Poin-poin Penting Bisnis Katering

http://ciputraentrepreneurship.com/entrepreneur/nasional/wanita/17444-poin-poin-penting-bisnis-katering.html




Bisnis katering adalah salah satu bisnis yang menggoda. Selain tak akan pernah kehilangan pangsa pasar, bisnis ini juga menawarkan untung yang cukup menggiurkan. Melakukan perencanaan matang sebelum menggeluti bisnis ini adalah satu keharusan. Berikut poin-poin penting dalam membangun bisnis katering.

ModalUntuk bisnis katering, modal minimal Rp 10 juta sampai 15 juta. Sebab, bisnis ini memerlukan waktu dan Rp 15 juta cukup untuk tiga bulan ke depan. 

Perencanaan pemasaranRencana pemasaran diawali dengan riset pasar. Di sini Anda melakukan pengamatan, merancang, meramalkan, dan memroyeksikan untung ruginya bisnis katering. Berapa peluangnya produk diserap pasar dan potensi kenaikan omzet.  Anda juga harus menetapkan siapa calon konsumen yang dituju, apakah ibu-ibu pengajian, individu, karyawan perusahaan swasta, pemerintah, atau yang lain.

Kedua, teknik pemasaran. Ini adalah cara menjual, jadi dilihat siapa segmen target yang dituju. Anda masuk di mana? Di lingkungan sekitar, seperti penutupan pengajian, yang artinya melayani temporer atau makan siang karyawan yang berarti reguler. Hal ini harus diputuskan tergantung permodalan dan kapasitas Anda melayani.

Ketiga, Anda juga harus merencanakan cara promosi untuk menarik konsumen. Apakah dari pintu ke pintu, menggunakan jasa perantara, pasang iklan, atau publikasi di media dengan membuat suatu artikel.

Perencanaan produksiBisnis makanan sangat sensitif terhadap rasa, kebersihan, dan harga. Makanya, sebelum itu Anda harus mendesain produk katering yang akan ditawarkan. Apakah prasmanan, paket makan siang, boks, rantangan, bungkus nasi, dessert, atau yang lain. Ini bertujuan agar calon konsumen bisa membayangkan dan melihat cocok tidaknya katering yang ditawarkan.

Perencanaan keuanganIni menyangkut pembelian bahan baku, penyediaan biaya operasional, seperti gaji  karyawan, harian, bulanan, atau mingguan. Biaya over head, seperti listrik, transportasi, telepon, dan promosi. Biaya proses produksi, yakni di luar bahan baku produksi tapi mendukung, seperti gas, kompor, perlengkapan masak, piring, dan lain-lain.

Kunci Membangun Bisnis Kuliner

http://ciputraentrepreneurship.com/entrepreneur/nasional/wanita/18500-5-kunci-membangun-bisnis-kuliner.html



Menjadi seorang wirausahawan tidaklah mudah. Selain passion, Anda juga butuh ketekunan dan keuletan untuk sukses. "Dari sekian banyak usaha yang ada, ternyata banyak orang melirik bisnis kuliner karena dianggap lebih mudah dijalankan daripada bisnis lain," tukas Ali Bagus Antra, pemilik usaha Bebek Garang dalam acara talkshow mengenai kiat mengatasi persaingan bisnis di Jakarta, beberapa waktu lalu.

Salah besar jika Anda menganggap bisnis kuliner lebih mudah daripada bisnis lainnya, karena bisnis kuliner justru membutuhkan kreativitas, penanganan, dan risiko yang lebih besar. Namun, Ali Bagus memiliki beberapa tips teknis yang digunakannya untuk mulai menjalankan bisnis kuliner.

1. Pemilihan lokasi
Ketika memilih lokasi usaha, pilih tempat yang sesuai dengan target atau pangsa pasar Anda, dan strategis. "Usahakan pilih lokasi yang mendekati pangsa pasar Anda. Karena hal ini akan menentukan berapa banyak produk yang terjual," jelasnya. Pemilihan tempat yang strategis jika tak diikuti dengan kesesuaian pangsa pasar yang dituju akan membuat produk Anda kurang diminati.

2. Pemasaran
Pemasaran produk memegang peran penting dalam kesuksesan bisnis. Tentukan cara promosi dan pemasaran yang efektif agar tidak menghabiskan terlalu banyak biaya. Ali menyarankan untuk memerhatikan target pasar sebelum berpromosi, karena beda target market-nya maka metode promosi yang dijalankan juga akan berbeda.

