INTRODUCTION Mary Zubek Consultant CARF Surveyor

1. Business Development of Rural ProvidersCorporate Job Development Training is funded through FSSA’s Medicaid Infrastructure Grant CFDA# 93768

2. INTRODUCTIONMary ZubekConsultantCARF Surveyor

3. AUDIENCE INTRODUCTION • Agency Name • Location • Size of Community • 2 Strengths

4. STRENGTHS • Identify 2 Strengths • Examples • Successes • Number Affected

5. SUCCESSES • Describe • Those Involved

6. CHALLENGES • Description • Overcome • Results

7. CHANGE • Differences • The Way we do Business • Examples

8. NEW APPROACHES • Change the way we do Business • Maximizing Resources • Advantages of a BAC (Business Advisory Council)

9. BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL • Building Employer Relationships • Business Over Breakfast • Increase Awareness • Successes • Problems/Challenges • Trends for the Future • Mission of Each BAC

10. MISSION OF BAC • Jobs through Referrals • Develop Marketing Materials • Open Doors in the Community • Act as Mentors to Direct Service Staff • ALL OF THE ABOVE • Define Goals • Members Reflect the Local Community • 10 – 15 People • Develop Job Descriptions

11. NETWORKING • Maximizing Resources • Benefits of Networking • Not Selling but Educating

12. SWOT ANALYSIS • Strengths (Position and Community) • Weaknesses (Community Awareness/Size of Market) • Opportunities (Improve Quality of Life for Consumers/Increase Agency Market Share) • Threats (Competitor Programs/Increased Unemployment)

13. COMPETIVE ANALYSIS • Pose as Potential Customer • Do Not Appear too Knowledgeable

14. STRATEGIES • Make Presentation • Host Chamber of Commerce Events • Develop Long Term Relationships • Everyone Does Marketing • Free Advertising with Local Radio/Newspaper • Marketing Materials – “Did You Know…?” • Dynamic Sales Letter – First 2 Lines Must Grab the Reader • Treat Everyone as a Potential Referral/Customer

15. STRATEGIES(Continued) • What Does the Market Need? • How Can we Meet that Need? • Talk Their Language • Track Your Calls/Contacts • Document Everything • Follow-Up System • Take Donuts • Find a NICHE • Have a Marketing Plan/Action Plan

16. STRATEGIES(Continued) • Contest with Staff to Increase/Promote and Encourage Referral Activity

17. SMALL GROUP EXERCISE • What is the most important thing we are doing at this very minute given what we are trying to achieve? Constantly reminding ourselves to focus, focus, focus.

18. MARKETING PLAN Sample – Learning Division/Social Communication Center

19. MARKETING (con’t) I. Organizational Mission A. State the mission of the program 1. (Example) The Learning Division of the Social Communication Center provides high quality tutoring and learning services at affordable prices to students that have learning and/or social challenges.

20. MARKETING (con’t) II. Organizational Goals A. Marketing goals should include both services marketing and “brand” marketing B. Supports and is consistent with organizational mission

21. MARKETING (con’t) III. Situation Analysis A. External Environment • Macro Environment a. Economic – is the economy good, bad, trending up/down? The climate is good for the learning services private pay clients as (organization) charges $15 less per hour than our competitors. b. Social and Cultural - What would help or hurt your markets? With the diagnosis of autism becoming a pandemic there is a large growing underserved population. c. Legal and Political – Laws and regulations helping or hurting your organization

22. MARKETING (con’t) d. Decline in funding at local and state level e. Technological – What new services or processes might affect you? Assess child’s needs with technology Expanded technology capabilities/capacity Possible University studies/relationships

23. MARKETING (con’t) 2. Micro Environment a. Competitors – direct and indirect competitors, their strengths, and weaknesses Win/win – some competitors are welcoming ……in the market and are willing to share their knowledge Sylvan provides very narrow instruction not allowing a child to use skills in other educational settings b. Differential Advantage – What do you have tht makes you etter than competitors? Brand recognition and strength Skilled formally trained instructors Comprehensive lower cost fee for service Expertise in the field Hands on experienced staff with day to day exposure Funded by the school systems State licensed an CARF accredited

