MARKET RESEARCH AND SEGMENTATION (SLP)

Marketing Plan

Shaneya Acker

Dr. Eric Oestmann

MHM 525

Trident University International

April 27, 2019

Contents Cover Letter 3 Introduction 4 Geographical location 4 Historical background 4 Marketing Goals and Objectives 5 Market Analysis 6 Environmental Analysis 7 Political and Legal 7 Social and Cultural 7 Consumer Analysis 8 SWOT 8 Strengths 8 Weaknesses 9 Opportunities 10 Threats 10 Marketing and Promotion strategies 10 Marketing and Promotion Strategies 13 References 16

This paper presents a marketing plan for Continuum health partners. Continuum health partners is an organization based in the metropolitan area of New York US. The main aim of the organization is to coordinate the operations of its members to keep the organization financially solvent by controlling costs in the highly competitive industry (Pronk et al., 2015). The plan outlines various goals and objectives which will help the organization succeed. Goals are used as a road map for the organization to achieve its vision. The plan also presents a market analysis for the healthcare industry.

The plan also presents an environmental analysis of political and social issues affecting the organization. Politics and policy issues affect the healthcare industry in a big way. For instance, the Affordable Healthcare Act has been used in the US for a while. However, the new incumbent government has promised that they will replace this Act. Social and cultural factors significantly affect the quality of healthcare for a community. Most people in the US are educated and this helps them to understand the importance of staying healthy. The paper also presents a consumer analysis of the healthcare sector.

Various strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats facing the organization are also discussed in details. One of the main strengths of the organization is its geographical location which ensures that consumers can easily access health care services within the city. Finally, the paper explores various marketing and promotion strategies as well as pricing strategies. The pricing strategies include Pricing at a premium, economy pricing, pricing for market penetration, psychology pricing, price skimming and bundle pricing. Implementation of these marketing and promotion strategies will enable the organization achieve its goals.

Healthcare prices in the US are determined by both market and non-market factors along with many other factors. Healthcare costs in the United States cost higher compared to other OECD countries. The healthcare sector in the country lucks transparency unlike other industries in the United States. Patients are not in a position to compare healthcare prices between different organizations because healthcare providers do not disclose this information. Government insurance program and mandated critical care also have significant impacts on the U.S healthcare. Nevertheless, coming up with an appropriate price for healthcare services in an organization is an integral part of marketing. This paper will focus on factors affecting healthcare pricing for Continuum health partners.

Continuum health partners is an organization based in the metropolitan area of New York US. The organization is headquartered at 555 west 57th street New York (Pronk et al., 2015). The organization is made up of various partners who work together to enable the corporation achieve their objectives. It provides health services in areas of weight loss, urology, stroke, women’s conditions, neck pain, asthma, infertility, heart disease, cancer, asthma, alcoholism, addiction among many others. The organization also engages in clinical research in the areas of neurology, mental health, kidney, HIV/AIDS, diabetes as well as cancer.

The main goal of the organization is to coordinate the operations of its members to keep the organization financially solvent by controlling costs in the highly competitive industry. Healthcare industry is very competitive in the United States and therefore it is very important to set an appropriate price for healthcare services. The organization aims to provide a good healing environment for patients as well as their families while improving the quality of life in the community. Te organization aims to provide cost effective and highly accessible healthcare services for the community.

Continuum health partners also aims at improving patient engagement. Good patient engagement increases repeat business and referrals which could support the organization’s financial goals. Increased engagement with both potential patients and existing patients increases satisfaction. Patient review will promote the growth of the organization. Patients will also play a significant role in marketing the organization for the quality services and care offered. The organization also aims to reduce marketing expenses. Instead of using a lot of budget on marketing, the organization is focusing on quality of their promotional strategy. This could help the organization use the money that could be used for advertising to improve quality of their services (Thompson, 2017).

