Why Outreach Without A CRM = Outreach Without A Nervous System; A Set Up For Outreach Failure

For professionals operating in Critical Medical Aviation – when we see or hear “CRM” – our cognitive reflex will identify and interpret this as; Crew Resource Management (or AMRM [Air Medical Resource Management])

For business professionals and professionals engaged in Outreach in Critical Medical Aviation – “CRM” also represents Customer Relationship Management

WIKIPEDIA’S DEFINITION OF CRM

“Customer-relationship management (CRM) is an approach to manage a company’s interaction with current and potential customers. It uses data analysis about customers’ history with a company to improve business relationships with customers, specifically focusing on customer retention and ultimately driving sales growth.

One important aspect of the CRM approach is the systems of CRM that compile data from a range of different communication channels, including a company’s website, telephone, email, live chat, marketing materials and more recently, social media. Through the CRM approach and the systems used to facilitate it, businesses learn more about their target audiences and how to best cater to their needs.”

If you are a flight crewmember or a full-time designated Outreach Specialist working at a flight program – this article will inform you about why Outreach without a CRM being relentlessly utilized by all = Outreach without a Nervous System; Is a set up for Outreach failure.

It’s 2019 – What is the Current State of Your Flight Program’s CRM Platform

Given it’s the year 2019 – most professionals operating in business enterprises throughout the world that are profitable, successful, thriving, innovating and growing have fully implemented, highly customized and fully integrated CRM platforms. Most would agree that CRM is as essential to doing successful business as having computers, mobile phones and electronic accounting systems. CRM is essential and crucial. And how well it is used is a potent sustainable competitive advantage.

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS – MAY BE UNBELIEVABLE CIRCA 2019

As this article is being “penned” – in early 2019 – in the nano-niche of Critical Medical Aviation – very few are hyper-utilizing CRM in their Outreach efforts. If you are reading this and you do not operate in Critical Medical Aviation – I assure you this is the case. I realize you would find this shocking and unbelievable – but yes – very few flight programs throughout the USA are highly proficient at using and optimizing CRM platforms. Some don’t even have one in place!

NO PATIENT DATA ON WHICH TO MAKE CRITICAL MEDICAL DECISIONS – PERFECT SCENARIO – RIGHT

Imagine this. You are a clinician for a flight program and you receive a flight request to transport a critically ill patient from a small rural community hospital. When you communicate with the Comm Spec and request information about the patient – they tell you, “There’s nothing.” During your flight to the facility you and your team have no idea about what you will encounter – but – you can deal with this. It happens often.

When you arrive at the rural hospital E.D. – you enter the area where the patient is located and – as you always do – you make eye contact with whoever is attending the patient and professionally state, “Thanks for requesting us. So what’s going on?”

You do this to show respect and authentically take a patient status report while your fellow crewmember begins to prepare the patient for transport. The response is, “We have no idea.” That can happen, so then you ask, “What are the current vitals?” The response, “We don’t know. We have nothing hooked up to monitor the patient status.”

Now it’s getting a little weird – you follow up, “What is the Chief Complaint and history?” You’re told, “Before they brought her back down to the E.D. she had been in the ICU for three days but – we don’t have a Chief Complaint or history, we don’t have any records, no labs or imaging and we haven’t documented anything. But – please do what you can to help our patient. Just – don’t ask any questions and don’t use any diagnostic tools or technology – oh and – put on these welder’s goggles and thick welder’s gloves because we need you to operate as if you were blind and cannot feel anything. Like us.”

WHAT? How do you think you would do? How effective would you be?

Imagine trying to treat a patient with nothing to guide you. Imagine not documenting every intervention you do and imagine not running any diagnostics or having comparatives of vital signs and O2 sat over time to assess changes.

SOME OTHER QUICK SIMILAR EXAMPLES

Mechanic – imagine trying to keep a rotorcraft flight-worthy having no technical manuals, no information on engine hours and no diagnostics – just “wing it.” Would you be effective with no data or specs to make decisions?

Pilot – imagine flying VFR with an opaque cover over the entire windscreen. Total blackness. Would you be effective? No input – no visual feedback to analyze and synchronize. How safely and proficiently could you fly?

Comm Spec – imagine taking a flight request for a 5-motor-vehicle crash including an elementary school bus in a mountainous rural region and when you ask the caller for the location – they tell you, (as their signal is breaking up) “I have no idea.” Would you be effective? No geographic reference point to enable you to determine which aircraft should be assigned and to where. Decision-making with no critical data – how does that work for you?

BLIND & BRAINLESS OUTREACH – THIS IS NOT YOU

If you are involved in Outreach – try this.

Let’s use the example that; your helicopter base covers a 70-mile radius. Composed of 12 counties.

In your market space – just at the basics of organizations and individuals that can request your helicopter – CUSTOMERS – you have;

24 community hospitals
Two Level III Trauma Centers
Two Level I Trauma Centers
62 Public EMS/Fire Agencies
12 Emergency / 911 Dispatch Centers
14 Private EMS agencies
6 MoICUs
36 Training Centers / Community Colleges/ Universities educating future medical professionals
3 competing Critical Medical Aviation Provider bases.

