Marketing Plan Development for Surrogacy Agencies
A four-step process of data gathering, analysis, planning & implementationIf you build it, they will come.
Surrogacy agencies are in the unique position of having to attract enough qualified surrogate mothers so they can provide services to intended parents, who need surrogate mothers to build their families. Without qualified surrogates, your agency can not secure intended parents, who are paying for services. So if you have surrogates, you probably will be able to find intended parents, all other attributes about your agency being equal. It is a yin and yang situation where you must market to both groups. If intended parents have to wait for a long period before being matched, they may decide to use a competitor.
Using the principles of the Marketing Mix, Davidson Communications will work with you to look at the marketplace, what you currently are doing right (and how to enhance it), what you are not doing right, and new ways to improve your marketing efforts.
The Marketing Mix
Marketing is more than promotions. It consists of the six P’s of the Marketing Mix: Preparedness, Product/Service, People, Place, Price, and Promotions. Analyzing and optimizing each of these components will help your surrogacy agency become more marketing-focused; increase the number of intended parents/surrogate mothers; contracts and revenue; overall market share; and enhance public awareness about your brand and position in the marketplace.
Davidson Communications will consider each of the Marketing Mix components in developing the marketing plan. Traditionally, there are four steps to this process:
• Review of the current situation
• Defining your agency’s brand, value propositions and key messages
• Creation of a marketing promotions plan
• Implementation and monitoring
Research/Preparation
• Working with staff, analyze intended parents/surrogate mothers demographics over the last year by gathering information on important characteristics, referral sources, interests, communication styles, and trends
• Conduct a competitive analysis via interviews with key stakeholders, analysis of data, competitor websites, activity on Facebook/Twitter/blogs, participation in relevant organizations
• Gauge market potential via demographic analysis of geographic area
• Telephone/Skype interviews with key stakeholders in and outside the organization
• Creation/analysis of intended parents/surrogate mother surveys
• Focus group of surrogate mothers
• Exploration of current and former surrogate mothers/intended parents willingness to be interviewed by the media, share on social media, etc.
• Analysis of referring sources
• Audit of existing marketing activities – what has worked and what hasn’t
• In-depth review of surrogate mother/intended parents support/retention systems and programs
• Analysis of effectiveness of compensation and pricing systems
Review of Your Surrogacy Agency Brand
• Review of what sets your agency apart in the marketplace
• Work with principals and other key staff members to develop and articulate the agency brand and message
• Look at ways to differentiate your agency
• Outline its value propositions, key messages, positioning statement and tag line
• Define opportunities and challenges
• Explore market-driven program development: building a better mousetrap
• Incorporate value propositions and brand into all marketing materials and strategies and tactics
Marketing Promotions Plan
- Develop traditional and innovative strategies and tactics to capture more surrogates, intended parents, referral sources and market share:
- Look at all potential tactics such as social media, media relations, Google AdWords, general advertising, improved satisfaction, direct sales, etc., to reach various target markets (surrogates, intended parents and referral sources)
- Build an integrated marketing plan utilizing a variety of strategies and tactics
- Define goals and objectives: how will success be measured?
- Create division of responsibilities, timeline, pricing for proposed tactics and overall budget
Implementation
- Work with your agency to monitor and/or implement the marketing plan over a six to twelve-month period