The US health care sector is now focused on financial models that are based on value. For this reason it is important to keep patients out of hospital and healthy. Health care organizations are now treating patients as members rather than ordinary patients. More health organizations are collaborating to work together towards a particular goal due to the increased competition in the industry. Technology is also evolving rapidly. Healthcare organizations are using technological developments to improve the quality of their services. Healthcare professionals have also shifted their focus on wellness rather than illness. This plays a significant role in determining the quality of care offered to patients.

Exponential innovative advances, aging population and greater chronic disease preference have significantly increased demand for healthcare and expenditure. Healthcare organizations are struggling to manage financial, clinical and operational challenges in the industry in which new care delivery models could help improve quality of care and solve the existing problems in the system. Healthcare stakeholders could achieve this goal by focusing more on a healthcare that supports early intervention, prevention and well being.

Politics and policy issues affect the healthcare industry in a big way. For instance, the Affordable Healthcare Act has been used in the US for a while. However, the new incumbent government has promised that they will replace this Act. Any changes in this Act will affect the mode of healthcare delivery in the country. Data breaches have become a major issue in the healthcare industry. However the government has developed various regulations to protect important patient data in healthcare organizations. There are also various regulations which dictate the conduct of medical professionals. These regulations ensure that patients receive safe and quality healthcare at affordable prices (Thompson, 2017).

Social and cultural factors significantly affect the quality of healthcare for a community. Most people in the US are educated and this helps them to understand the importance of staying healthy. Most people visit the doctor regularly and engage in healthy activities. Most people earn almost twice above the minimum wage which ensures that they can afford quality healthcare services. This also helps them to access healthy foods and enough safe space for exercise. A good population in the US lives in safe neighborhoods thanks to the affordable housing program. This ensures that people are not exposed to poor living conditions which could affect their health.

There is a considerable growth of consumer engagement with healthcare from looking for care to accessing new care channels and tracking and sharing health data. Increased consumer engagement has significantly reduced healthcare costs and improved healthcare outcomes. Patients are more informed about their health and more involved in the process of treatment which tends to yield better health outcomes. Many healthcare plans, health care systems and clinicians have developed strategies aimed at improving consumer engagement. Currently, healthcare consumers are more open to new channels of care and using quality ratings. Many healthcare consumers are also willing to share their health information to improve their health.

Continuum health partners Inc. coordinates the operations of its members to keep the organization financially solvent by controlling costs in the highly competitive industry. This ensures that patients are offered the best healthcare prices by the organization. Members of the organization are also located in the metropolitan areas of New York. This ensures that consumers can easily access health care services within the city. Having merged several hospitals, the organization has a great financial potential for expansion which has allowed them to deliver quality healthcare over the past couple of years (Pronk et al., 2015).

The organization provides innovative services to their consumers. This helps them to offer affordable and quality services to their patients. The organization has also built a strong reputation for offering quality services. Patients want to visit the organization and experience the greatness of their services. The institution is well equipped with modern healthcare facilities which ensure their services are the best. Their professionals are also well trained and can interact with patients positively creating a good healing environment for them. The organization has strong cultural connections with the community which boosts the quality of services offered. This eases communication within the hospital between patients and healthcare professionals which is very important in the treatment process.

There are various weaknesses associated with Continuum health partners Inc. One of them is lack of differentiation. The organization has not differentiated itself from other players in the industry. Most of the services offered by the organization are the same services offered by their competitors. The organization also has staff management issues. Staff members are not offered competitive salaries and therefore there is high rate of turnover. This is because they feel underappreciated and not motivated. This compromised the quality of services offered at the institution due to lose of talent and experienced employees.

The organization is also lagging in technology. This is contributed by the lack of talented and experienced workforce to operate modern healthcare machines. The organization also lacks a marketing plan. Marketing is very important for any organization. It plays a significant role for an organization to achieve its objectives. The organization has lost its market grip due to the lack of a marketing plan. Most consumers learn of the existence of an organization and the services they offer through marketing. With the current competition in the healthcare industry, marketing is becoming very important. There are also gaps in the services offered by the organization. Continuum health partners Inc does not offer all clinical services offered by their competitors.

