Location, location, location.
As with all other things related to property, location is everything. You can choose the perfect medical clinic property for your practice by reviewing the following points.
Check the Competitor Landscape
You may have your eye on a beautiful property for your clinic. But it may not be so ideal if it’s situated smack in the middle of a bunch of your competitors.
Stay far away from areas that have plenty of other practitioners like you. You’ll have a harder time trying to stand out from the crowd, so to speak. Rather, look for new regions which may have more of a demand for your expertise.
Know Your Demographics
You could have the chicest and most modern office with state-of-the-art equipment but it would be for nothing if you can’t attract any patients. Aim to offer your services in areas where there is a demand for them. Consider the age and income levels of the general population in a given area to assess whether or not they’ll be interested in paying you for treatment.
The demographic will also inform the style and approach to your fit out.
Are you a family general practitioner? Search for a medical clinic property in an area with lots of growth and newcomers. Do you specialise in cosmetic surgery? Maybe you’ll do well in an upscale town with a wealthy, aging population.
Analyse Traffic Patterns
Patients will often forgo the best treatment in favour of the most convenient treatment. If your practice is hard to access, then your business will literally be driving clients away from you.
Make sure you select a property that’s easy to get to, particularly at times of the day when patients are most likely to need your services. Good parking is a drawcard.
None of this means, however, that a traffic jam is a bad thing; patients could get stuck in traffic for several minutes outside your practice. Take advantage of the opportunity by making sure you have lots of signage and advertising for them to peruse while they wait!
Review the Layout
What does a property look like on the inside? How much work will it take to make it useable? Are there lifts, if the property is located above the ground floor?
Remember that you’ll also need to leave yourself some room to grow. As a rule of thumb, choose a property that is about 20% larger than your current capacity needs. This will help you comfortably expand without having to pack up and move again so quickly.
Take a Look Outside
What are the local signage regulations or signage allowances on the property? Visual advertising may be one of the most important ways you market your practice. If you’re limited for advertising opportunities, then you’ll only end up losing potential income.
Take a look at neighboring businesses and the environment. Generally, as a health care facility, you want to be associated with clean and calm surroundings that invoke a sense of wellbeing. A location right next to a noisy smell vehicle repair shop could conflict with the message, so avoid that kind of property.
Also take stock of hospitals in the area. If you’re a specialist, being near to a hospital could be a good thing. This would visually associate your practice with an established and trusted medical institution and afford everyone some peace of mind in the event of an emergency.
If you’re a general practitioner, on the other hand, then you don’t want to locate your practice in the shadow of a medical industry giant that gobbles up your potential patient base.
Deciding on a Medical Clinic Property
Create a list of a few potential locations that you like. Compare these few properties against each other keeping in mind the most important features that your business needs. Don’t just pick one impulsively after reviewing dozens of medical properties.
Read part 2, where we talk about the importance of your fit out, here
Nitschke Nancarrow specialises in helping doctors with their accounting, financial planning, loan finance and property needs.
Contact Nitschke Nancarrow managing partner Kym Nitschke for a free initial discussion about your situation. Call us on (08) 8379 9950 or send me an email.
– Kym Nitschke
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