Choosing the best location for your new practice is a crucial decision that can affect your success, profitability, and satisfaction. There are many factors to consider, such as your target market, your competition, your budget, your visibility, and your accessibility. In this article, you will learn how to evaluate these factors and find the optimal location for your practice.
Before you start looking for a location, you need to have a clear idea of who your ideal clients are, what their needs and preferences are, and how they make their buying decisions. You can use market research tools, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, or online analytics, to gather data about your potential clients. You can also look at demographic and psychographic information, such as age, income, education, lifestyle, values, and interests. This will help you identify the best areas to target, based on the size, density, and growth of your market.
We bought land in the middle of an undeveloped area. When we moved there first, several medical offices moved around us. Our property value skyrocketed!!!!
For a medical, optical, dental practice there are some key considerations. How many offices like mine are there and how booked are they? If some are not booked, this is a red flag. Also consider whether the population is growing or shrinking, and in which demographics. Finally, it is important to understand the employment and insurance landscape. Are their employers with good plans? These are all variables that you cannot control.
Location depends on: - your budget and team (<4% of your turnover?) and your elasticity. - the maturity of your business. How solvent is your P&L, your capacity for long or short contracts. - Front office. .Do you receive clients? - your team, how the commute to your office? - your agenda (sales, events, amenities for your team). There might be more, but make a good cocktail with these ingredients and see what you get.
Primeira divis?o de objetivos: você está mudando para ampliar a clientela ou porque o imóvel anterior foi requisitado. O ideal é procurar nas imedia??es do local onde você já está instalado. Considerar particularidades do seu público: chega de transporte público ou veículo particular? Tem dificuldade para estacionar? E sobre as características do imóvel: a-) fachada atrativa b-) ilumina??o natural nas salas internas c-) condi??es para adequa??es à sua especialidade. d-) acessibilidade, em especial para idosos e pessoas com necessidades especiais.
Determine where people you want to attract and your current patients work and live. Choose a general location that’s close to either one, home or work. Patients will be coming to see you from one or the other. Make sure that there’s decent visibility, not for exposure but to insure that patients coming to your office for the first time are able to find you as easily as possible.
Another important factor to consider is your competition. You need to know who your direct and indirect competitors are, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how they position themselves in the market. You can use tools, such as SWOT analysis, competitor analysis, or mystery shopping, to assess your competitors. You can also visit their locations and observe their facilities, services, prices, and customer service. This will help you determine how to differentiate yourself from your competitors and find a location that offers a competitive advantage.
Siempre se debe hacer un monitoreo constante de lo que nuestros competidores más cercanos están haciendo, para conocer sus estrategias y por medio de un auto análisis realizar como nuevos productos que tengamos por lanzar, pueden encajar en el mercado y ser percibidos como innovadores. Hoy en día es válido utilizar las herramientas tradicionales de medición de competidores, pero también se debe estar al tanto de que existen herramientas digitales que te mantienen actualizado sobre campa?as, mensajes y estrategias de comunicación presentes en las redes sociales, lo que ayuda muchísimo a ir entendiendo cuál de las estrategias tuyas y de la competencia les han resultado más exitosas y cuáles no.
Analysis of competition is one of the most important step before we start any new practise. It is very important to know -how much is the market opportunity vs -how much is captured by existing competitors vs -how effectively actual problems/ challenges are solved by the servicesprovided by competitors to their customers vs -how are we going to provide service or solve real-time problems of customers effectively with a user friendly approach to customers plays a major decision making role. Research on compitition and coming up with a strong business strategy to stand out in market considering existing competitors capability helps to to build new sustainable business or practices for a long term growth and success.
Research existing Business Administration practices in the area. Analyze their strengths, weaknesses, and client base. Identify any gaps in services that you can fill or areas with less competition
The only real competition you should face is yourself. There are always enough pathologies and patients to go around. The key is to find your differentiator and Market that till the cows come home. You may need to find a niche within your niche.
Your budget is a key constraint that can limit your options for a location. You need to estimate how much you can afford to spend on rent, utilities, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and other expenses related to your location. You also need to consider the upfront costs of leasing or buying a location, such as security deposits, legal fees, renovation costs, and equipment costs. You can use tools, such as cash flow projections, break-even analysis, or return on investment calculations, to evaluate the financial feasibility of different locations.
