Lessons from the Field – 3 Why Questions for Clarifying Healthcare Provider & Vendor Business Decisions

I think a critical set of questions is left out of most healthcare provider and vendor business and marketing decisions. We all do our business, marketing, and strategic plans, trying our best to divine where the healthcare business environment is headed. Providers and vendors attempt to account for technological, care, regulatory, reimbursement, patient choice decisions, and unexpected innovation that disrupts an industry segment. We eye our competitors for weakness or emulate in some way.

Sometimes we take a strategic decision or take a marketing action simply because Modern Healthcare says so, attended a conference, seminar, or webinar, or a competitor took an unexpected direction and decided you needed to do that too. It could very well be because the CEO said so.

Often, we overlook asking the most basic of questions in all of our thinking and analysis, missing answers of strategic importance. While on paper and in our minds, it is all achievable, often, when things go off the rails in one or two parts of the plan, we scratch our heads in wonder with a perplexed look.

Why?

Because during the development of our strategies and plans, we didn't ask the fundamental question. The place for those questions is at the very beginning, not the middle, or the end of the process.

The 3 Whys Thinking Routine.

Image by Ross Mann from Pixabay

From what I have seen, I think it behooves us to begin using the three why's techniques before we embark on a new program or service.

Simply put, the three whys are an approach in clarifying the reasons for proceeding. The point is to quickly and efficiently vet the idea, program, or service before engaging organizational resources- time, staff, and budget developing a full-speed-ahead plan.

Speed kills.

It's one thing to have a clear and concise rationale for committing organizational resources in a rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. It is irrational to go full-speed-ahead when the stakes of survival are high without understanding the why.

Simplicity today can pay off big tomorrow.

It's not a coincidence that "why?" is a very simple question. It's an essential realization of the need to go a few layers deeper before doing important things. Whether it's expanding a service, adding new features, or creating a future business, clarity of thought is mission-critical. In case you're thinking, "cool, I can just ask why three times," you've got it wrong. It does require some effort, consideration, and thought on your part. Honesty in answering doesn't hurt either—the first why question leads to a clarifying second why, then to the third clarifying why.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

The three whys you should always ask.

· Why do the program or service?

· Why might it matter to the market?

· Why your provider or vendor enterprise now?

Try the 3 Whys the next time you're thinking of making a big decision taking the time to explore a little deeper to see if you should continue moving forward or if you need to start from scratch. It may save you a lot of time, money, and headaches in the future.

Michael is a healthcare business, marketing, communications strategist, and thought leader. As an internationally followed healthcare strategy blogger, his blog, Healthcare Marketing Matters, is read in 52 countries and is listed on the 100 Top Healthcare Marketing Blogs & Websites ranked at No. 3 on the list by Feedspot.com. Michael is a Life Fellow American College of Healthcare Executives. An influencer in healthcare marketing strategy, communications, digital marketing, and social media, Michael is in the top 10 percent of social media experts nationwide. For inquiries regarding strategic consulting engagements, you can email me at michael@themichaeljgroup.com.

Connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Flipboard, and Triller. Use 815-351-0671 to message me on WhatsAppor Telegram for safe and secure end-to-end message encryption. Video conferencing available via Zoom,Goggle Hangouts, and for Skype use live:michael0753_2.

Signup for the e-newsletter Healthcare Marketing Daily and have the latest healthcare marketing and business news for providers and vendors delivered right to your mailbox daily. Add your email address in the signup in the blog sidebar. You will not receive additional general or specific marketing emails.

For more topics and thought-leading discussions like this, join Healthcare Marketing Leaders For Change, a LinkedIn Professional Group.

The opinions expressed are my own.

Lessons from the Field: What is the Hospital Ambulatory Strategy and Branding?

Image by Pattie O'Loughlin from Pixabay. My primary care physician ordered a couple of tests and left me the option to choose the location. Near me was a free-standing hospital system-based ambulatory care center. When I called the central scheduling department of the health system in question, I asked if the center near me did those tests. I scheduled one of the tests because of some pretest requirements and the other test nearly immediately as diagnostic radiology was available on a walk-in basis. Now, understand that I drive by this ambulatory medical center regularly and never had a clue that all this and more was available. In all honesty, I didn’t pay that much attention to the marketing either, as it focused on providing senior physician services that I did not need or have any interest in. Why did the system place ‘senior” in the name? When you put “senior” in the name, which is biased age-based segmentation and marketing, you automatically define the center’s per...

Are Healthcare Marketers Using the Right Data for the Next Best Action?

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Healthcare marketers, all marketers, are awash in data. I postulate that healthcare marketers’ amount of available data are complex data sets similar in the amount and velocity to what clinicians use. And in turn, enterprising marketers have turned to AI and algorithms to sift through the data for their next best action. You have developed your ideal patient personas, targeted the appropriate demographics, age, gender, lifestyle, community, etc. Some have even conducted primary research. All well and good. But are you measuring what matters to take the next best action? Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Would you consider this is an important question? If you do not measure what matters, then how do you know that the proposed next best action will have a chance to succeed? Artificial intelligence and algorithms are necessary and valuable. These tools have come a long way in a brief period. But, as we get enamored with the “gee-whiz” of Martech, it...

2021 in Review – the Most Read Healthcare Business & Marketing Insights Posted in 2021

Image by Kristin Riemer from Pixabay Where did 2021 go? It was a challenging year for providers with changes in reimbursement, a pandemic that continues unabated, innovations in care delivery away from the hospital, innovative new competitors, and significant declines in revenues. I am glad that it’s ending. I will not go into the litany of good and adverse events for 2021. The news organizations and others will all do their year-in-review pieces. It should be interesting to see what they choose to publish or broadcast. It was a good year from a blog writer’s perspective. I had what seemed to be a never-ending flow of topics. I di start a new feature in some of the posts called “Lessons from the Field,” which were well received. Topics ranged from characteristics of success for mid-sized healthcare vendors, leadership, and operations to new ways to look at markets. Image by Alexas Fotos from Pixabay I am thankful and appreciative of you for taking the time to spend it with me fro...

instantly health

Search This Blog