"Misalnya, penyebaran pamflet atau flyer tidak akan efektif ketika sasaran bisnis Anda adalah kalangan menengah ke atas, karena pamflet hanya akan dianggap seperti sampah kertas lainnya," sarannya.

Ketika menyasar pasar high-class, maka spanduk merupakan cara yang paling efektif. Sedangkan untuk menyasar kalangan menengah ke bawah, flyer atau pamflet akan lebih baik.

3. Produksi
Ketika menjalankan bisnis kuliner, kualitas makanan harus menjadi prioritas. Kualitas makanan akan menentukan apakah pelanggan akan kembali menikmati makanan di tempat Anda atau tidak. Sisi lain dari produk, dari bahan baku, penyajian, layanan, hingga supplier, juga harus direncanakan dengan matang.

"Sudah seharusnya jika kualitas makanan harus selalu dijaga secara konsisten, dan sama enaknya dari hari ke hari," tambah Ali. Selain itu, jika sudah memiliki cabang usaha, kualitas dan rasa makanan yang ada di setiap cabang juga harus selalu dijaga.

Di samping itu, cost control juga harus dijaga. Ali menyarankan untuk menghindari pemasangan harga jual yang fluktuatif dari hari ke hari. "Harga yang tidak konsisten atau berbeda di setiap cabang akan membuat pelanggan enggan untuk makan lagi," katanya.

4. SDM
Sekalipun Anda pemilik usaha, hindari sikap bossy atau bertindak seenaknya. Karyawan merupakan aset penting yang dimiliki sebuah perusahaan, karena itu tak ada salahnya untuk memberi perhatian lebih kepada mereka. "Berikan payroll yang layak bagi mereka, selain itu juga kenyamanan dan jenjang karier yang jelas bagi mereka," saran Ali. Peluang semacam ini akan membantu memompa semangat mereka untuk selalu giat bekerja dan mendatangkan keuntungan bagi usaha Anda.

Namun, sebagai bos Anda juga wajib menerapkan berbagai peraturan perusahaan, dan membangun kedisiplinan lingkungan kerja agar karyawan juga tidak bertindak seenaknya.

5. Keuangan
Jangan sepelekan masalah keuangan dalam bisnis. Buat perencanaan yang tepat dalam laporan keuangan dan neraca bisnis sampai sedetail-detailnya, agar tidak ada uang yang "hilang" sekecil apapun. Catat setiap pemasukan dan pengeluaran yang dilakukan dengan teliti, karena catatan keuangan ini akan membantu Anda untuk mengontrol dan menghitung setiap detail bisnis. "Ini juga bisa membantu menganalisis berapa besar keuntungan usaha dan kecepatan balik modal," tukasnya.

Selain itu, sekalipun sudah menangguk untung besar dari bisnis jangan terburu-buru untuk menikmati hasilnya dengan cara yang konsumtif. Ali menyarankan untuk selalu berpikir tentang re-investasi bisnis, misalnya dengan memperluas usaha atau membuka cabang baru. (*/Kompas.com)

The Number One Reason That Hospital Advertising Fails

http://www.healthcaresuccess.com/articles/hospital-advertising-fails.html

by Lonnie Hirsch and Stewart Gandolf, MBA

Right up front we need to say that there aren't any absolute "guarantees" about results in hospital advertising, or healthcare marketing for that matter.

At best, you can use proven strategies and tactics, draw on professional experience and take other practical safeguards to minimize risk. But guarantees? Steer clear of anyone who offers you that bridge to Brooklyn.

For one thing, marketing, advertising and sales (i.e., attracting and retaining new patients) is a complex process. There are about a million moving parts and just about as many reasons why a medical marketing initiative can fail to produce the desired results.

We often see examples of well-intended and expensive hospital advertising that didn't live up to expectations. (Sadly we hear this story after the fact, when a prospective client is calling for our help.)

Perhaps the top reason that hospital advertising fails is when "general" advertising is deployed, and not using "direct response" advertising. Too often, decision makers fail to appreciate the difference between these advertising approaches. And what's more, it's a mistake that also occurs in medical marketing, doctor and physician marketing and advertising, and with both private practitioners and institutions.

