Healthcare
Franchising
To be or not to be
?
Wednesday, 12 March 2008 1

When Hamlet asks \"To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer, the slings and
arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of
troubles\" he could have been referring to the Franchising
?
dilemma that todays health and wellness providers are
grappling with.
Healthcare To Franchise and grow quickly vs own and grow in a measured way. There is no
Franchising right answer without a strong context. Franchising is basically a form of
ownership. In a franchisee driven business the brand is owned by the company
Dilemma and outlets are owned and managed by independent franchisees. So no matter
which outlet you visit the product, pricing and service experience is always
similar and consistent. This works because the franchisor and franchisee agree
to the fundamental premise that each franchisee will always follow established
brand and operational guidelines. This way of working allows the Franchisor to
focus on ensuring compliance while the franchisee builds the local business.
While this framework works well in several types of retail businesses, in health
and wellness it posts several challenges.
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Finding the right Choosing a doctor who
partner knows how to manage a
business or a businessman
who knows a bit about
healthcare ?
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Finding the right
partner
Most successful franchising business owners will tell you that
agreements and compliance aside, the trick to franchising is to
find partners that agree with your brand philosophy and your
style of working. For example: When you go looking for
franchisees for a clinic you can either choose a doctor who
knows how to manage a business or a businessman who knows a
bit about healthcare and can find the appropriate assistance.
In India, both options have associated problems. Independent
medical practitioners have typically not been exposed to
Franchising in our country and find the demands and restrictions
of running a franchise too cumbersome. On the other hand if you
happen to choose a businessman as a franchisee you may end up
spending a large amount of time in educating him about the
requirements from the medical side.
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Great facilities, great doctors
and efficient processes are
Training the team not enough.
Bridge the gaps in franchise
experience through ongoing
training.
Take constant feedback from
customers
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Training the team
The challenge therefore is training and education to bridge the
gaps that arise on an ongoing basis. Several franchisee businesses
have invested in great looking buildings and state of the art
equipment while not focusing enough on the need to personalise
communication for customers. Great ambience but lack of
consistency and personalised attention defeat all the effort that
may have gone into building the business.
Complexity of business processes or lack thereof is not really an
issue – if hotels can be franchised so can hospitals. It is instead
the rigor with which the franchisee finds the right people and
trains them, that makes the difference!
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Develop a distinct
brand
differentiate through your brand identity
differentiate through service
patient friendly ambience
demonstrate care
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Develop a distinct
brand
The challenge of branding is to go beyond the product features. Most healthcare
providers today compete on price or the mode of delivery “ the doctor”. The loyalty
of the customer then, stays with the doctor, and as the doctor moves so do they.
The concept of “unique distinctiveness” prevalent in other
businesses – need to be built in healthcare brands. Some aspects that can be looked
at are:
Distinctive positioning
Unique communication
CRM programs that personalise communication
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Differentiate
through service
Distinctiveness of the brand can also be delivered through service processes that
support the medical processes.
The customer admission process, waiting rooms, handling attendants and post
operative care can all be branded to deliver uniqueness that your customers will
appreciate and ask for.
Patient friendly
ambience
Ambience always adds to how you are delivering the brand. Easy to read signages,
soothing music and a relaxed atmosphere all add to an environment that speaks
wellness without having to say a word. When extended to several franchisees make
sure that maintenance standards and costs are always factored in.
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Demonstrate Care
Expansion always leads to the influx of people into the system, it is important that
each one of them understand your brand values and actually live the brand through
action and words. Most healthcare businesses make their back-end processes so
intense that at times they forget that the first priority is customer handling. A clearly
laid out customer handling procedure, standard phrases and behavior guidelines will
genuinely help in delivering your brand.
Wednesday, 12 March 2008 10

Successful Healthcare franchising
needs
powerful
branding together with
the right partners
and the right training
This presentation was made by Futurescape
To find out more visit - www.futurescape.in
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