Medical Transcription Business Marketing Plan

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Confidentiality Agreement

The undersigned reader acknowledges that the information provided by _________________________ in this marketing plan is confidential; therefore, reader agrees not to disclose it without the express written permission of _________________________. It is acknowledged by reader that information to be furnished in this marketing plan is in all respects confidential in nature, other than information which is in the public domain through other means and that any disclosure or use of same by reader, may cause serious harm or damage to ________________________. Upon request, this document is to be immediately returned to _________________________. ___________________ Signature ___________________ Name (typed or printed) ___________________ Date This is a marketing plan. It does not imply an offering of securities.

Table Of Contents 1.0

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

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Situation Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Market Summary . . . . . . . 2.1.1 Market Demographics 2.1.2 Market Needs . . . . 2.1.3 Market Trends . . . 2.1.4 Market Growth . . . 2.2 SWOT Analysis . . . . . . . . 2.2.1 Strengths . . . . . 2.2.2 Weaknesses . . . . 2.2.3 Opportunities . . . . 2.2.4 Threats . . . . . . . 2.3 Competition . . . . . . . . . 2.4 Services . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 Keys to Success . . . . . . . . 2.6 Critical Issues . . . . . . . . .

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Marketing Strategy . . . . . 3.1 Mission . . . . . . . 3.2 Marketing Objectives 3.3 Financial Objectives . 3.4 Target Marketing . . 3.5 Positioning . . . . . 3.6 Strategy Pyramids . 3.7 Marketing Mix . . . . 3.8 Marketing Research .

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Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts 4.1 Break-even Analysis . . . . 4.2 Sales Forecast . . . . . . . 4.3 Expense Forecast . . . . .

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Controls 5.1 5.2 5.3

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . Implementation Milestones Marketing Organization . . Contingency Planning . .

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Elite Medical Transcription 1.0 Executive Summary The challenge of reading a physician's handwritting--it is an urban legend. There is a need for medical transcriptionists, this is due to insurance company regulations requiring legibility for documents doctors create. Elite Medical Transcription's mission is to provide the finest medical transcription service available. We exist to attract and maintain customers. When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers. Elite Medical Transcription offers high quality, low error rate, medical transcriptions. Elite Medical Transcription will concentrate on two market segments, physicians practicing alone or with a colleague or two, and small practices of psychologists. These two market segments are the most reliable consumers of outside transcription services. Elite Medical Transcription will also serve other parts of the market, which offer more sporadic service requests. Through the use of sophisticated software, Elite Medical Transcription will offer accuracy and convenience not yet offered to the medical community in its area. Additionally, Elite Medical Transcription will have extensive training requirements for their staff, insuring highly qualified transcribers. These competitive advantages, coupled with a growing market will allow EMT to quickly gain market penetration. Elite Medical Transcription will be profitable by month eight and have a net profit of $35,000 by year three.

Annual Sales Forecast

$180,000 $160,000 $140,000 $120,000 $100,000

Physicians Psychologists

$80,000 $60,000 $40,000 $20,000 $0 2003

2004

2005

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Elite Medical Transcription 2.0 Situation Analysis Elite Medical Transcription is entering its first year of operation. A comprehensive marketing plan will be an integral part in the push to profitability and sustainable success. Elite offers a highquality medical transcription service. The basic market need is an experienced, medical-specific transcription service for physicians with one to two partners. Elite has decided to offer its transcription services to the medical market and the employees will have taken numerous medical courses allowing them to be accurate with even the most unusual medical terms.

2.1 Market Summary Elite has captured valuable information about the local market. This information will be leveraged to better understand the targeted customers, their specific needs, and how Elite can better communicate with them.

