In his book, Good to Great, nationally recognized business author, Jim Collins, references the Flywheel Effect as key to an organization’s success. This concept has long guided my strategic leadership capabilities as a healthcare marketing professional. As the former Vice President of Marketing for a major academic medical center, I developed marketing strategies designed to position the organization as a market leader. I analyzed data, combined with competitive advantages and an understanding of the operational imperatives needed, to ensure success and develop a road map for growth.
Jim Collins uses the analogy of the flywheel, a device designed to smooth a machine’s operation through its ability to store energy, generate momentum and maintain a constant rotational speed, to describe how organizations can grow and continually progress. As a marketing professional, energy, momentum and constant forward movement have always been keys to my success. I believe a solution that ensures the Flywheel Effect is worth sharing.
Do you have a strategic marketing plan–not a list of tactics, but a strategic framework to drive your organization’s competitive market position? Believe it or not, most hospitals and healthcare organizations I have interacted with over the years do not take the opportunity to incorporate strategy into their marketing efforts. They may have organizational strategic plans, but no related marketing strategies to drive growth, create brand equity and address the operational components of their plans.
Without formal marketing and positioning strategies in place, organizations are simply executing tactics from a reactive position. Here are 10 key steps to a successful marketing and positioning strategy:
- Review and analyze relative data such as market share
- Conduct a competitive review of the market
- Determine key market factors that can affect growth
- Understand current preference, awareness and patient satisfaction
- Analyze the data to understand key market insights
- Establish a competitive positioning strategy to include goals, key differentiators and brand strategy tied directly to the business objectives of the organization
- Identify internal and external operational imperatives
- Execute a deadline-driven, integrated tactical plan
- Monitor key metrics to determine your success
- Report to internal audiences frequently to ensure everyone is delivering on the brand promise
When you apply strategy, you enhance your organization’s ability to move forward. In other words, you ensure a Flywheel Effect. Create a data-driven plan and work your tactics from that plan. Be consistent, steady and passionate about moving your organization forward. As Jim Collins says, there is no miracle moment that will propel an organization forward. Instead, the Flywheel Effect is the result of a down-to-earth, pragmatic, committed-to-excellence process—a framework that keeps companies on track.
Learn more about developing marketing and positioning strategies with maps+. Leverage the power of information through market research, competitive studies and consumer insights to navigate the nuances of an ever-changing healthcare market and move your flywheel forward.