An initial marketing/financial screen for a multiprogram urgent care center.

The initial marketing/financial screen described here is a framework for discussing and evaluating the feasibility of an urgent care center. It is a forum for filtering the objective criteria to reach a continuation decision and ensures involvement of key constituencies that are important to implementation. Each phase (from program requirements, market share forecast, operations, physician relationship options, to marketing survey) provides additional evidence as a basis for either proceeding, expecting higher risk, or abandoning the project. This reality base serves as the floor for the marketing plan should management decide to proceed. The marketing plan provides a realistic foundation for making a decision. Ultimately, both the initial marketing/financial screen and the marketing plan do what every proposal or feasibility study should do. They describe the new venture in objective terms and thereby enable management to make a clear decision, knowing the risks and commitment required. The initial marketing/financial screen also provides a bridge from strategic planning to implementation. It does not commit the organization to go ahead, but rather provides a means of investing crucial constituencies so that if the organization does decide to act, effective implementation is one step closer. Therefore, the real contribution of the marketing/financial screen is that it takes a concept (a strategic planning proposal) and moves it closer to reality (the initial marketing/financial screen). If the decision is made to go ahead, the likelihood for success has been vastly improved as the project proceeds from one reality level (the initial marketing/financial screen) to the next (the marketing plan) with a short step to total reality (opening the operation).