TLCONTACT: CARE PAGES SERVICE (A)OVERVIEW

Three family members launched an Internet startup company just before the
dot.com bubble burst in 2000. The product is a web-based service that enables
hospital patientsto stay in touch with family and friends through the medium of
individualized home pages, typically linked to a sponsoring hospitals own web site.
Three years after thelaunch, the company is finally becoming profitable and the
CEO is reviewing strategy for future growth
TEACHING OBJECTIVES

Demonstrate the tremendous amount of time and effort that needs to be

investedin developing, maintaining, and evolving a functional, foolproof, and userfriendly web site

Illustrate need to evolve a start-up companys business model and sales strategy
inthe light of experience

Highlight the difficult, time-consuming nature of marketing a new concept in

aB2B environment, including the need for missionary selling to skeptical purchasers

Explore creative opportunities to leverage sales efforts

Discuss the constraints and opportunities posed by operating under high
ethicalstandards
STUDY QUESTIONS
1.Evaluate the evolution of TLC and identify the key decisions that kept it afloat
andunderpinned its subsequent success.2.How does TLC create value for (a)
patients, and (b) hospitals?
Review the four topics on Eric Langshurs draft of the agenda for the board
meeting.As a board member, what position would you take on each topic, and why?
ANALYSIS1.Evaluate the evolution of TLC and identify the key decisions
that kept itafloat and underpinned its subsequent success.
Time Line of Case (Key decisions identified with boldface)

February 25, 1998Eric and Sharon (Day) Langshurs son Matthew born
in Hartford,CT with heart
defectMarch 2Matthew has first operation at U. of Michigan Medical Center Early
March
Mark Day (Sharons brother) creates simple web site atStanford
199899Matthew has two more surgeries; more than 200 people visit thewebsite
and return many timesLate 1999
Langshur quit jobs in Chicago to start company tocommercialize the
concept, quickly and easily raise $3 millionin angel financing
; Eric is CEO, Sharon is director of
medicalservicesJanuary 2000Mark Day joins team as Chief Technology Officer,
decides tobuild website in-house
; team is expanded to include other staff August 2000TLC website is launched and
continuous improvements madethereafter
Summer 2000Additional financing obtained;
TLC revises business model
toB2B, targets marketing/PR hospital staff, adopts missionarysales
approach
Early 2001Contracts signed with three prestigious hospitals: U. of MichiganMedical
System, NY Presbyterian, Childrens Memorial ChicagoFall 2001TLC
is running out of cashdot.com crash environment means nolonger possible to
raise money for seed-stage Internet companywithout cash
flow2002Competitor, BabyPressConference shuts down; TLC reachesagreement with
CHCAbuying consortium for 38 childrenshospitals; direct-to-hospice co-marketing
initiative launched with
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization; paid pilot program launched with
Tenet Corp., operator of 116 acutecarehospitals; Spanish language option developed throughcollaboration with
Mexican hospitalJune 2002Mark leaves TLC to enroll in Wharton MBA programFall
2002
New feature, online survey capability added
to BostonChildrens Hospital siteuseful feedback about value of service tousers;
pilot donation programs at two hospitals

suggest TLCservice increases willingness of users to donate money tosponsoring

hospitalcould make service self financingLate 2002Lead time on new sales has
dropped from nine months to threemonthsQ1 2003Revenues accelerating rapidly,
more customers sign up,
existingcustomers renew, increased CarePage utilization/hospital; TLCnow serves
40 hospitals in United States and Canada,
mostlyacademic medical centers
(acute care, state-of-art medicine,
very prestigious); additional hospital prospects in pipeline but nonursing home or
hospice customers; TLC responds to SARS
crisisin Toronto, where several hospitals have been quarantined, byoffering 24-hour
implementation of CarePage service at a
special priceQ2 2003Eric Langshur plans agenda for board meeting
Genesis of the Concept
The TLC concept originated as a brothers response to a devastating medical
problemaffecting his sisters new baby. The challenge: To employ evolving website
technology(1998) to keep everyone up to date on the babys progress and thus
save the parents fromhaving to repeat the same information over and over again by
telephone to concernedrelatives and friends. The original simple website (which
would have cost only a fewhundred dollars if Mark had paid someone else to build
it) included:

Bulletins on baby Matthews progress

Background medical information

Bulletin board for family and friends to post messages

IM for Lovelock & Wirtz,

Services Marketing 6/E
Teaching Notes for Cases - Section 5
Key results:

News of the site spread by word of mouth

Individuals who had never used the Internet before were motivated to find a wayto
access the site

200 people in total used the sitethats a lot of friends and family!

People revisited the site on a regular basis to get updates

Site remained up for two years (Matthew had three rounds of surgery)

Parents were spared massive amounts of time responding to phone calls withsame
informationSuccess of this concept led to decision to commercialize it. Note that
each of TLCscompetitors was started by individuals who had created family
websites for similar purposes (pp. 624625)
Evolution of Business Model
TLC was launched in an intoxicating environment with what proved to be
unrealisticexpectations of rapid growth. The business model and selling procedures
all had to bemodified (pp. 61920):