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As the nation’s largest manager of non-emergency medical transportation programs for state governments and managed care organizations, Modivcare improves care coordination for more than 24 million eligible members and their corresponding providers and hospital networks.

How to Make a Name for Your Business—Literally!

Posted by Modivcare
on Sep 16, 2022 11:44:42 AM
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Last month, Brisa Berumen-Dixon, CEO of Seabreeze Non-Emergency Medical Transport in Rockford, Illinois, shared her experiences and some advice on hiring and operating an NEMT business. This month, she discusses developing a business plan, marketing, and how she’s made such a good name for her business.

But first: How did she name her business? “The meaning of my first name,” says Brisa, “is sea breeze.” Now, onto to the more complex ways to put your name on the map.

The Doctor is “In”
Why do you need a business plan, anyway? “It’s very important to have something in writing that identifies who you are as a company,” says Brisa, whether “you're seeking investors, partners, or just in general.” So how did she come up with hers? “I’m a doctor in clinical psychology,” she says, “and one of our community’s biggest issues was transportation. I got tired of that struggle and wanted to fill in that void, especially with our wheelchair transports.” For a year, “we researched, did a cost analysis, discussed which population would benefit from the service,” she says, “and then put it all in writing.”

What kinds of information does the business plan offer? “You can do it different ways,” she says. “It can serve as a presentation: Who are we? What do we do? What services do we provide? And then you want to always include some type of stat, such as: We’re going to service individuals from zero to 103; we’re going to cover these counties; we’re going to contract with these companies, etc.” What else? “Maybe a couple pages of graphs and projections about the population you’re serving, how much money it’s going to take to implement the business, and so on. That’s why it took an entire year to research and get the data and information to put the business plan together.”

Updates? “Because data changes constantly and things evolve and change, you have to keep up to date,” she says. “My initial business plan from 2018 was completely different from the business plan I just updated in 2022. There has been updated data with some of the providers I do business with, I’ve added more drivers and coverage areas. You want things to constantly change because if they don’t, there’s something you’re not doing right.”

Would you recommend hiring someone to help you with your business plan? “If you can do it on your own and save money, I encourage it. Google is your best friend; you can look up anything.”

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Marketing and the “Community Piece”
Brisa’s marketing plan is just as adaptable as her business plan. “My website has changed,” Brisa says. “My initial website was very cookie cutter. It really didn’t represent who I am, what my company is.” And it’s important to get your name out there: “All of our vehicles have logos on them.” She notes that it costs $600–$1,200 to get each vehicle “wrapped.” Plus, “the drivers all have uniforms that have the logo on it. Anything that my husband wears, the kids wear—we put the logo on everything. Because we are literally walking billboards, right?”

She doesn’t use standard billboards. Or paid search on Google. “It’s been definitely word of mouth and the community just embracing who we are, and it markets itself—what my employees do out in the community, and the recognition they get, we’re often on the news. For example, some employees dress up as Santa Claus and they pick up members, some of whom are in wheelchairs and power chairs, and take them to see the holiday lights. We have a couple drivers get together, pick members up and take them to vote—things that are not within our circle of Seabreeze, the business. This is the community piece.”

Seabreeze also knows how to have fun. Vehicle decoration is big. “I have one EMT, she does it for every holiday: Easter. St. Patty’s Day. Valentine’s Day. We do some quirky things. The members in the community love stuff like that. And we send Christmas cards to our customers; last year, about 420. If we know they’re having a birthday, or they’re reaching a milestone, like they’ve finished chemo and they’re in remission, we always make sure we let them know we’re right there with them. I think the foundation of Seabreeze is community driven.”

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Sometimes, Just Being Good is Good Marketing
Pro bono? “That happens daily, yes. One example: We had an individual going to dialysis. You have to recertify your insurance yearly; oftentimes, with some of our medically complex individuals—who are already overwhelmed with life in general—a document comes in and they meant to fill it out or didn’t know they had to re-sign up and complete these important documents, or they get thrown away by a granddaughter, or something gets spilled on them and they get thrown away.”

This individual’s insurance lapsed. “For a month, she didn’t have coverage because it would take a month for them to reinstate her insurance, and there’s no way she could afford privately to pay for the service. The social worker from the dialysis center called me and said the member had no other support network or family member that could transport her safely in a wheelchair. So for that entire month we transported her without compensation. My husband and I are very spiritual. We’re just like, God’s going to compensate us in one way or another, right?”

“We also teach our drivers to be very empathetic and be very mindful of the people they pick up.” Brisa recalls a story of another client they transport all the time who was constantly asking a driver to charge their phone in the car. After a while, our driver asked, “Do you need a charger? Did yours break? I’d be happy to get you another one.” Eventually, the person, who was embarrassed but was quite comfortable with our driver, said, “The reason I’m constantly asking you to charge my phone is because I don’t have any power at home right now.”

With that, Brisa’s team went into action and called the social worker at the dialysis center and told them the woman needed help, and literally the next day by 2 p.m., because she's medically complex, her power was back on. “That’s just an example of how we do things that are beyond transportation,” says Brisa.

Brisa doesn’t seek recognition for herself or her business. “I don’t need it, but we have been awarded provider of the year for a reason.”

Probably more than one.

As you can tell from Brisa's interview, marketing is so much more than what people see or read about your company. It's important every employee you have understands your company's mission and fits in with the culture. Your people are without doubt the biggest marketing investment you will make.

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