Tom’s Tuesday Tech Tip: Don’t Jump the Shark in Your Legal Nurse Consulting Business
My tech tip this week is a spin-off from Vickie’s blog about What Certified Legal Nurse Consultants Can Learn At the Mall. If you’ve been in a movie theater, mall or computer store lately, I’m sure you’ve seen that HP is pushing its Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web All-in-One printer. Like any other printer, it can be plugged directly into a home network. It also has a built-in wireless connection that can tap into your home wireless network (“Look Honey, no more cables.”), allowing you to place the printer wherever you want. What’s truly novel about this new printer is that it’s “Internet-enabled.” Yes, that’s right, you can use your printer to search the Internet and print what you find – a map, photo, Web page, whatever. If you can stand the small screen, then you don’t even need a computer or monitor to use this printer. Is that the genius or the defect?
Obviously this printer isn’t designed to replace a computer. Certified Legal Nurse Consultants still need to create documents for their legal nurse consulting businesses, send emails to attorney-clients and do lots of other things on a computer. So what exactly is the purpose of a device that prints without need of a source other than the Internet? Well, it has slots for camera memory cards, but does anyone want to edit photos on the printer versus a computer? Yes, you can print Fandango movie tickets, maps from Google, parts of USA Today and coupons. But, do you really want to surf the web on a 4″ screen and more important, what kind of virus protection will it have? I played with this printer at my local movie theater and if this is the future, you can include me out.
Don’t get me wrong, HP makes great printers and their new printer is getting good reviews. But as a fax and scanner, it’s missing something absolutely necessary in my opinion – an automatic document feeder. So what’s its purpose other than to sell more ink cartridges by getting you to print more color documents?
That, my CLNC® amigos, is the question. The lesson to be gleaned from this printer is pretty clear. If you have to go to great lengths to explain to an attorney-client or attorney-prospect why they need a particular service (or an Internet-enabled printer, refrigerator or beer cooler), they might not really need it. Certified Legal Nurse Consultants all know that there are 32 legal nurse consulting services you can offer your attorney-clients and attorney-prospects that they really, genuinely need. But not all of them need all 32 CLNC® services. Plus, if you’ve come up with the killer 33rd or 38th service and nobody (and I mean nobody) gets it – maybe that’s because THEY DON’T NEED IT. You could be ahead of your time or your legal nurse consulting career may have jumped the shark.
Remember what Vickie’s taught you – do your research and market to the needs of your attorney-clients and attorney-prospects. If there’s a CLNC® service they’re not using yet, make sure it’s one that fits them before you pitch it to them. Market smarter, not harder.
In the meantime, if anyone has any other candidates for useless or even useful “Internet-enabled” devices or appliances (besides really big screen TVs) comment and let me know.
LegalNurse.com is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
The National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC®) is the largest and oldest association of legal nurse consultants.
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*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
Keep on techin’ and I’ll see you next year!