"If it doesn't sell, it isn't advertising."

With surprising frequency, the sad story goes something like this.

In the high level planning stage, the goal is to produce new patients or new business revenue by a defined measure or amount. So far, so good. A specific and measurable goal is a good start.

But where things begin to go off track is when the road diverges. One pathway—which is assumed to be the proper choice—is to undertake "general" advertising. After all, it's prevalent, popular and all the big corporations and major advertisers do it all the time.

General advertising is also known as image advertising, brand messaging, name awareness advertising and other labels. Typically, the emphasis is on being creative or clever, and it is propelled by a large media budget for maximum audience, reach and repetition. "If we just get our name out there, people will come," someone tells us. That's what they thought.

The general advertising pathway is tempting. Its mission is mainly to promote an image, and pure image ads have an ego appeal for, and often flatter, the advertiser. Although it has its place in advertising, this is usually not the best approach to effectively win new patients and/or new sales.

Contrast that concept with the path that is typically more suitable for hospitals: direct response advertising. Essentially, direct response is a "best practices" advertising approach that is both far more scientific and effective at generating patients than the general model.

The objective of direct response is to open specific revenue channels and generate new business. Done right, brand awareness can be a secondary benefit. The advertising message targets the prospective buyer, provides a solution to their need or problem and motivates them to act now.

"If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative."

Image advertising can be seductively unique, creative and, by industry standards, award winning. And while awards may generate new business for the ad agency, the main objective is to win new business that benefits the hospital. Return-on-Investment (ROI) for the hospital or advertiser—not ad industry awards—is the measure of success.

A general advertising message can feel good, be visually appealing and/or evoke an emotional moment (good things by the way). But if it does not produce tangible results, a "feel-good" moment isn't something that can be tracked or measured.

By definition, direct response advertising intends to cause a response directly back to the advertiser...to call for an appointment for example. And when someone responds, it is a measure of effectiveness. And, over time, ROI can be calculated down to the dime.

If your objective is results-based healthcare marketing-with measurable, provable outcome-don't make the classic mistake of opting for image or general advertising to do the job. High image techniques and professional qualities from general advertising can be incorporated with proven principles of direct response. But direct response and ROI needs to be in the driver's seat.

The tug-of-war between "general" versus "direct response" advertising has been around, in one form or another, for years. Ad industry patriarch David Ogilvy began teaching about these differences decades ago.

If you would like some help defining your marketing purpose-and avoiding this major hospital marketing mistake, please click through here for more information about planning for success.

Why Hospital Marketing Decisions by Committee Rarely Work

http://www.healthcaresuccess.com/blog/hospital-marketing-advertising/why-hospital-marketing-decisions-by-committee-rarely-work.html
Hospital Marketing is Changing

In the 21st Century, hospital marketers have been exploring a new sales approach for today’s consumer/patient. There has been an explosion of product choices and digital channels, coupled with the emergence of an increasingly discerning, well-informed patient, forcing all hospitals to navigate a much more complicated marketing, advertising and sales environment.

There are many tactics that create an immediate buzz, while others need time to build and grow. And timing is an important concept in the new healthcare marketing and advertising landscape. If you wait too long to implement your hospital marketing plans, your competitors will beat you to those valuable patients you’re trying to attract to your facility.

Ed Bennett, Healthcare Web Expert and Founder of the Hospital Social Network List, said recently, “…our world is rapidly changing due to a number of factors including healthcare reform, economic uncertainty, and empowered consumers carrying more of the financial load for their care. It is in this context that healthcare marketers are being asked to deliver something new: measurable value to their organizations. To accomplish that objective we must reinvent the ways in which we market our hospitals and health systems…”

For healthcare organizations and hospitals, marketing trends abound. Hospitals must think outside the box and come to grip with many marketing tactics they never used before—tactics like social and mobile media, blogging and content marketing. Marketing departments have had to devise a solid hospital marketing plan to build their brand, keep employees and patients engaged, and develop relationships that will help them attract new patients and their families to the hospital and its services. They have to cultivate budgets and goals, work on directions and agendas, and get the buy-in of their administrators, physicians and employees.

Competing ideas, too many opinions and the committee conundrum.