24. MARKETING (con’t) c. Image – How do customers and others see you? Black eye in the autism community Seen as helping crippled children Misconception that services are free While the public doesn’t know what we do they do perceive us as a quality organization for services

25. MARKETING (con’t) • Internal Environment a. Processes – What you do and how you use resources to do it. External and internal guidelines Expertise of staff Connections in advisory network Tutoring manual b. Staff resources – How you staff your organization Utilizing current day school teachers and therapists outside private consultants

26. MARKETING (con’t) • Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT Analysis) a. Strengths – What your program does well Brand recognition and strength Skilled formally trained instructors Comprehensive lower cost fee for service Expertise in the field Hands on experienced staff with day to day exposure State licensed and CARF accredited Comprehensive Curriculum Strong reputation in the Behavioral field Competition and like organization willing to work with us

27. MARKETING (con’t) b. Weaknesses – Where your program is vulnerable small staff – Do we have the resources to properly manage the program and assure quality? Need more autism savvy staff members

28. MARKETING (con’t) c. Opportunities – Markets, changes in environments, weaknesses among competitors Great demand for tutoring services and competitors are overcharging. Great need for clinical services Organizational advantage to offer lower cost fees and the opportunity to offer sliding scale fee and free slots.

29. MARKETING (con’t) d. Threats – Areas that must be watched that could adversely affect your program. Delivery capacity – do we have the system in place to meet the demand? Must be careful not to be stigmatized as “Disabilities only” Some people want us to fail Negative image

30. MARKETING (con’t) • Differential Advantage Focus A. What do you want to be know for by your target audience? The learning division provides an individual curriculum that meets the needs of the student and family and teaches learning skills that cross all environments of school, home, community and tutoring to help the student with individual learning, team work and appropriate behavior in social interactions.

31. MARKETING (con’t) • Selected Market Targets A. What markets or segments of markets do you want to serve? Why? Disability Population (primary market) learning disabilities attention deficit disorder (ADD) attention deficit hyper active (ADHD) autism spectrum disorder (ASD) Emotional Behavior Disorder (EBD) Mainstream Market (Secondary Market) children that have learning challenges gifted children B. What markets are best served by your differential advantage? disability populaiton

32. MARKETING (con’t) • Marketing Objectives A. What is needed to build business and achieve your program’s goals? increased enrollment added resources – increase staff advertising campaign brochure staff speaking engagements website collaborative relationships with supporting organizations and political alliances raising political awareness funding

33. MARKETING (con’t) • Implementation/Action Plan • Action steps – What strategies support marketing objectives? Increased Enrollment cover letter and brochure to all students of day schools brochure and letter to Social Communication Advisory Board Vendor application to the Chicago Public Schools interaction with school districts – speaking engagements, meetings

34. MARKETING (con’t) Added resources – increase staff internal connections and networking school districts work of mouth Advertising Campaign Chicago Parent ad campaign – Use…in ad Oak Leaves publication ad campaign

35. MARKETING (con’t) Brochure design and print brochure Staff speaking engagement ………..to speak at various meetings and conferences Website autism consulting on homepage add the following topics to services section: Social Communication Center Learning Division add ABA in-home behavior therapy registration form available online

36. MARKETING (con’t) Collaborative relationships with supporting organizations and political alliances professional advisory group autism social of IL ….& other school districts Universities Raising political awareness Associate with lobbying group Maintain association with “The Autism Project” (TAP) grant Funding Research and qualify for appropriate grants market penetration

37. MARKETING (con’t) Tactics – “How to” Schedules – Deadlines Costs of programs – Budget (analyze 1st quarter and create assumptions to forecast projected revenues) • Evaluation A. Measuring actual outcomes against goals (l/4 score care report – develop tracking system) B. Determining effectiveness of strategies (monthly review of implementation plan/action plan