Target Markets

Physicians Psychologists

Table 2.1: Target Market Forecast Target Market Forecast Potential Customers Physicians Psychologists Total

Growth 9% 8% 8.52%

2003 215 165 380

2004 234 178 412

2005 255 192 447

2006 278 207 485

2007 303 224 527

CAGR 8.96% 7.94% 8.52%

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Elite Medical Transcription 2.1.1 Market Demographics The profile for the typical Elite customer consists of the following geographic, demographic, and behavior factors. Geographics • Our immediate geographic target is the city of Jeffet, ID with a population of 132,000. • A 55 mile radius is in need of the provided services. • The total targeted population is 380. Demographics • • • •

Male and female practitioners. 69% physicians, and 31% psychologists. The age of the practice ranges from two to fifteen years. The size of the practice has only a couple of practitioners.

Behavior Factors • Prefer to remain in a small private practice. • Have poor handwriting, or are responding to insurance company's requirements for legibility. • Appreciate the convenience to be able to perform their dictations when it is most convenient for them. • Have no desire to have the overhead of a full-time transcription person on staff, value the ability to keep overhead low.

2.1.2 Market Needs Elite is providing its customers with a reliable, flexible, medically-trained transcription service. The following benefits are important to Elite's customers: • Medical Background: This is important due to the specialized language within the medical profession. • Convenience: The ability to offer the service at the doctor's convenience is a significant advantage. • Accuracy: Documents need to be accurate to guard against malpractice threats.

2.1.3 Market Trends The market trend for industries that utilize transcription services is decreasing overhead through the outsourcing of non-essential activities. For transcription services this means a recent surge in demand for transcription services from customers that are now relying on outsourced service providers.

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Elite Medical Transcription

Market Forecast 600 500 400

Physicians

300

Psychologists 200 100 0 2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2.1.4 Market Growth In 2000, the non-industry specific transcription market had $654 million in revenues. The last four years has seen a 4% growth rate. With the recent trend of outsourcing transcription services, the next three years are expected to achieve a 5% growth rate. As physician's practices are under increasing pressure to develop efficiencies (this pressure is primarily coming from the insurance companies which have significantly reduced their allowable reimbursement amounts), practices will be shedding non-essential employees and replacing them with outsourced service providers.

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Elite Medical Transcription

Target Market Growth

9.00% 8.00% 7.00% 6.00% 5.00% 4.00% 3.00% 2.00% 1.00% 0.00% Physicians

Psychologists

2.2 SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the company and describes the opportunities and threats facing Elite.

2.2.1 Strengths • Medical specific training. • Sophisticated software significantly increasing the convenience and accuracy of the offered service. • Comprehensive training program for employees.

2.2.2 Weaknesses • The inability to rapidly scale. • A limited marketing budget. • The difficulty of establishing brand equity as a start-up.

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Elite Medical Transcription 2.2.3 Opportunities • Participation within a growing market. • The ability to grow the practice with increased amounts of experience and industry knowledge. • Decent margins.

2.2.4 Threats • Potential competition from existing transcription services that decide to focus on the medical niche. • Huge technological gains in speech recognition software for individual consumers. • The outsourcing of transcription services to national companies through increased technological gains of Internet technology.

2.3 Competition The competition takes two general forms: 1.

General Transcription Service: These are transcription services that offer medical services in addition to general service offerings. These firms typically have someone who has been trained in medical transcription, but does not do medical exclusively.

2.

Specialized Medical Transcription: There is currently one company that is a true direct competitor with EMT, serving only the medical community. The market looks promising as this firm does not have enough staff to meet demand. Additionally, this firm does not provide specialized service to psychologists.

The buying patterns for medical transcription services are typically based on the type of relationship the physician has with the transcriber. If the physician does not have an in-house solution then they ideally will have a long-term relationship with a service provider. If the physician or hospital has in-house transcribers, then their relationships with the transcriber services are based on sporadic service calls, filling a need when their service provider is unable.