Know you're fixed versus variable costs. Learn how to read a p&l and balance sheet. Spend money on marketing. Depending on your Geographic location, you should be spending between 2 to 5% of your gross revenue. “Whoever can spend the most money to acquire a customer wins.” - Dan Kennedy
Conduct a thorough cost analysis, including rent, utilities, and other operational expenses. Compare costs across potential locations and choose one that aligns with your budget while offering the best value
1. Research the target market: Understand your target audience and their preferences. Look for an area where there is a demand for your services and a population that matches your ideal patient profile. 2. Accessibility and convenience: Ensure the location is easily accessible. Consider proximity to major roads, public transportation, and parking facilities. Think about the convenience of nearby amenities like pharmacies and hospitals. 3. Competition and market saturation: Evaluate the level of competition in the area. If there are already many similar practices, it may be challenging to attract patients. Look for underserved areas or niches where you can differentiate yourself. Selecting the right location is crucial for its success.
Your visibility is how easily and frequently your potential clients can see and recognize your location. Visibility can affect your brand awareness, reputation, and traffic. You need to consider factors, such as signage, lighting, landscaping, architecture, and design, that can enhance or hinder your visibility. You also need to consider the traffic patterns, such as foot traffic, car traffic, public transportation, and parking, that can influence your visibility. You can use tools, such as traffic counts, maps, or site visits, to measure the visibility of different locations.
Choose a location that is easily accessible for your target audience. Consider proximity to major roads, public transportation, and parking facilities. Additionally, aim for a visible location with good signage to enhance your practice's visibility.
It is said in retail, "Location, location, location". It is better to pay a premium rent on a major road, than to set up in a alley. Leveraging online tools like Google Ads is also key to create visibility
Your accessibility is how convenient and comfortable it is for your potential clients to reach and enter your location. Accessibility can affect your customer satisfaction, loyalty, and referrals. You need to consider factors, such as distance, directions, roads, sidewalks, entrances, exits, elevators, stairs, and ramps, that can improve or reduce your accessibility. You also need to consider the accessibility needs of different segments of your market, such as seniors, children, people with disabilities, or people with special needs. You can use tools, such as customer feedback, accessibility audits, or accessibility checklists, to evaluate the accessibility of different locations.
Choosing the best location for your new practice is not an easy task, but it can be rewarding if you do your homework and follow a systematic process. By knowing your market, analyzing your competition, setting your budget, assessing your visibility, and evaluating your accessibility, you can find the optimal location for your practice and achieve your goals.
In the era of multi-shoring, ease of access both for your resources - on rolls and potentials; as well as for your customers and prospects is crucial
Evaluate the physical aspects of your location. Consider factors such as ramps, door widths, and the availability of elevators for multi-story buildings. Ensure that entrances and exits are wheelchair accessible. Assess Parking Facilities: Evaluate the accessibility of parking facilities. Designate accessible parking spaces close to the entrance with proper signage. Ensure that these spaces comply with local regulations and provide sufficient space for wheelchair users to enter and exit vehicles. Evaluate the interior layout of your space. Ensure that there are clear pathways with sufficient width for wheelchair users. Remove any obstacles or clutter that may hinder movement.
Every three years, acute hospitals publish a community health needs assessment (CHNA) unique to patient service populations in their geographies. This critical information identifies chronic diseases, comorbidities, proposed/strategic outcomes, and nuances unique to a particular region within their scope. My recommendation to identify the most optimal location for your practice is to use the CHNA tool to align the services you expect to provide and match them to the needs of those you intend to serve.
One of many thigs I found useful is proximity to your suppliers and customers both. In an increasing digital and agile world, pick & choose who you want to work with on either side of value chain , and ensure everyone is a true collaborator and partner. A combination of physical and virtual proximity will lead to better business growth.
One thing I've found helpful is to choose location next to complimentary service providers so you can tap into an ecosystem of existing audience and actors that are not competitors by nature. That would foster greater collaboration.
I agree, but the most important thing, and what should be the number 1 priority is to identify not your clients’ needs, but your needs as a professional! Based on my experience, clients will always be requesting tasks at the lower price possible. Thus , it is very important to know what you want to achieve as a professional. Would you rather have 100 low-ticket clients? Or 10 high-ticket clients that will be really appreciate your work? As soon as you decide on that, then you follow up with the above article. Find your competition that are similar with what you want to be, and so on…
One of the best strategies I’ve utilized over the years is to expand to a new location in relative proximity to your existing practice. Not only will you be able to have knowledge of the market but you will be able to share resources such as staff, marketing and internal specialty referrals.