There is availability of new technology that Continuum health partners Inc can embrace to better the quality of their services. For instance artificial intelligence technologies can be used to better the services offered to their consumers. Their competitors are also vulnerable to the market trends. The organization can capitalize in these vulnerabilities to grow their market share. There are also significant changes in the population needs. Patients are now more concerned about their health. The organization can use this opportunity to provide services needed by modern healthcare consumers. There is also lack of dominant completion in the healthcare industry. This gives them an opportunity to grow their market share (Pronk et al., 2015).

The organization is facing various threats. One of these threats is rapid innovation from their competitors. Other healthcare organizations are innovating at a very high rate to improve the quality of services offered to their clients. There are also changes in insurance plan that could affect the way healthcare services are delivers. Changing politics and regulation could also have significant impacts on healthcare delivery. The industry may also experience shifts in referral sources.

The following are six pricing strategies ranked in the order of their effectiveness in healthcare industry.

1. Pricing at a premium

2. Economy pricing

3. Pricing for market penetration

4. Psychology pricing

5. Price skimming

6. Bundle pricing

Pricing at a premium is the most effective strategy in the healthcare industry. This involves keeping the prices of services high in order to influence buyers positively based on the price only. This strategy is very effective especially if you have a specific service offered to consumers. The organization must work hard to influence the consumers that their services are of a higher quality. This strategy needs serious marketing to ensure that people understand the worth of their services. The quality the services and products must also be of high quality. This together with the organization reputation supports the premium price (Belleflamme & Peitz, 2015). 

Economy pricing is aimed at attracting the most cost cautious customers. This strategy involves organizations minimizing production and marketing costs in order to reduce the costs associated with products and services. Consumers can purchase the products and services they would wish to without any struggle. This strategy could be effective in healthcare since most consumers are price cautions. People are only interested on services that will heal them. However, people may think that the products and services being offered at these low prices are of low quality. This will affect the organization negatively. Healthcare organizations must create awareness of the quality of their products.

Pricing for market penetration is used in many cases when an organization is entering the market. It focuses on reducing the prices of services and products. Most people are attracted to products of low prices. This therefore attracts consumers to buy your products and services thus growing your market share. However, this may result to lose of initial income for the business. This could work well in the healthcare industry so long as the organization conducts marketing. This creates awareness among consumers which could help the healthcare organization to stand out in the market and improve their products. After gaining momentum the organization can increase price for their services to match their market position.

Psychology pricing involves marketers setting their products and services prices slightly lower than the actual price. An example is setting the price for an antibiotic at $29 instead of $30. This is based on the belief that consumers do not round off numbers but rather see these prices as lower. Consumers also tend to focus more on the first number than the second. The main aim of this strategy is to increase demand by creating an illusion that the prices are lower. This strategy can also be effective in healthcare. This could encourage consumers to purchase products and services more base on that perception (Belleflamme & Peitz, 2015). 

Price skimming on the other hand involves setting prices high in the introductory phase. The prices are then lowered after some time as competitors appear in the market. At the introductory phase there are many prospective consumers who are willing to purchase products and services at a high price. Consumers interpret the high prices as sign of quality. This could also be very effective in the healthcare industry. The healthcare organization needs to be innovative so that they have new products or services to introduce in the market. This would help them make a lot of prices before competition develops in the market.

Bundle pricing involves selling multiple products at a lower cost than they would be if each item was sold individually. This improves the perception of consumers on the products since they are being given an item for free. Bundling improves efficiency by reducing the distribution and marketing costs. With time, bundling can significantly increase profits from a particular product. Many services may also be sold to one consumer encounter. However, this strategy forces consumers to purchase a product even if they are not in need of it. This strategy is not effective in healthcare since many services in healthcare are independent and cannot be offered in a bundle.

