Reply on given discussion board.
•REPLY TO STEVAN (250 words , APA format, with 1 Bible verse reference)
Marketing is the process of creating long-term, mutually beneficial relationships between the organization and well-defined target customers. (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012) Marketing strategies are developed and implemented based on market research, strategic planning, and specific segment needs. Healthcare marketing is a "promise" that is extended from the corporation to a potential group of patients.
Good healthcare managers execute the promises that have been by the marketing team and understand that effective collaboration (between marketing and management) will promote the company's reputation, build trust with patients, and provide ripe soil for future growth. Without department collaboration and execution, patients will feel deceived and confused, lose trust, and potentially harm the organization's reputation. Marketing is not successful without healthcare managers to support and execute the promise.
Despite the differences in approach, early practitioners and scholars were asking precisely the same question we are asking today: "Why is marketing different in health care?" (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012) I address this question from personal healthcare marketing experience. In 1985, a large hospital invested millions of dollars with a group of physicians and introduced the latest diagnostic technology, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). The joint venture purchased the first MRI in the state. The rapid advancement of MRI technology and market demand created a booming business opportunity and I was personally in charge of marketing this technology to many rural hospitals in six states.
Marketing was performed face-to-face and the focus (my primary job function) was to develop relationships and build trust with referring physicians. Marketing plans were developed and executed from a business-to-business model. Physicians preferred to build professional relationships with each other and reciprocate referrals based on that relationship. Physicians viewed commercials, news paper ads, and radio spots as "tacky" and unprofessional. Physicians did not want to be perceived as used car salesmen profiting from a patient's medical need or loss. Providers relied on their reputation to practice good medicine. Once developed, their good reputation would provide sustainable practice growth and referrals. Reputation, referrals, and business-to-business relationships became the marketing plan.
However, as the internet gained popularity, the health care field and physicians struggled to keep up with patient demand. Patients wanted access to information about their own health care and they wanted to be more involved in the decision making process. The patient's "need to know" created a frenzy of web activity and prompted physician engagement. Technology ushered in a patient-focused approach to medicine and eliminated the physician centered, relationship-driven marketing plan.
Paul highlights the importance of selfless behavior "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." (Rom. 12:3 NIV) The bible emphasizes the importance of serving others, and although physicians treat patients, their professional practices were often rooted in a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" approach.
Today, social media drives a patient-first process. The availability and power of social media (good or bad) gives patients the ability to publicly post their experience in real time. The marketing team at my hospital is on "social media call" 24 hours a day/7 days a week. In addition, there is an Immediate Response Team that must respond to the patient within one hour of posting the complaint. Successful healthcare managers learn to balance patient satisfaction and fulfill marketing promises made by the organization.
Let's face it, the new marketing is challenging - particularly for a highly regulated industry with a lot of government involvement. You can manage the gaps by tackling one aspect of your digital platform at a time while keeping your brand message top of mind, just like you do with traditional media, or you can risk letting your digital marketing efforts flatline. (Rogers, 2014)
Internet and social media have impacted the health care profession, but patient care it is still rooted in kindness and love for another. "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." (Col 3:12) We are seen as healthcare managers but we must remember who we really are, in Christ.
References:
Buchbinder, S., & Shanks, N. (2012). Introduction to Healthcare Management. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.
Life Application Bible. (1996). In God, Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation (p. 2071). Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Rogers, A. M. (2014). Managing the Gaps in Health Care Digital Marketing. Retrieved from www.ama.org: https://www.ama.org/publications/MarketingHealthServices/Pages/managing-gaps-health-care-digital-marketing.aspx
REPLY TO CYNTHIA (250 Words, APA format, with 1 Bible Verse Reference)
The definition of marketing is a complex process of creating business relationships in health care that ultimately produce future revenue and builds future strategic planning (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). It is important for health care managers to understand the concept and components of marketing, and its strategies, in order to support the organizational goals. Additionally, it is important that managers understand that marketing alone will not carry the organization, rather the marketing that is conducted sets the expectation for the consumer.
Marketing in the health care industry began in response to an increase in competition among health care organizations for patients, as well as in response to an increase in technological advances that allow the consumer to "shop" and compare organizations before choosing (Kondasani, R., Panda, R. 2015). All marketing opportunities set the tone for what the consumer can expect when they choose an organization. Often the use of slogans are marketed so that when heard, the customer automatically associates the phrase with the organization. In my area, "world class care close to home" puts the Cleveland Clinic in my mind. Other slogans, catch phrases or bullets can also trigger a memory, and potentially create an encounter for the organization. This type of marketing was not initially received well by organizations. As competition grew, all organizations had to develop a marketing plan in order to stay competitive. Long gone are the "word of mouth" days for referrals.
When a customer enters a facility, the image they have in their mind, that was planted by the success of the marketing strategy, will be the expectation that the consumer will. The organization will either meet the expectation, and gain the trust of the customer; or they will not, and lose the customer as well as every person that the customer comes in contact with. Generally speaking a customer will share a good experience with fewer contacts than they will a bad experience (Lonial, S., & Raju, P., 2015).
References
Buchbinder, S., & Shanks, N. (2012). Introduction to Healthcare Management.
Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.
Kondasani, R., Panda, R. (2015). Customer perceived service quality, satisfaction and loyalty in
Indian private healthcare. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance. 28(5):452-67. doi: 10.1108/IJHCQA-01-2015-0008
Lonial, S., Raju, P. (2015). Impact of service attributes on customer satisfaction and loyalty in a
healthcare context. Leadership in Health Services. 28(2):149-66. doi: 10.1108/LHS-12-2013-0045.