Robism #3: “Maternity… Play Chess Not Checkers.”

An exceptional maternity experience can create strong lifetime customer value for the mom and her family. Clients sometimes say to me “We don’t make any money on maternity.” To which I respond, “Who cares.” Don’t focus on short-term isolated P&L for maternity. Instead look at the long-term halo effect maternity has on net new growth across the system, as the diagram below clearly illustrates. Moms who have an exceptional maternity experience are significantly more likely to choose a pediatrician within that brand family, take their child to a hospital within that brand family, and if they or their husband/partner get sick in the future… they are more likely to choose you.

It’s about playing “chess not checkers”. You have to think several moves out when it comes to your investment in the maternity experience. Think of maternity as a ‘loss leader’ that you can ‘cross-sell’ from. These are very old marketing terms that retailers have successfully deployed for nearly a hundred years. Do you know what the most successful cross-selling effort has been to date? ‘Want fries with that…?’ I know we are not McDonalds but it illustrates the huge impact on revenue a simple cross-selling effort can have. Maternity is the only reason someone goes to the hospital that is positive.

You are missing a huge brand relationship building opportunity by not putting your absolute best foot forward during this experience. What’s more, moms-to-be tend to be younger so you are getting exposure to them early on in life before more serious medical conditions tend to set in. Remember, they aren’t sick, they are just having a baby so their cognitive processing is fully functioning. Expectant moms want to be treated like ‘treasured guests’ not ‘sick patients.’