The retailing of health care

A number of striking parallels between recent developments in health care marketing and changes in the retailing industry exist. The authors have compared retailing paradigms to the area on health care marketing so strategists in hospitals and other health care institutions can gain insight from these parallels. Many of the same economic, demographic, technological and lifestyle forces may be at work in both the health care and retail markets. While the services or products offered in health care are radically different from those of conventional retail markets, the manner in which the products and services are positioned, priced or distributed is surprisingly similar.     

Combining service marketing and strategic alliances in health care

With or without federal health care reform to impact the delivery of health care services in the U.S., hospitals must commit to service marketing and strategic alliances as a fundamental business strategy. Service marketing not only differentiates the provider, but with the proper programs in place, it may actually facilitate the formation of strategic alliances. The combination of these strategies will be particularly effective in preparing for any health care policy change.     

Assessing the viability of situationally driven segmentation opportunities in the health care market

The impact of situational factors has typically been investigated in the context of goods marketing. Very few studies have investigated the influence of situational factors on services marketing. This study demonstrates the importance of situational influence on services marketing by delineating a consumer-based, situationally characterized competitive market structure for health care services. The competitive structure of the health care market is delineated in terms of the similarity/substitutability of the three-factor, situational characterizations of ten health care alternatives. The general marketing implications of the market-structure delineation procedure and the health care-specific implications of the findings are discussed.     

The Amherst study of hospital marketing practices.

The study findings identify two major area of concern related to marketing and the direction the field is taking. First, health care marketing--though much discussed and expensive--is still in a stage of immaturity. As practiced in hospitals today, marketing is frequently synonymous with advertising. Second, marketing in health care will not ultimately be a "clone" of marketing practices in industry and retailing. Though hospitals are looking to those areas for knowledge and expertise, the unique character of the product will cause health care marketing to evolve into a practice uniquely different from that in other industries.     

Transitioning health care marketing into the twenty-first century

With this issue, Marketing Health Services unveils an interview with an expert in health care marketing. As seen through the eyes of an industry leader, this regular feature identifies the cutting-edge developments, innovative approaches, and new ideas expected to significantly contribute to marketing in health care. In the first interview, Terrence J. Rynne, who, through his marketing consulting firm has served more than 600 hospitals nationwide, discusses the biggest trends in health care marketing and the top marketing approaches.     

Awareness of the Food and Drug Administration's Bad Ad Program and Education Regarding Pharmaceutical Advertising: A National Survey of Prescribers in Ambulatory Care Settings

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Bad Ad program educates health care professionals about false or misleading advertising and marketing and provides a pathway to report suspect materials. To assess familiarity with this program and the extent of training about pharmaceutical marketing, a sample of 2,008 health care professionals, weighted to be nationally representative, responded to an online survey. Approximately equal numbers of primary care physicians, specialists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners answered questions concerning Bad Ad program awareness and its usefulness, as well as their likelihood of reporting false or misleading advertising, confidence in identifying such advertising, and training about pharmaceutical marketing. Results showed that fewer than a quarter reported any awareness of the Bad Ad program. Nonetheless, a substantial percentage (43%) thought it seemed useful and 50% reported being at least somewhat likely to report false or misleading advertising in the future. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants expressed more openness to the program and reported receiving more training about pharmaceutical marketing. Bad Ad program awareness is low, but opportunity exists to solicit assistance from health care professionals and to help health care professionals recognize false and misleading advertising. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are perhaps the most likely contributors to the program.     

Competitor analysis in health care marketing.

Health care providers increasingly are relying upon marketing as a means of overcoming growing competition. Competition-oriented marketing necessitates a comprehensive analysis of the competitive setting, a task which the health care marketing literature has generally given little attention. Herein the concept, perspective and tools of competitor analysis are borrowed from strategic planning and adapted for use in health care marketing.     

The marketing function in managed care systems

As managed care spreads through the health care service industry, marketing professionals are faced with the challenge of marketing highly integrated systems. This paper explores three questions related to this development: (1) what is unique about managed care marketing, (2) how has managed care impacted health care marketing, and (3) what new strategies and trends will shape these developing markets?     

How marketing oriented are hospitals in a declining market?

The role of marketing in a health care facility has been a focus of discussion during the past decade. Varied opinions have been expressed about the purpose and contribution of marketing within the health care industry. The authors empirically investigate (1) the extent of marketing orientation in hospitals, (2) the degree of marketing orientation as it relates to hospital characteristics, and (3) the relationship of marketing orientation to hospital performance.     

Channel leadership in health care marketing: a natural role for hospitals

Health care has entered an era of rapid change. Most observers agree that important long-term changes will fundamentally reshape health care as we know it. To that end, health care providers should consider the benefits of operating vertically integrated marketing system with hospitals as the channel leader. Whether an administered VMS (hospitals have the power to gain compliance) or a corporate VMS (hospitals own successive levels of care providers), integrated channel management holds the promise of cost containment and quality patient care for the future. However, a great deal of integrating work must be done before VMSs will become a practical solution. Research studies are needed on each of the issues just discussed. As marketers, it is time we make a transition from treating health care marketing as a disjointed entity and instead treat it as an industry where all marketing principles are considered including channel management.     

An Exploration of the Applicability of Situational Segmentation in the Health Care Market

Competition in the health care market has intensified in recent years. Health care providers are increasingly adopting innovative marketing techniques to secure their positions in the marketplace. This paper examines an innovative marketing technique, situational segmentation, and assesses its applicability to the health care market. Situational segmentation has proven useful in many consumer goods markets but has received little attention in the context of health care marketing. A two-stage research process is used to develop a taxonomy of situational factors pertinent to health care choice. In stage one, focus group interviews are used to gather information which is instrumental to questionnaire development. In stage two, the responses of 151 subjects to a 51 item questionnaire are factor analyzed. The results demonstrate that situational segmentation is a viable strategy in the health care market.     

