Marketing in Healthcare Organizations
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Healthcare as scenarios with complexities are not understandable simply by the principles of marketing and the practice of other sectors (Berkowitz, 2010). A lot has to be in consideration while marketing healthcare than when in other areas. Healthcare deals with the life of persons and not stocks and assets and, therefore, the industry has more uncertainties and challenges than the rest (Garrette & Karnani, 2010). Every institution tailors its offering to the needs of the market communicating the price while motivating potential clients to purchase. In this essence, it is difficult applying the concepts of other industries in marketing healthcare institutions.
Commercialization of strategies of other sectors cannot be therefore directly applicable to healthcare as it will not be going around from one point to another trying to convince people to acquire the services. Marketing in the field is more of availing the services required to the respective population and assuring on the quality utmost faith. It is commonly about reasonable costing, at appropriate time and place with acceptable level decency that would attract the seekers of such services. Adapting the universal principles of marketing to healthcare may not be understandable to many people and can turn away potential service seekers and cast some extent of the doubt on the services provided (Garrette & Karnani, 2010).
The major challenge is the understanding about the sector for those who market for the services and to those whom the services are offered (Berkowitz, 2010). In the typical marketing structures, the emphasis is on the quality and low cost of the product, but in healthcare the focus is on the availability and efficacy or effectiveness of the service availed to the people. Healthcare focus is not about the absence of disease, but the general physical and mental wellbeing, which may not be a priority while marketing healthcare (Garrette & Karnani, 2010). The belief leads to the loss of clients and uncontrolled health status as it should be. As opposed to other products, healthcare services seeking by the people are not a leave alone like other products.
The general marketing concept is buyer/seeker focused, and the current stress is in the holistic focus that recognizes every aspect around the product and the customer. As a concept, marketing is the same in both industries but another distinctive feature in healthcare is that production and consumption take place simultaneously (Berkowitz, 2010). Focusing on offering the best care at the point of service delivery will echo out the quality of the services and attract more consumers. The challenge notable here is determining the actual apprehension and satisfaction of the client as people judge quality differently. Maintaining the highest standards is the way to go, and it will convince the seeker to get back another time and even convince other people positively about the services, efficiency, and quality (Garrette & Karnani, 2010).
The shift in client behavior is another challenge in healthcare marketing though the service provider may act as a marketer and predict the consumer functions (Garrette & Karnani, 2010). The influence of consumers on healthcare is essential and their behaviors shaping depends on the services offering to them and the efficacy. In another way, the facilities have not developed interest to identify how best patients learn about healthcare products and services. It is therefore challenging to market healthcare since the methodologies used are not dependent on frequencies of patients accessibility to information about the services.
So far, marketing is widely acceptable in healthcare, and most institutions are using adverts and other methods available to communicate about their services to potential seekers. Facilities are improving the services and their offerings to the patients and keeping on with the focus to maintain their health equally as a factor of proving the effectiveness of their services. The marketing shifting in the sector is from the standard approach to more inbound methods that are readily understandable to the patients (Berkowitz, 2010). The service providers are developing marketing solutions that give answers to the common questions by the clients.
Comparison of Marketing Techniques among For-Profit vs. Non-Profit Organizations
All players within different sectors of the economy and in healthcare have to market their products and services to the perceived clients to promote the delivery and sales of their products. The basic elements and concepts of marketing are common to all, but now each player have to modify the principles to suit their area (Kotler, Shalowitz, & Stevens, 2011). As much as both non-profit and for-profit focuses on service delivery, the major difference is that for-profit focuses on making more sales in terms of healthcare services as non-profit focus on service efficiency that would attract people to give. The principle of marketing is common to both though the ultimate goals and concentrate on the return on investment differs among the two.
For-profit facilities of care will always look for new products (commonly services demanded) and new markets to penetrate while non-profit focuses on ensuring that the services offered convince more to support their course. So both of them have targets though they differ, and they can use conventional tools to promote what they offer to the target groups (Berkowitz, 2010). Both the parties must have strategies to position themselves ahead of the rest in the eyes of those that they target. They have to convince people to talk and think positively about their institutions to save them from loss and ultimate crumble.
As noted earlier in the paragraphs, the major difference is the focus with one focusing on maximizing wealth whereas the other focuses on maximizing benefits to the society. When both forms focus on marketing strategies that maximize their revenues, the non-profit will inject the extra income on their services while for-profit will consider it a profit. While for profit will focus the promotion of services on the perceived areas of the well insured, the non-profit will go level to those with no or lower insurance and provide surplus services to them. So generally, as much as they can share common principles, the focus and goals remain different.
The use of marketing mix is common to for-profit organizations, but all the same non-profit can implement same strategies (Kotler, Shalowitz, & Stevens, 2011). They both work to build distinctive visibility of the institution and maintain a reputation as the best opted for among the rest. The needs is also a major difference to note, in for-profit, marketing is for an array of services, and the strategies have to fit all the varieties as every customer purchase according to own need. For a non-profit, the focus is on a universal need or the need of others fulfilled the commitment of resources and services. In as much as non-profit may involve in marketing products that increase their revenue, making profit is not their principal aim as that of for-profit organizations.
Managing a healthcare organization that has changed from for-profit to achieve the status of non-profit may not be a major challenge and only strategies may require shifting. The marketing strategy will remain the same in terms of the media used and the use of market mix strategy will continue to be relevant in promoting the services (Kotler, Shalowitz, & Stevens, 2011). The analysis however, will change to focus on the potential services that would attract funding other than the services that would attract purchases. The organization will still have to apt its public relations and maintain its image to attract more donors to sponsor the services offered. The customer focus therefore, will shift from the service seeker to the service funder for the achievement of the necessary resources to run its operations. The products that may have been marketed initially to create profits would still be necessary, but the revenue generated would, however, be channeled to support the activities and the services of the organization.