SAGE ADVICE: Mini-Clinics Bring 'Barefoot Doctors' to the U.S.

By: Leo J. Shapiro and Steve Yahn Mini-clinics, where nurse practitioners deliver primary medical care services, are slated to become a distinguishing feature of the drugstores, food stores and department stores in which they are located, offering new advertising opportunities for local newspapers around the country. These clinics, staffed by nurse practitioners, provide basic primary care of the sort provided by so-called "barefoot doctors" in rural China.

Companies that operate mini-clinics use generic or descriptive names like "RediClinic" rather than brand names that have acquired strong meanings.

As mini-clinics proliferate and competition develops, their branding represents a major opportunity for the sale of brand building as distinguished from item and price advertising. Offering a low price for a vaccination can be an important traffic builder. But, the development of a unique brand that inspires trust is critical for their long-term success.

RediClinic's announcement about its plans to open 500 new clinics comes as no surprise -- Wal-Mart, HEB, Walgreens, Target, and CVS are just some of the retailers racing to get clinics in their stores.

Retailers' decisions to set up mini-clinics in their stores is strongly supported by the findings of multiple Leo J. Shapiro and Associates' surveys of consumer use of existing mini-clinics and consumer interest in using clinics when they hear them described.

For now, mini-clinics are authenticated by the brand name of the retailer that grants them a franchise to operate in their stores. As mini-clinics become increasingly prevalent, retailers will use the reputation of the mini-clinic they franchise as a point of difference or superiority in authenticating the quality of their store.

Shapiro surveys in Minneapolis, where mini-clinics got an early start, find 60% of consumers living in the trade areas of Target, CVS and Cub Food stores with mini-clinics had heard about them, 36% had seen one in a store, and 11% had used the clinic's services and 49% thought they might use one when the need arose.

Most importantly, among users, 63% were "completely satisfied" and 26% were "mostly satisfied." Only three percent said they were "not too satisfied", and only five percent said they would not use them again.

The mini-clinic addresses the majority of everyday non-critical household medical needs, including preventive care (e.g. blood pressure, sugar); examinations (routine and employer-required); and acute care (strep throat, coughs and flu). Just as important, the clinic serves a triage function with a referral system to physicians and hospitals.


BOTTOM LINE

The growth of mini-clinics represents an opportunity for newspapers that includes and goes beyond the sale of advertising.

While Wal-Mart, CVS, and Target are national chains, the introduction of mini-clinic in their stores is likely to be accomplished on a market-by-market basis.

Newspapers cover local markets massively, with news of pricing and buying opportunities. For newspapers to exploit this opportunity, and sell advertising to mini-clinic operators and to their host retail stores, they must not be content with selling item-price advertising, but must also create strategies that enable the mini-clinic to use print to build their brand.

Failure of a mini-clinic to build a trusted brand name can leave it and its host retail store vulnerable to item and price predation.