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Application of Marketing Techniques in Health Care Business

Marketing can be called the customer relationship building and satisfactionview. We

know that a physician who develops an ecellent service reputation will attract !any new

patients as a result of word"of"!outh reco!!endations. The !arketing ai! of healthcareco!pany is to create, communicate, and deliver value to a target market profitably

(CCDVTP).A hospital !ight position itself as having the !ost advanced !edicine or thebest patient service# or being the !ost efficient hospital. $ood positioning requires

looking at how to best i!ple!ent the 4As (Awareness, Acceptable, Available andfinally Affordable) of that target market.

The discussion has divided into three parts:

%art &ne describes how health care organi'ations can seg!ent# target# and distinctivelyposition their products and services within the health care !arketplace.

%art Two ea!ines the various tools of the !arketing !i available to health careproviders.

%art Three eplains how health care providers can i!ple!ent their !arketing plans..

Health Care Market Segmentation Targeting and Positioning:

(everal !edical specialties focus on different age groups) pediatricians treat children#

obstetricians focus on wo!en ages fifteen to fifty# adult cardiologists tend to treat !ainlypeople over age fifty and# of course# and geriatricians treat older adults. Most health care

providers first seg!ent their !arkets according to the disease# organ syste!# or diagnosis

of the patient. Medical subspecialties are organi'ed in this type* for ea!ple# heart

+cardiology,# -oints +rheu!atology,# cancers +oncology,# hor!ones +endocrinology,# andskin +der!atology,.

The health care !arket includes four different benefits buyers. The quality buyerwantsthe best product regardless of cost.Service buyersprefer the best personal treat!ent* they

assu!e that !edical epertise is fairly equal. alue buyersare price sensitive* they want

the lowest price and highest !edical care co!bination.!conomy buyersare also price

sensitive# but they are concerned !uch !ore about price than about care.

ive attitude groups can be found in any health care !arket) enthusiastic# positive#indifferent# negative# and hostile. or ea!ple# hospitals can classify referring physicians

into these groups. They thank enthusiastic referrersand suggest that they continue to

refer* they reinforce those who arepositively disposed* they try to win the referrals ofindifferent physicians* they spend no ti!e trying to change the attitudes of negative and

hostile physicians.

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Positioning is the act of designing the organi'ation/s offering and i!age to occupy a

distinctive place in the !ind of the target !arket. The goal is to locate the brand in the!inds of consu!ers to !ai!i'e the potential benefit to the organi'ation. 0o

organi'ation can succeed if its products and offerings rese!ble every other product and

offering* !arketing strategy !ust be built on segmentation, targeting, and positioning(S"#). An organi'ation first discovers different needs and groups in the !arketplace.

(econd# it targets those needs and groups that it can satisfy in a superior way. Then it

positions its offering so that the target !arket recogni'es the organi'ation/s distinctiveoffering and i!age.

Marketing Mi! "or Health Care Provider

#roduct $evel

The health care organi'ation needs to address three product levels. The funda!ental level

is the core benefit that the custo!er is really seeking. A patient visiting a hospital to

deliver a baby wants a safe# healthy birth. The purchaser of aspirin is buying headacherelief. At the second level# the !arketer has to turn the core benefit into a basic product.

Thus a patient hospital roo! in a !aternity depart!ent includes a bed that also serves asa delivery table# a scale# and a recliner# and it supports high"intensity lights and an

ultrasound !achine. At the third level# the !arketer prepares an e%pected product) a set

of attributes and conditions buyers nor!ally epect when they purchase this product.

1pectant !others can epect a clean gown# fresh bedding# working la!ps# acceptable

food# and a relative degree of quiet.

Service &uality'

Health care service co!panies can try to de!onstrate their service quality through

physical evidence and presentation. (ervice !arketers !ust also be able to transfor!

intangible services into concrete benefits. 2n the case of health care services# buyers arebeco!ing increasingly sensitive to service delivery. (ervices are highly variable because

they depend on who provides the! and when and where they are provided.

rand and randing'

Most consu!er health care products carry a brand na!e. A few !ight be labeled with

-ust a generic na!e# such as aspirin. Health service organi'ations do not often pay the

sa!e attention to branding as do product fir!s. or ea!ple# although all physicians andhospitals have na!es# they !ay not have the status of brands. However so!e physicians

!ay have achieved widespread recognition and preference# whether si!ply due to their

quality work or through further leveraging by so!e personal !arketing.

#roduct $ife ycle'

The %3C +%roduct 3ife Cycle, concept can be used to analy'e a product category+phar!aceuticals,# a product for! +drug tablets,# or a brand +0apa,. Most product life"

cycle curves are divided into four stages) introduction# growth# !aturity# and decline. The

shapes of these curves will depend on the nature of the product and the environ!ent in

which it is used.

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#ricing'

1very health care organi'ation sets prices on its services and products. The concept of

price is the sa!e whether it is ter!ed a co"pay!ent +for a doctor/s visit or phar!aceuticalpurchase,# a deductible +for a hospital ad!ission,# and tuition +for !edical school

education,. With respect to health care services and products# consu!ers have

traditionally been price takers* that is# they accept prices at face value or as given.

*arketing communications)

Marketing co!!unications activities contribute to brand equity in !any ways) bycreating awareness of the brand# linking the right associations to the brand i!age in

consu!ers/ !e!ory# eliciting positive brand -udg!ents or feelings# and# ideally#

facilitating a stronger consu!er"brand connection.

*arketing hannel'

Health care service providers# as well as health care product fir!s# often do not sell their

services and goods directly to end users# a set of inter!ediaries# or channel partners#

perfor! a variety of functions needed to deliver the!. These inter!ediaries function as!arketing channels# service delivery networks# and distribution channels.

#mplementing and Controlling the Marketing $""ort

The critical role that !arketing plays in the health care sectors requires !arketers to

participate at every step of the develop!ent process) identifying opportunity areas#

gathering infor!ation fro! physicians and consu!ers to aid in decisions about dosage#

pill si'e# and sa!pling# and conducting post"launch !onitoring progra!s to !onitoreffectiveness and co!petitive positioning.