The demographics and geography provide the first clues as to whether a new market opportunity is worth pursuit. Assuming that positive results are obtained, such as a young and growing market for obstetrics or an aging market for heart care, or an ethnic mix appropriate to a specific new subspecialty, the next step is market position assessment. If you are currently the market leader in heart diagnostics, entering a new market involving cardiac rehabilitation or fitness will be boosted by the strength of the existing product line. However, if as a provider you have never had a pediatric inpatient unit but wish to explore that possibility, you may have little market position or strength from which to launch that endeavor. At a larger scale, the creation of a new satellite hospital often depends upon the hospital's current market position in the service area or geography where the new satellite would be placed.
Competition is another key ingredient.
That would make them the clear market leader and provide a flag of caution in your endeavor to establish a new market, especially a satellite hospital, in that area. It could be a little like a destroyer taking on a battleship in naval combat. Opportunity for success would involve great peril. On the other hand, if you have a significant strength in behavioral medicine while your competition has disjointed or weak programs in that service line, then the opportunity to expand into that new market with a specific program could be quite successful. Competition in today's medical world comes from many sources and is not limited only to other hospitals.