With so many people making their opinions known, these marketing plans can become a potpourri of competing ideas and interests. Projects become delayed, or even postponed indefinitely, due to too many people having a say in those projects, how they are carried out and the who, what, why and how of deployment. Although it is often a goal of the hospital to brainstorm with its physicians, staff, administrators and sometimes even patients, spouses and friends to get their ideas on how the hospital can best sell its products and services, allowing this huge group to have final say or achieve complete agreement is not possible, and even detrimental, to the forward movement of the hospital.

There is an old adage that says, “Too many chefs spoil the broth,” and a more recent saying that goes, “If one person can produce ineffective marketing, imagine what a committee can do.”

Many organizations have a marketing committee to help brainstorm and provide input to the marketing department. Management feels that this allows various voices to be heard and “involved” in marketing. If you want everyone to sit around feeling good about themselves while complaining about things they don’t like, a marketing committee is a fantastic idea.

What about having a wardrobe committee to choose the outfits that your nurses, doctors and even patients will wear? Why don’t you have an office supply committee to pick out the colors of pens you order? How about an accounting committee to help figure out where the credits and debits are posted? Or even better, what about a human resources committee to help decide who is hired and fired?

Even if your committee is full of intelligent, creative people, great ideas are typically lost. Committees, by nature, are full of compromises so solutions from a committee are usually watered down versions of the original. Marketing by committee leads to lots of bad ideas and poorly thought out plans. Instead of bold strokes from the marketing department, you get a sea of blasé.

Get the job done with just a few or outsource.

Hopefully, you have hired the best team for your marketing department who can get the job done right, so let them do it. If you don’t have the in-house talent at your hospital, you could hire a qualified third party marketing company that possesses special skills in various marketing areas to help write (and carry out) a marketing plan for your hospital. Find a marketing company that specializes in healthcare and hospitals and they’ll provide you with the best, most dynamic marketing tactics with proven results for your industry.

Create Really Bad Hospital Advertising in Eight Easy Lessons

http://www.healthcaresuccess.com/articles/really-bad-hospital-ads.html
by Lonnie Hirsch and Stewart Gandolf, MBA

Like the sound of fingernails scraping a chalkboard, bad hospital advertising drives us a little crazy. In our line of work, we see a lot of external hospital ads—in magazines, billboards and TV/video work. And frankly, much of it probably does a decent job—in fact, some of it is inspired.

But then there are the clunkers and the advertising sour apples. The "you've-got-to-be-kidding" stuff looks as professional and appealing as a coat of house paint on a classic '65 Mustang.

Bad advertising doesn't make for bad hospitals, but there are some quantifiable problems. Our quick list about the downside of bad advertising:

• The creative and media cost is usually a waste limited resources;
• There is no Return-on-Investment or a disconnect from measurable goals;
• Off-course marketing messages diminish overall marketing effectiveness;
• There's a failure to communicate or the message is mixed and confusing; and
• Even well intended (but bad) ads do little or nothing to help the public.

8 ways to create bad hospital advertising

We will politely avoid identifying anyone, but here are several of the most common pitfalls, classic fumbles and root causes we often discover in bad hospital advertising:

• Spotlight infection rates and re-admission scores. No doubt there's some degree of professional pride in attaining certain quality of care measurements, but "fewer septicemia infections," "fewer re-admissions," does not make for a great billboard. This one sometimes overlaps with our next category.
• Multisyllabic medical terms are impressive. Notwithstanding that the patient-public is increasingly well informed, healthcare advertising needs to communicate without confusion. What's more, the public is far more interested in easily understood benefits and daily living solutions than in the medical science behind why they feel better.
• Everyone eats alphabet soup. A corollary to the item above, shorthand, buzz words and abbreviations—EMR, HIR, HIPAA, ACO, ER, PPACA—can be barriers to understanding.
• "We are pleased to announce…" your new building, technology or award. Information about concrete or equipment—without saying how these things benefit the lives of people—is a non-starter…and often boring.
• Someone upstairs said we should do this ad. There are exceptions, but advertising is rarely a good platform for ideas that are disconnected from defined marketing goals, speak to internal matters, or tackle political issues.
• Be over-the-top shot at being clever (or trendy, cheeky, witty or insider). The line between "creative" and "confusing" is a thin one. It's remarkably easy for ads to be seen as obscure, unclear or simply un-funny.
• Proofreader? (We don't have one.) A spell-check program has its limitations. Over reliance will have you tracking calls to a Phoenician.
• Let's just copy someone else's nice-looking ad. If there were no copyright or conscience issues, it's a bad idea. It may be "pretty," but you don't know its objective or goals, intended target audience, its role in a larger media plan or marketing strategy, how it performed…or any of a dozen other critical considerations. You're taking quite a chance on "nice."

