficiaries).
You are completely right about Physicians and Small Hospitals and Clinics when it comes to marketing skills, and their need for the Facilitator to be their representative. However... all of the larger Hospitals and really successful International clinics and physicians are handling their own marketing and sales, and literally taking over all of the services that a Facilitator would provide. Working the patients direct - they do not need a facilitator, and generally refer to facilitators as simply commissioned agents... and there is not a lot of marketing and advertising room in that 10 - 15% when your biggest competition is the providers that works with patients direct.
I'm waiting for the day when a Facilitator becomes a loyal sales agent for a particular facility in each marketing area - and sends ALL of their patients to that facility... and on the same day, that facility can say "anyone who contacts us directly from that facilitators country or exclusive area is THEIR client...
We do NOT work direct with patients - we're here completely and entirely to support our facilitators, and they are here to support our facility exclusively. Neither of us makes the other compete for our business ! THAT IS THE ONLY TYPE OF PARTNERSHIP OR RELATIONSHIP THAT WILL WORK.
Any successful business owes that success to mutually benificial partnerships and relationships, and THAT would be my Facilitator Boot Camp training - "Relationships and Loyalty 101"
Not sure if that makes me an ideasist, or a dreamer... but since outlook forms the foundation of outcome, I want to see this industry work ideally for everyone who dreams !
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Permalink Reply by Travis Kraft on -
Jack,
I think it is a great idea. We definitely need more people in the industry that are as passionate as you. I have always been fond of the saying....the road to success is always under construction. We should chat more on the subject.
There is a huge market but your right no one knows about it yet. I think if we had a high profile spokesperson it would definitely help. The MTA has done a great job but we as a whole have to promote it as much as we can. What has the response been to this idea?
If this idea was to get going I know we would like to be a part of it....
Travis
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Permalink Reply by Jack Schafer on
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Travis...
Getting this idea out will not be as difficult as educating the public sector about Medical Tourism, but it's not going to happen by itself either. I've had a three other folks like yourself that see the advantages of these ideas and want to be part of it. So we're at 4 in 2 days... not a bad start. Now all 5 of us have to start talking it up and getting the word and information out there. I will start developing a business model for this consortium - We want to be able to fund a National Advertising Agency, a Lobbyiest, and a Public Relations firm. If we had 100 willing to participate at $2,000.00 each, plus ongoing $200.00 per client, we'd have a $200K budget to get started. 250 would give us 1/2 Million $$$.
2000 people showed up in California, willing to spend more than that to find out what's happening - to get that number involved in making something happen - it would !
Jack
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Permalink Reply by Christopher Hobbs on -
Jack, I think you're on to something. There is clear value here. Some other comments:
(1) Everyone in the industry would benefit from this kind of initiative. There is often a freerider issue with this type of thing, but I think you have to overlook that and concentrate on the benefits to your own organization.
(2) The greater our public presence, the greater the risk of legislation. We as an industry need to have our collective act together, and have a prepared industry response for when the time comes. And it WILL come.
Chris
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Permalink Reply by Jack Schafer on
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...and then there were 6.
Five plus myself. Not only does that represent potentially $12K already in our budget, but now we have 6 points of vision from which to see this and think it into reality.
I have yet to get a downside except that we can't just like the idea... we have to be willing to financially support it, and actively participate in it. It's going to have to be a place where we can accomplish the one thing that humanity has not been able to - put away our differences, and focus on just those three things that serve us collectively. (a novel approach...)
1. An National Advertising Agency to initiate an awareness campaign, providing general information and opportunities about the Medical Tourism industry.
2. A professional Public Relations Firm to keep the Medical Tourism Industry in the press and mold a positive public perception.
3. Have an attorney on staff, and bring in a company or individual that can lobby and protect our interest in Washington. (I personally do not really approve of this underworld part of our political system - but I've come to realize that what "We the people..." see is the facade - Political Interest Groups and Lobbyists are the fuel that make everything run.)
THOSE THREE ITEMS ARE OUR PLATFORM AND PURPOSE....
Building this group of "I would like to participate" into 4-500 strong is the 1st step.
500 partners, $2K each = $1,000,000.00 collectively - and focusing that initial budget on those 3 key objectives would certainly get us off to a credible start. $200.00 contributed on each patients ongoing would keep us all 3 of those components going strong.
We may just be on to something here !
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