Situation

The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) had introduced an on-line skills assessment program for its members and market, but despite their relatively large investment in developing this product, the sales and associated user rates were disappointing.  Now a second tool was ready to be launched and they were concerned that that too would prove to be a marketing disappointment.  The first was PRT (Practice Review Tools), an assessment program that allows physical therapists to gauge their skills in relation to physical therapy standards as well as their peers.  This program is administered at select locations around the country.  The second and newest tool that was just to be introduced was called APTitude an on-line software program designed to be used at home and to help physical therapists keep track of their continuing education credits, which they needed to keep their license.

FSBPT needed to understand as soon as it was possible (at least before the scheduled launch of their newest product in three months) the reasons behind the lackluster usage of PRT and whether it could be corrected as well as to develop a sound marketing strategy that would ensure a successful introduction of APTitude.

Action

The key factors that needed to be investigated were:  pricing—were the prices for the first product and what was being contemplated for the second product too high; communications—were all their markets getting the message; the relevancy and usefulness of the products themselves for those same markets; and whether there were alternative products or organizations that were siphoning off support or which alternatively could be used to bolster their efforts.

Plexus Consulting Group, LLC designed a five part methodology to answer all these questions in a definitive manner, as well as to develop the strategic marketing solutions they needed to have both products perform financially the way they were intended.  This included:  a quantitative, on-line survey of all markets and stakeholders designed to provide statistically significant information on all the issues noted above; this was followed up by one-on-one interviews with “opinion leaders”—people whose opinions are respected and who are recognized experts in the areas where we sought further information in order to clarify and understand some of the motivating factors behind our quantitative survey findings; focus groups were next and were used to try out some of the suggestions that came out of the research, to solicit new ideas, and to test whether different stakeholder groups within FSBPT would have a difference of opinion and approach on any of these issues; next came benchmarking research I which the successes and failures of other organizations were noted in areas that were similar to what we now knew FSBPT would have to do itself; and finally, all this research was fed into a planning process in which three year strategic marketing plans were developed for both products.

For PRT, we found that the primary problem was a general lack of information about PRT, and the vast majority of people had not used it – as such, many said they would be unwilling to pay for it. Once educated about PRT, however, the research showed that virtually all stakeholder groups thought that it would be very useful, and that it was actually reasonably priced. The fear of test taking, or that the results would somehow negatively affect them, were also concerns. Finally, more people said that they would be likely to use PRT if it counted for more continuing education/continuing competence credits. 

The solution for PRT then was straightforward.  Keep the pricing and delivery mechanism the same but do a better job in getting the word out about the usefulness of this product.  Key user groups were identified who were found to be most susceptible to the usefulness of the program, and tactics such as testimonials and partnering with complementary organizations were also identified.   

With APTitude, most physical therapists thought that they did not need an improved system of tracking their credits – they believed their current tracking method served them well. Most employers and physical therapists were unwilling to pay for it. However, what did emerge was the fact that vendors, who could register their courses with the APTitude system and use the software as a referral service, were willing to pay much more than FSBPT had initially priced it at. If the costs were transferred directly to vendors at a higher price point, this would allow FSBPT to let physical therapists use the service for free or for a nominal fee. 

With this information in mind, Plexus worked with FSBPT to create three-year strategic marketing plans for the two programs. Based on programs’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats measurable strategic goals were identified and set for each program separately, and tasks – including costs and person responsible – were enumerated to accomplish each one. These were then incorporated into a business and implementation plan.

Unexpected findings

It became apparent through this research that there were generational differences in the way these products were perceived, with younger people (including students and new professionals) seeming to be more at ease in using Internet-based, on-line programs.  This finding, while perhaps predictable, exposed a certain weakness in FSBPT’s databases and program focus—which consist overwhelmingly of mid range to older professionals. 

Results

FSBPT now has strategies to move forward with APTitude and PRT backed by sound market research. We recommended ways in which they could address the concerns of the potential users, including lowering or eliminating the cost of APTitude (and increasing the cost for vendors), increasing the number of credits PRT was worth, and trying to get uniform recognition for the programs across all states.

They have a comprehensive business plan, and know how and what to plan for the next three years in terms of both efforts to be made as well as anticipated revenue streams that can be realized. Each member of the FSBPT team has a list of tasks they need to accomplish in order to meet the goals for APTitude and PRT, and as costs are outlined for each one, the board knows what to expect. If the business plan is followed, FSBPT can expect to benefit from its investment in the development of these programs over the years to come.