2.4 Services EMT will provide high-level medical transcription services to the Jeffet medical community. EMT typically transcribes office visits, surgery notes, lab results, admissions, assessment, and discharge summaries. EMT will offer digital transcription services that allow the physician to call into EMT's office and record the dictation over the phone while EMT's computer records. This will allow the physician to submit the dictation at any time during the day, without having to schedule the transcriber to come in or to have to forward a cassette to the dictation service. There are still some physicians who will only use their micro cassette recorder, EMT is set up to service those customers as well. EMT will also offer a rush service that promises transcriptions in 24 hours. It costs more but cuts the turnaround time in half.

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Elite Medical Transcription 2.5 Keys to Success The following are Elite's keys to success. • Establish repeat customers. • Ensure complete customer satisfaction. • Address customer needs.

2.6 Critical Issues Elite Medical Transcription is in its first year of operation. The critical issues that it faces are the following: • Ensure that it has ample support staff to meet the customer's needs. • Provide proper medical training for all employees. • Establish Elite Medical Transcription as the premier medical transcription service in the area.

3.0 Marketing Strategy Elite Medical Transcription will take a multi-pronged approach to its marketing strategy. The first activity that Elite will undertake is advertisements. Two sources for the advertisements will be employed. The first will be Yellow Page advertisements. Although the Yellow Pages are a fairly general source of information, they are widely used to locate service providers. Advertisements will be also displayed in two different newsletter/journals. Both doctors and psychologists have a local/regional newsletter that is dedicated to serving the specific practitioners. These newsletters are sent out by the different licensing boards so all practitioners receive them. The last marketing effort will be a website. This will be a comprehensive source of information about the company and the services offered. The website is likely to be used by people that have a knowledge of Elite but would like more information regarding the services offered. However, some people will view the site with no prior knowledge of Elite. They will be able to access the site by using a search engine such as Google to find Elite's website.

3.1 Mission Elite Medical Transcription's mission is to provide the finest medical transcription service available. We exist to attract and maintain customers. When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.

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Elite Medical Transcription 3.2 Marketing Objectives • Increase repeat customers by 4% per quarter. • Decrease customer acquisition costs by 7% every two quarters. • Achieve the status as the #1 medical transcription service in Jeffet.

3.3 Financial Objectives • Strong, steady growth in sales. • Achieve a double-digit growth rate for the first three years. • Profitability by the end of year one.

3.4 Target Marketing EMT will focus on two distinct groups that use medical transcription services: 1.

Doctors: These physicians typically practice solo or are with one or two other physicians. Because of the small office, they often do not have an in-house transcriber. The advantages of not having an in-house person are reduced labor costs and overhead.

2.

Psychologists: These doctors are very similar to the above market segment. They practice alone or in a small group and typically do not have an in-house transcriber. Although psychologists are medical doctors, their vocabulary of terms requires expertise in the field of psychology to be able to offer transcription services to them.

3.5 Positioning Elite will position itself as the premier medical transcription service in town. Through the use of medical training, unparalleled convenience, and sophisticated software, Elite will quickly gain market share. The desired positioning will be achieved by leveraging its two competitive advantages: • The first is the use of advanced digital equipment. EMT has invested in the newest technology that serves two purposes. The first purpose is gains in efficiency for EMT. Through the use of the digital equipment, EMT can process the dictations quickly and more accurately. This benefits the clients, as it allows them the opportunity to make a dictation over the phone at any time during the day. In the age of the cellular phone, this is quite a convenience allowing the doctor to no longer be tied down when making the transcription. • EMT's second competitive edge is its commitment to training. In addition to requiring classes in medical transcription to familiarize transcribers with the medicalease, EMT has a sophisticated suite of software manufactured specifically for medical transcriptions. EMT's staff are all trained to utilize this software to its greatest advantage, developing the most error-free document as possible.

