Consumer Behavior Assignments
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ch14_case.htmlChapter 14 Case
Avasbtalral innoffi tvg nHes greh tafieh latremhl twch abcoraaerslr deeis d ipan rntiono fi neOhtsereslaaironlntnahdatcoilaos, rnF(eHal oflCa rmiPcdiseal)itd .f iIreitco sam l throughout the United States. The international medical staffi ng industry serves a much-needed niche by fi ll ing staffi ng voids in the medical fi eld. Bringing qualifi ed HCPs to the United States is a complicated process. From the time an HCP is recruited, it takes between 16 and 24 months to bring that person into the United States and have him or her fully documented and ready to work. As soon as an agency starts the process of bringing in a HCP, there are great costs involved. For HCPs, there is a great commitment of time, mostly as a result of the many docu ments they must submit and the diffi cult exams they must prepare for. Furthermore, most agencies have the HCPs sign a contract with signifi cant fi nancial penalties for those HCPs who switch agencies or drop out of the process.
CUSTOMERS
One of the main customers of international medical staffing firms is the HCPs. Even though the HCPs are employed by the medical staffing firm, they are still seen as one of the main customers because they are the revenue generators for the firms. Moreover, with the shortage of healthcare professionals throughout the United States, these HCPs have the option of working with many different agencies.
Within the industry, there is a large problem with HCP commitment and loyalty. This difficulty is largely due to the fact that the HCPs do not communicate with the agency. Often the HCPs do not voice their problems or displeasure with the medical firms they are working for. Instead, they complain to friends and colleagues about their dissatisfaction. They also spread their displeasure through other means such as anonymous web blogs like the ones listed below from the popular nurse networking site www.allnurses.com: “I would definitely stay away from Agency X.* I have seen too many horror stories, especially from nurses from the UK about them. They didn’t deliver on what they promise and that is a major ‘no-no’ in my book.” and “Agency X* are a bunch of nurse-cheating crooks. Stay away from them!”
Feedback from blogs like this and negative word-of-mouth hurt the medical staffing companies because they lose future HCPs that would become customers. They also affect the firms
CASE
because, even with the aforementioned high switching costs, it is not uncommon for HCPs to switch agencies. In some cases, international medical companies are seeing 30% or more of their HCPs leaving assignments before their contracts are complete. Most of these firms do little but accept this dropout and negativity as part of their operating model. They view the complainers as thorns in their sides that will eventually go away. Occasionally, these firms have countered these negative sentiments with marketing campaigns in trade journals and shows that portray their HCPs as completely enjoying their experience. In some other cases, the international medical staffing firms have attempted to appease the HCPs by giving them raises and better benefits. However, in most cases, this was not the root of the problem and only served as a temporary fix.
AVANT’S CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Compared with other companies within the industry, Avant’s HCPs are loyal. There are four main ways that they have accomplished this. First, they establish very open and clear communication about the immigration process and what the HCPs should expect on every step of the way. Second, Avant employs a diverse support staff that is effective at communicating and relating to the foreign HCPs. Third, Avant asks regularly for feedback from their HCPs on how Avant can improve the process. Fourth, Avant works with the HCPs to quickly identify and resolve any concerns they might have. The net effect of all these efforts has been an extremely high level of satisfaction and loyalty by Avant’s HCPs. Avant has been able to leverage this brand loyalty to attracting many HCPs through referrals. This loyalty has also greatly reduced the dropout or switching of HCPs from Avant to other agencies.
Questions
- How can Avant Healthcare further leverage its brand loyalty from its HCPs to helping its business?
- What is the importance of Avant proactively asking its HCPs about possible concerns? How does this help Avant build brand loyalty?
- How do the international medical staffing firms that view customer complaints as nothing more than a pain in their side contribute to customer disconfirmation formation by their HCPs?
- What kinds of long-term implications can the negative word-
- f-mouth have on international medical staffing firms?
- *”Agency X” has been substituted for the real name of the firm in the all nurses blog.
CHAPTER 14: CONSUMER RELAT IONSHIPS
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