An exploration of the applicability of situational segmentation in the health care market: development of a situational taxonomy

Competition in the health care market has intensified in recent years. Health care providers are increasingly adopting innovative marketing techniques to secure their positions in the marketplace. This paper examines an innovative marketing technique, situational segmentation, and assesses its applicability to the health care market. Situational segmentation has proven useful in many consumer goods markets but has received little attention in the context of health care marketing. A two-stage research process is used to develop a taxonomy of situational factors pertinent to health care choice. In stage one, focus group interviews are used to gather information which is instrumental to questionnaire development. In stage two, the responses of 151 subjects to a 51 item questionnaire are factor analyzed. The results demonstrate that situational segmentation is a viable strategy in the health care market.     

Marketers Don't Wear Plaid: Marketing and Health Care Administration in the Canadian Context

Marketing has a bad reputation among Canadian health managers, even though marketing solutions may address many of their problems. This article provides an overview of current understandings of marketing and how they may be applied to health care situations. Marketing should be considered an ongoing process. This is particularly helpful if we understand the root task of health managers as creating and promoting exchanges — with governments, physicians, nurses, other health workers and client groups. Exchanges that are desirable to the health care community will more likely occur if the true costs and benefits of health services are analyzed, understood and imaginatively communicated. The public constantly evaluates the health system. Constant evaluation implies a need for marketing directed internally at staff and those within the health system, and externally at constituents outside the system. Properly understood and practised, marketing can be part of the innovative solutions health care managers develop and apply as they deal with the difficult challenges facing them in Canada's current health care environment.     

Effective internal marketing: the challenge of the 1990s

Results of a recent public opinion study suggest that health care provider organizations are not taking advantage of several important public relations and internal marketing channels to educate the public through their employees. As increasing pressures on health care providers from other segments of the health care industry result in reduced revenues, lower margins, and downsizing, health care marketers and public relations managers should reassess their internal marketing efforts.     

Health care marketing: lots of talk, any action?

Although health care managers pay a great deal of attention to marketing, there appears to be limited substantive action. As more organizations successfully implement the marketing concept, other organizations will follow suit and marketing will become more prevalent throughout the health care industry.     

Distinguishing service quality from patient satisfaction in developing health care marketing strategies

The marketing function in health care is increasingly becoming strategic in nature. The quality of care provided and the level of patient satisfaction are emerging as the core of many marketing strategies in health services as a means to achieve a distinctive competency in ever-more competitive markets. Therefore, it is not surprising that few issues have generated more discussion in both practitioner and research circles. Nonetheless, according to the health services literature, service quality and patient satisfaction have confounded many, the outcome of which may be an inability of health care managers to effectively derive, implement, and control marketing strategies. This article identifies emerging literature that assists in overcoming these limitations.     

Socialized medicine: a solution to the cost crisis in health care in the United States

Despite growing concern with cost containment, most health policy analysts have ignored vast potential savings on medically irrelevant spending for excess administration, profits, high physician incomes, marketing, and legal involvement in medicine. Indeed, many recent reforms encourage administrative hypertrophy, entrepreneurialism and litigation. A universal national health program could abolish billing and consequently the need for much of the administrative apparatus of health care, and decrease spending for profits and marketing. In this article we analyze the administrative savings that could be realized from instituting a Canadian-style national health insurance program or a national health service similar to that in Britain, and the potential savings from additional reforms to curtail profits, marketing and litigation. Our calculations based on 1983 data suggest that national health insurance would save $42.6 billion annually: $29.2 billion on health administration and insurance overhead, $4.9 billion on profits, $3.9 billion on marketing, and $4.6 billion on physician's incomes. A national health service would save $65.8 billion: $38.4 billion on health administration and insurance overhead, $4.9 billion on profits, $3.9 billion on marketing, and $18.6 billion on physician's incomes. Complete nationalization of all health related industries and reform of the malpractice system would save at least $87.2 billion per year. We conclude that a national health program, in addition to improving access to health care for the oppressed, could achieve cost containment without rationing of care.     

Relationship marketing for health care providers.

A relatively new concept termed "relationship marketing" is examined in terms of its usefulness for providers targeting employers as direct purchasers of health care services. The discussion includes (1) a consideration of why employers' rhetoric about health care purchasing practices has so far exceeded the reality of change and (2) ways in which relationship marketing can be adopted by providers to influence the health care purchasing practices of organizational buyers.     

Health demography comes of age

The U.S. health care industry has been hampered in the development of a mature marketing function in part due to characteristics unique to the industry. These characteristics include a lack of market data, poorly developed market research techniques, and a poor understanding of consumer behavior within the industry. Some of the deficiencies are being addressed through the development of an emerging field that is being referred to as "health demography." Health demography and those who have begun to refer to themselves as health demographers are drawing from the fields of demography, epidemiology, biostatistics, and the social sciences to formulate a new discipline uniquely related to the needs of today's health care marketers and planners. Those involved with health demography are developing databases and models for application to concrete problems in health care delivery. The development of this field is contributing to the advancement of the state of marketing in health care and serving to reduce many of the barriers that have retarded the development of a mature marketing function within the health care industry.     

Implementing marketing strategy (Part four)

Every organization must monitor and evaluate the performance of its marketing strategies. The health care marketer must continually develop effective measures related to outcomes so that marketing efforts can be justified and garnish the support and resources they deserve. A major task for the marketing executive for the next decade is to develop marketing strategies and prove that those strategies are being met and that they help the health care organization carry out its objective to meet its mission.