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Elite Medical Transcription 3.6 Strategy Pyramids The single objective for Elite is to gain market share for the medical transcription service. While there are many transcription services, there is only one other service that specializes on the medical community. Specializing on this specific niche reduces the size of the market, but it allows Elite to compete more effectively and efficiently because of its in-depth medical knowledge. The message that Elite seeks to communicate is that it offers the best trained, most convenient transcription service for the medical community. This message will be communicated in different ways. The first method will be the use of advertisements in the Yellow Pages. This method will be particularly useful for people that turn to the Yellow Pages for company/market information. The second method will be advertisements in the two local newsletters for physicians and psychologists/psychiatrists. These newsletters are produced by the licensing boards for the respective practitioners and have a well-targeted, well read population of readers.

3.7 Marketing Mix Elite's marketing mix is comprised of the following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service. • Pricing: The pricing scheme is flexible to meet the needs of the customers. Typically it will be based on a per document charge and a per word fee. • Distribution: Services are offered at the customer's place of business or over the phone. • Advertising and Promotion: Advertising in the Yellow Pages as well as in industry journals/newsletters will be used. Additionally, Elite will have a comprehensive website used for marketing purposes. • Customer Service: Gaining repeat customers will be one of the business objectives. With this recognized, premium customer service will be ensured to guarantee repeat business.

3.8 Marketing Research Recognizing that market research would be necessary to gain sufficient insight into the market and its customers. Elite held two focus groups to gather marketing research. The groups consisted of seven physicians per group. The groups were structured by using a set of questions asked to each group. In addition to the structured questions, each focus group had a free flowing question/discussion forum. The free flowing section was particularly useful as many ideas and questions arose that were not contemplated earlier. Having gained so much valuable information from the initial focus groups, Elite plans to have another in a years time.

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Elite Medical Transcription 4.0 Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts This section will offer a financial overview of Elite as it relates to the marketing activities. Elite will address break-even analysis, sales forecasts, expense forecasts, and how those activities link to the marketing strategy.

4.1 Break-even Analysis The break-even analysis indicates that $8,586 will be needed in monthly revenue to achieve the break-even point.

Break-even Analysis $10,000

$5,000

$0

($5,000)

($10,000) $0

$2,960

$5,920

$8,880

$11,840

$14,800

Monthly break-even point Break-even point = where line intersects with 0

Table 4.1: Break-even Analysis Break-even Analysis: Monthly Units Break-even Monthly Sales Break-even Assumptions: Average Per-Unit Revenue Average Per-Unit Variable Cost Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost

46 $8,586 $185.00 $1.85 $8,500

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Elite Medical Transcription 4.2 Sales Forecast The first month will be used to set up the home office. During this period the owner will be advertising in local industry specific journals and association newsletters. At the beginning of month two, EMT will begin servicing clients. The first several months are expected to be slow. The company expects it to take a bit of time before business really ramps. By month 11 business will be doing well and EMT will hire an additional employee.

Monthly Sales Forecast $14,000 $12,000 $10,000 $8,000

Physicians $6,000

Psychologists

$4,000 $2,000 $0 Jan Feb Mar

Apr May Jun

Jul

Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

2003 $42,706 $36,269 $78,975

2004 $82,458 $62,545 $145,003

2005 $93,542 $71,254 $164,796

2003 $4,271 $3,627 $7,898

2004 $8,246 $6,255 $14,500

2005 $9,354 $7,125 $16,480

Table 4.2: Sales Forecast Sales Forecast Sales Physicians Psychologists Total Sales Direct Cost of Sales Physicians Psychologists Subtotal Cost of Sales

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Elite Medical Transcription 4.3 Expense Forecast The marketing expenses will be budgeted for each month. The first quarter will have increased expenses in an effort to develop visibility for Elite as a start-up organization. After the first quarter, expenses will settle down until the last quarter when expenses will increase again.

