In the last piece of this series (Part 1) we talked about the different stakeholders in medical tourism, especially those that can be actively managed. Further, we looked at important operational steps in bringing these stakeholders together and ensuring they are willing to work with each other. Thus we have touched on the importance of MOUs, protocolling and effective communication.
This part will focus on the foundation of your destination marketing efforts. Let's be clear, whatever we would like to call it, we are speaking about a cluster. And without a solid foundation and aligning body, your ambitions are doomed to fail. It is the function of the foundation to ensure that all participants are, where the cluster is concerned, dependant on each other. The aligning body gives the cluster its operating voice, the ability to have your interest communicated jointly and coherently.
The Foundation
Let us take a closer look at the foundation. It consists of three main parts. Mutual finances, a set of predetermined processes and, maybe most importantly, commonly drafted and agreed upon bylaws. The bylaws are the key element to the foundation since whatever they contain will directly inform the system of mutual finances and the procedural workings of the cluster.
Mutual finances mean that every member of the cluster contributes to the organisation financially in a way that allows the cluster to jointly decide on the use of the funds. This does not have to be a huge financial contribution that rivals your internal spending on marketing, but rather a part of the funds you dedicated to your international efforts. If each member of the cluster pitches in, you will find yourself with a substantial amount of funds that can be actively used in marketing the cluster as a whole. These efforts will most likely yield far higher outcomes since you are not just marketing a single provider but a destination, a network of care and expertise that supports medical tourists comprehensively.
The bylaws also provide processes and guidelines for dispute resolution, penalties, and organisational functions, such as votes and shares. Through these, the members of the cluster make the cluster operational. Thus, it is the legal framework that also manifests how the aligning body works.
The Aligning Body
As mentioned above, the aligning body is basically a committee. Members of the cluster all have a seat in the committee in which their delegate uses to influence how the cluster operates, what and how it is done. The integral part of the aligning body is again protocolling.
Keeping a constant record of what is discussed and what argument or objection might have been made. It keeps the delegates on the same page, but also allows them to report back to their respective organisations and provide a full picture. The aligning body should, as in the planning stages, meet regularly with a set agenda. All points on the agenda should be discussed in the committee, transparently and in an open room design. Everyone should be able to voice their opinion.
Finally, the aligning body needs representatives, comparable to a chairperson. Whether you choose one or two is up to you, but I would not recommend having more. Our experience has shown that any more than a dually chaired committee confuses internally and externally as to who is responsible for what. The role of the chairperson(s) is to represent the cluster, be its face and communicate the commonly agreed upon interests to the outside world.
This concludes today's piece. Next time we will do a brief case study on one objection that is often raised when it comes to building a cluster and how to solve that issue.