We admit it's tough to get things right…

Studies say that at any given moment, as little as 25 percent of your hospital's marketing audience has a need for healthcare services. Everyone else…they don't care and/or aren't listening to what you have to say.

Admittedly it can be tough to identify, gain attention and inspire prospective patients today for something they may, or may not, need in the future. A do-it-yourself approach is not recommended.

Why one-third of hospitals will close by 2020

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2012/03/onethird-hospitals-close-2020.html
by DAVID HOULE AND JONATHAN FLEECE | in POLICY

For centuries, hospitals have served as a cornerstone to the U.S. health care system. During various touch points in life, Americans connect with a hospital during their most intimate and extraordinary circumstances. Most Americans are born in hospitals. Hospitals provide care after serious injuries and during episodes of severe sickness or disease. Hospitals are predominately where our loved ones go to die. Across the nation, hospitals have become embedded into the sacred fabric of communities.

According to the American Hospital Association, in 2011 approximately 5,754 registered hospitals existed in the U.S., housing 942,000 hospital beds along with 36,915,331 admissions. More than 1 in 10 Americans were admitted to a hospital last year.

Hospitals make a substantial imprint on local economies. In many communities, hospitals represent one of the largest employers and economic drivers. Of the total annual American health care dollars spent, hospitals are responsible for more than $750 billion.

Despite a history of strength and stature in America, the hospital institution is in the midst of massive and disruptive change. Such change will be so transformational that by 2020 one in three hospitals will close or reorganize into an entirely different type of health care service provider. Several significant forces and factors are driving this inevitable and historical shift.

First, America must bring down its crippling health care costs. The average American worker costs their employer $12,000 annually for health care benefits and this figure is increasing more than 10 percent every year. U.S. businesses cannot compete in a globally competitive market place at this level of spending. Federal and state budgets are getting crushed by the costs of health care entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Given this cost problem, hospitals are vulnerable as they are generally regarded as the most expensive part of the delivery system for health care in America.

Second, statistically speaking hospitals are just about the most dangerous places to be in the United States. Three times as many people die every year due to medical errors in hospitals as die on our highways — 100,000 deaths compared to 34,000. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that nearly 100,000 people die annually in hospitals from medical errors. Of this group, 80,000 die from hospital acquired infections, many of which can be prevented. Given the above number of admissions that means that 1 out of every 370 people admitted to a hospital dies due to medical errors. So hospitals are very dangerous places.

It would take about 200 747 airplanes to crash annually to equal 100,000 preventable deaths. Imagine the American outcry if one 747 crashed every day for 200 consecutive days in the U.S. The airlines would stand before the nation and the world in disgrace. Currently in our non-transparent health care delivery system, Americans have no way of knowing which hospitals are the most dangerous. We simply take uninformed chances with our lives at stake.

Third, hospital customer care is abysmal. Recent studies reveal that the average wait time in American hospital emergency rooms is approximately 4 hours. Name one other business where Americans would tolerate this low level of value and service.

Fourth, health care reform will make connectivity, electronic medical records, and transparency commonplace in health care. This means that in several years, and certainly before 2020, any American considering a hospital stay will simply go on-line to compare hospitals relative to infection rates, degrees of surgical success, and many other metrics. Isn’t this what we do in America, comparison shop? Our health is our greatest and most important asset. Would we not want to compare performance relative to any health and medical care the way we compare roofers or carpet installers? Inevitably when we are able to do this, hospitals will be driven by quality, service, and cost — all of which will be necessary to compete.

What hospitals are about to enter is the place Americans, particularly conservative Americans cherish: the open competitive market. We know what happens in this environment. There are winners and losers.

A third of hospitals now in existence in the United States will not cross the 2020 finish line as winners.

David Houle is a futurist, advisor and speaker and Jonathan Fleece is a health care attorney, advisor, and speaker. They are the authors of The New Health Age: The Future of Health Care in America.