Manda Materne, Clinical Trials Pipeline Manager, GuideStar

Site staff and sponsor-based personnel, and even some of the professionals operating in other parts of your hospital or physician practice, don’t always understand how a strong research program can elevate your organization’s public profile, lure the best job candidates, and contribute to the bottom line in a very real way, say two leading experts.

“Too often, leadership doesn’t see the value of research,” says Mary Frances Dobry, marketing manager at GuideStar Clinical Trials Management. “It’s up to your to get the word out.”

Doing it effectively and with finesse requires understanding how to use new tactics when marketing your research services, agrees Manda Materne, a former nurse in a big city emergency room and now Clinical Trials Pipeline Manager at GuideStar. “There is a strategic value to research” that can make a compelling case for appreciating and expanding a shop’s research capabilities. Materne says clinical research coordinators (CRCs) should make the case that research can:

Increase ancillary services
Minimize patient outmigration and attract new patients
Create institutional donor opportunities
Bolster the recruitment efforts to lure the right candidates and retain your stars
Improve community health

Advocating a proactive approach, both experts say undertaking old-fashioned networking at conferences and smaller local CRC gatherings and getting buy-in from your leadership are keys to success. Consider other even more basic ideas, such as updating your website and making it user-friendly. “Get into a sponsor’s database” by showing them you have the right personnel and infrastructure in place, Dobry said.

According to Materne and Dobry, strong, proven research capabilities can provide a “halo effect” for the entire hospital or physician practice. Done right, a research unit enhances the image and reputation of your organization. However, sometimes it is up to you to make sure others know it.