Of course, this market space has many more organizations and agencies that will employ, have volunteers or train.

NOW – LET’S BEGIN TO CATEGORIZE AND PRIORITIZE; Outreach TRIAGE

Based on our ThinkThroughTools’ proprietary Outreach TargetingMatrix® – you will populate customers in each of the following nine categories:

• Loyal, Neutral and Antagonistic Decision-Makers (How many do you actually have in each in your CRM – right now?)
• Loyal, Neutral and Antagonistic Influencers (How many do you actually have in each – right now – in your CRM?)
• Loyal, Neutral and Antagonistic Dormants (How many does your CRM have in each category – right now?)

You can see how your CRM has current essential data used for monitoring and managing your Outreach activity and measuring the results – flight requests – from each of these individuals and their organizations.

NOW THE REAL INTELLIGENCE POWER BEGINS TO BECOME APPARENT WHEN;

By using your “Set Up Customers for Success” interviewing protocols and through your Social Media surveillance and monitoring as well as data relentlessly collected at all of your Outreach events (large and small) you have captured, curated and documented the three crucial intrinsic drivers for each of these individuals so that you know how to customize your Outreach Modular Plan for each – to set up each one for success.

You have professionally trained the Outreach Specialists at your base and properly assigned the ones with Outreach DNA to be connecting with – understanding and astonishing each individual according to your Outreach TargetingMatrix ® status – so that resources are allocated for maximum impact focusing on the right customers.

GET GRANULAR

If this was your market-space would your CRM be populated with crucial data and activity monitoring, scheduling and synchronizing on:

• Each of the 24 hospital’s; CEO, CFO, COO, DON, Chief of Medical Staff, Directors of ED, ICU, CCU, Surgery, Radiology, Security, EMS Coordinator, Nurse Managers for every department, Social Workers, Case Managers, Directors of Marketing, Director of Volunteers, The Board of Directors, The Foundation members – just to name a few.

(This includes scheduled education, meetings, and events going on within each hospital system and throughout each hospital or system’s immediate community.)

• Detailed information on the key staff at both Level III and both Level II Trauma Centers

• The Chief’s, Deputy Chief’s, key leaders and educators as well as staff of the 62 Public EMS/Fire Agencies and their affiliated Emergency / 911 Dispatch Centers

• The leadership and key staff of the 14 Private EMS Agencies and 6 MoICUs

• Your CRM has a cross-reference and inventory of all of your staff that may also work at any of the above – or have spouses, family or friends at each

• Key educators and outstanding students of the large number of future customers and/or employees currently in training at myriad institutions throughout your market space are in your CRM

• And you have detailed data – at a minimum – on the leadership and staff of your 3 direct competitors

DON’T BE OVERWHELMED: This could add up to a lot of individuals and data on each as well as data on activity.

But this is highly valuable intelligence for you and your flight program – if you have a CRM to manage it.

Can you imagine planning your Outreach strategy and executing your plan without just this partial data? *

It would be like operating without a nervous system that interconnects all of your market-space intelligence, memories, and sensing data.

It would be like flying blind, maintaining a helicopter with no manuals, operating a Comm Center without phones or assessing and treating a patient without vital signs, medical history or diagnostics.

REMINDER IT’S 2019

In 2019 – Outreaching without a CRM platform at each base that is relentlessly utilized by all involved in Outreaching is a guarantee for Outreach failure.

Those that have a CRM and use it effectively – however – have a super competitive advantage – that is a game-changer… speaking of game…

FINALLY – YOU’LL NEVER BELIEVE THIS – REALLY!

From my first-hand experience – there are some flight programs in the USA where full-time Outreach Specialists and flight crews also helping with Outreach are being told by superiors/management, “We don’t see the ROI (Return on Investment) for a CRM.”

I truly hope you are competing against such flight programs. Unless – however – you are in such a program – and you believe – or know – that your flight program is safer and more clinically competent than your rivals.

In this case – please be in touch. You cannot let less worthy competitors using CRM Out-Outreach you! Customers and their patients are counting on you. Don’t let your lack of CRM be the reason that you are not getting the first call. That’s just wrong.

Get it right – get CRM active as core to your Outreach Operating System. OPERATE WITH A POWERFUL OUTREACH BRAIN INTERCONNECTED WITH SENSING AND SYNCHRONIZING OF YOUR PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

Get out of 1989 and get up to 2019!

Be in touch for help with your CRM – selecting a CRM and for help with its custom-configuration.

DON’T BE OVERWHELMED – WE HAVE 19 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE AT THIS

WE HAVE A “WALK BEFORE YOU FLY” SEQUENCED PROCESS TO BUILD YOUR DATABASE AND GET YOUR CRM OPERATIONALIZED. When flight programs put this in action – the process itself – can increase flight requests.

JUST GET GOING BEFORE YOU GET LEFT IN THE CRM DUST.

IF YOU WANT ACCESS TO OUR;

2019 KEY THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CRM FOR CRITICAL MEDICAL AVIATION

e.mail [email protected]

And always keep the 1st Rule of Outreach Out Front; Safe Operations in All Actions