Should You Add a New LNC Service?

Should you offer attorneys a new LNC service? Should you provide medical illustrations, trial consulting, jury selection guidance, mock trials or more new services?

Model for adding a new LNC service

This is a model you may use to determine the level of risk and possibility of success for offering new LNC services or products. There are four choices:

1. Provide more products and services to your existing customers.
For example, offer more nursing expert witnesses to your customers.

2. Provide your existing products and services to a new market.
For example, contact insurance companies to see if they need help screening medical malpractice cases pre-suit.

3. Provide new services to an existing market
You might offer physician expert witnesses in addition to nursing expert witnesses location.

4. Provide new products and services to a new market.
You might offer mock trials to help attorneys understand the pitfalls in their case.

Generally the lowest risk choice is #1, and the highest risk choice is #4. Conventional wisdom states that #1 is least risky because of the relationship you have with your current clients, who know and trust you.

My legal nurse consulting business started by supplying nursing expert witnesses. Then I added other new LNC services including medical summaries, screening for medical malpractice, literature searches, attendance at IMEs, and preparing of demonstrative evidence for our existing clients. These are #1 activities: more products and services to our existing clients.

Occasionally, I teach (existing service) nurses who are being disciplined by the Board of Nursing, an example of a new market, a #2 activity.

When we started providing teleseminars for attorneys and legal nurse consultants, we branched into a #3 activity: new services for an existing market. Next, we switched to webinars.

Although providing a new LNC service to existing clients should be least risky, sometimes radical changes in the market place require businesses to shift the focus. For example, there used to be a lot more motor vehicle accident lawsuits before changes in the law toughened the criteria for filing suit. Many attorneys shifted their focus to new areas of law to compensate for the changes.

What’s clear is that you can’t stand still and be complacent. Look at where you are, what the market needs and what you need to change to move ahead. Add a new LNC service cautiously and based on what the attorneys you serve are requesting.

Pat Iyer MSN RN LNCC is president of The Pat Iyer Group.
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