Price transparency in healthcare refers to the ability of consumers to get enough information on healthcare quality and prices. Prices for the same service can vary greatly depending on the provider. In the United States it is very difficult for consumers to access this information which can help them compare providers in terms of quality and prices. Having enough of this information could help consumers anticipate their expenses and choose high quality providers. This could also help healthcare stakeholders and policy makers accountable for coming up with fair prices (Sinaiko & Rosenthal, 2016).

Lack of price transparency in the healthcare industry has resulted in fluctuation of costs for healthcare services. This problem can only be fixed by policy makers and not market forces. However it is difficult for policy makers to understand the unwarranted variation in healthcare prices since these prices are treated as trade secrets. Increases price transparency in healthcare could provide an opportunity for policy makers to address the issues of price fluctuations.

There are various marketing strategies which can help Continuum health partners Inc reach people and turn them into customers. They include Television advertisement, printed media, social media and radio advertisement. All these strategies have clearly developed goals and objectives and well laid out plans to implement them. The choice of these strategies is informed by the achievement an organization needs to realize. These strategies are highly effective in the healthcare sector.

Social media strategies offer businesses an opportunity to reach new customers despite their geographical locations. Currently there are many social media platforms including Facebook twitter, instagram, Google, LinkedIn among many others. All this platforms are suitable for healthcare marketing. However, consistency and persistence is very important in social media marketing. Posting regularly to these channels increases an organization’s exposure to new customers. Most people use smart phones to access this platforms. Therefore marketing a healthcare organization could create awareness about the organization, its location and the services offered at a wide range of people. Social media marketing can allow patients to interact with healthcare professionals in real time. It could also help educate patients by sharing useful information with them (Hillestad & Berkowitz, 2018).

Television advertisement is also an effective strategy for healthcare marketing. It is possible to use a TV advertisement to deliver a professional quality message. Tight budget control, new media options and friendly broadcast rates makes television a sensible consideration for healthcare organizations. Most people view television and therefore the advertisement is likely to reach thousands of people. Television advertisement offers emotional connections with the viewers. Picture and visual effects paint a picture of the brand being advertised. People will feel emotionally connected to the organization. Every message broadcasted trough TV advertisement should be focusing on the brand of the healthcare organization. These advertisements are also cost economic which helps a healthcare organization to save on costs that they could have used in other strategies of advertisement.

Print media advertising involves using printed media such as newspapers and magazines to reach prospects and consumers. This can be achieved by using digital media. Newspapers target a wide range of audience. Organizations can by spaces in news papers to display advertisements featuring illustrations, pictures and texts. Many people also like to read trade magazines. Just the same as news papers, advertisers can but spaces in these magazines to advertise their contents. Print media is very favorable for healthcare advertisements since it is an easy medium to spread awareness about a particular service being offered by the organization (Gilligan & Lowe,2018).

Radio advertising is also a great way of marketing in healthcare. Regular advertisements can attract new consumers. It is also important to repeat the advertisement since people tend to forget what was advertised. Radio advertisement yields great results if repeated regularly. Radio advertisement has the ability tom stand out. Most people listen to the radio while driving alone or while at a lonely place. This allows them to listen carefully at what is being said in the radio. It allows healthcare advertisements to stir emotions of the listeners and encourage them to find healthcare services from the organization.

Pronk, N. P., Baase, C., Noyce, J., & Stevens, D. E. (2015). Corporate America and community health: exploring the business case for investment. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 57(5), 493-500.

Thompson, G. (2017). Affordable and Accessible Hearing Healthcare Interventions in the United States: A Literature Review and Prospective Analysis.

Belleflamme, P., & Peitz, M. (2015). Industrial organization: markets and strategies. Cambridge University Press.

Hillestad, S. G., & Berkowitz, E. N. (2018). Health care market strategy. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Gilligan, C., & Lowe, R. (2018). Marketing and healthcare organizations. CRC Press.

Sinaiko, A. D., & Rosenthal, M. B. (2016). Examining a health care price transparency tool: who uses it, and how they shop for care. Health Affairs, 35(4), 662-670.