Monthly Expense Budget $1,600 $1,400 $1,200 $1,000

Advertisements

$800

Website

$600 $400 $200 $0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Jul

Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Table 4.3: Marketing Expense Budget Marketing Expense Budget Advertisements Website Total Sales and Marketing Expenses Percent of Sales Contribution Margin Contribution Margin / Sales

2003 $4,950 $2,500 -----------$7,450 9.43% $63,628 80.57%

2004 $5,500 $2,000 -----------$7,500 5.17% $123,003 84.83%

2005 $6,000 $2,000 -----------$8,000 4.85% $140,316 85.15%

5.0 Controls The purpose of Elite's marketing plan is to serve as a guide for the organization. The following areas will be monitored to track performance. • Repeat customers. • Customer satisfaction. • Transcription efficiency: individual and organization.

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Elite Medical Transcription 5.1 Implementation Milestones The following milestones identify the key marketing programs. It is important to accomplish each one on time and on budget.

Milestones

Marketing plan completion

Advertising campaign #1

Advertising campaign #2

First large contract

Second large contract

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Table 5.1: Milestones Milestones Milestone Marketing plan completion Advertising campaign #1 Advertising campaign #2 First large contract Second large contract Totals

Plan Start Date 1/1/03 3/1/03 7/1/03 4/1/03 8/1/03

End Date 2/1/03 6/30/03 10/31/03 8/30/03 12/30/03

Budget $0 $2,450 $2,550 $4,300 $1,375 $10,675

Manager Dawn Dawn Dawn Dawn Dawn

Department

5.2 Marketing Organization The owner will be primarily responsible for the marketing activities at Elite, but will work with outside companies to develop both the website as well as the advertising campaign.

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Elite Medical Transcription 5.3 Contingency Planning Difficulties and Risks Include • Problems gaining sufficient visibility in the community. • Overly aggressive and debilitating actions by competitors. • Securing sufficiently trained employees. Worst Case Scenarios Include • Determining that the business cannot support itself on an ongoing basis. • Having to liquidate equipment to cover liabilities.

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Appendix: Elite Medical Transcription Table 4.2 Sales Forecast Sales Forecast Sales Physicians Psychologists Total Sales Direct Cost of Sales Physicians Psychologists Subtotal Cost of Sales

Plan Jan $0 $0 $0

Feb $1,245 $1,001 $2,246

Mar $1,354 $1,245 $2,599

Apr $1,654 $1,458 $3,112

May $2,474 $1,874 $4,348

Jun $3,254 $2,754 $6,008

Jul $3,354 $3,021 $6,375

Aug $4,125 $3,254 $7,379

Sep $5,358 $4,685 $10,043

Oct $5,987 $5,055 $11,042

Nov $6,547 $5,687 $12,234

Dec $7,354 $6,235 $13,589

Jan $0 $0 $0

Feb $125 $100 $225

Mar $135 $125 $260

Apr $165 $146 $311

May $247 $187 $435

Jun $325 $275 $601

Jul $335 $302 $638

Aug $413 $325 $738

Sep $536 $469 $1,004

Oct $599 $506 $1,104

Nov $655 $569 $1,223

Dec $735 $624 $1,359

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Appendix: Elite Medical Transcription Table 4.3 Marketing Expense Budget Marketing Expense Budget Advertisements Website Total Sales and Marketing Expenses Percent of Sales Contribution Margin Contribution Margin / Sales

Jan $500 $1,000 -----------$1,500 0.00% ($1,500) 0.00%

Feb $550 $100 -----------$650 28.94% $1,371 61.06%

Mar $625 $100 -----------$725 27.90% $1,614 62.10%

Apr $200 $100 -----------$300 9.64% $2,501 80.36%

May $225 $100 -----------$325 7.47% $3,588 82.53%

Jun $300 $500 -----------$800 13.32% $4,607 76.68%

Jul $350 $100 -----------$450 7.06% $5,288 82.94%

Aug $325 $100 -----------$425 5.76% $6,216 84.24%

Sep $400 $100 -----------$500 4.98% $8,539 85.02%

Oct $450 $100 -----------$550 4.98% $9,388 85.02%

Nov $475 $100 -----------$575 4.70% $10,436 85.30%

Dec $550 $100 -----------$650 4.78% $11,580 85.22%

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