There is no doubt that people will always need to perform clinical tests. They are necessary if a doctor wants to make a proper diagnosis and inform the interested parties about the right medical care they need.
However, many people often struggle to pay the lab bills on time and some even try to get away with it and not pay at all. Unfortunately, this takes a huge toll on laboratories because labs are just like usual businesses and they need to make money to survive and grow.
For everyone running a laboratory, here are a few easy ways to increase its revenue.
Hire a business coach
Good business coaching is all about combining the analysis of the business and how well it is performing and finding practical ways to improve it further. It considers the client’s thought processes and their beliefs. Ultimately, a good business coach will help you discover how these aspects affect each other and how all of that affects your business.
It often happens that business owners are their own worst enemies. So, when you have a person working alongside you, pointing out how your actions weren’t effective and explains how they can be improved, a true change for the better can happen.
When it comes to lab businesses, the guidance you could get from a business coach could really help with time management, for example.
Good time management is vital if you want to maximize the impact you have on the fundamental workings of your business. It’s not that simple to see where you’re wasting time in your own daily routine. However, a good business coach can help you identify the wasted time and use it in a better way.
Use an RCM system
Having a lab RCM platform can improve both financial and operational performance, and this is especially true for outreach laboratories.
The essence of this is that a good outreach lab program has the potential to make a positive impact on the health system’s balance sheet. But to achieve this, the lab needs a specific lab RCM solution that has great functionalities.
An RCM (revenue cycle management) system can help labs achieve better patient outcomes, manage financial outcomes, as well as enhance the patient experience. In addition, this kind of system will keep a lab ahead in the competitive healthcare market we have today.
When selecting your RCM solution, keep in mind that it should make a transformation through automation, integration, and transparency. Some RCM solutions also have functionalities that boost customer service, others offer a great extent of personalization, and some even have very sophisticated patient validation tools.
Start networking
Networking is important and can lead to many unexpected business opportunities. In the end, it could be the secret weapon that could greatly increase laboratory sales and revenue through word-of-mouth referrals.
Word-of-mouth referrals are the best way to acquire valuable customers and boost profits. According to the New York Times, 65% of all new business comes from referrals, and the Wharton School of Business found that the lifetime value of a new referral customer is 16% greater.
For a start, get out of the office and attend industry events. Meet new people, socialize, and see if you can meet any colleagues that need help. Help them out even if you don’t see how you can get the favor back in the first place.
Try to form real connections before you start pitching your idea. Grow your business network, and then try to execute a plan that should help you increase profits.
Create strategic partnerships
Once you start networking and have a network of a considerable size, it is important to understand the value of each relationship built with other labs.
The chances are that you have customers that need tests and calibrations that are outside the scope of your laboratory. This means that you have to subcontract or refer the work to another lab. In addition, some of these customers might turn to another laboratory for good.
To end this cycle, do your best to partner up with labs that can benefit from your services but also with those that can be of good use to your lab. Together, you can offer a more comprehensive package and provide a better customer experience.
Improve customer experience
Customer experience can make or break any business, so it is essential when it comes to increasing revenue and keeping customers. Good customer service will get your business a long way, while poor customer service undoubtedly leads to catastrophe, no matter how good your services are.
As a lab owner, it is up to you to ensure that your clients can enjoy your lab’s services in a timely manner and efficiently.
Take this scenario, for example a client makes an order from an expensive lab and then waits for a month for a service that doesn’t live up to their expectations.
This kind of scenario is guaranteed to make any person frustrated and angry. When this happens, a customer will no longer want to visit or spend their money at a given business.
The lesson here is that customers value service and speed the most, and they are willing to spend more if they are sure that they will get what they want quickly. So, train your staff and make the whole business oriented towards a great customer experience. This is the only way to ensure that you won’t lose customers to other labs.
Final thoughts
The tips you have just read will help your laboratory increase its revenue. All you need is a bit of commitment toward improving your processes for the benefit of your clients.
However, also keep in mind that you should set realistic revenue and growth goals. In other words, don’t ever look for an amount of business you can’t handle.
As you can see, these tips do not require sales or marketing skills, so there is no point in blaming external factors for the problems your lab might be having. Instead, do your best to fix internal processes, and you will see positive changes both in revenue and in customer satisfaction.
