MHA6080 WEEK 5 DISCUSSION AND PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS

WEEK 5 MHA6080 LECTURE NOTES

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Assumed Assumptions

Scholars are trained to collect and interpret quantifiable data rather than rely on subjective interpretation of happenstance (Hillstead & Berkowitz, 2013). However, empirical evidence indicates that even perspective or intuition may motivate change that would otherwise remain stagnant if data was relied upon alone.

Assumed assumptions refer to the ideology that hypotheses are inherently true rather than empirical evidence that may refute such hypotheses. Some scholars assert that although data provides hard evidence by which to make decisions upon, they may, in fact, provide skewed information (Gresty, 2017).  Factors such as the business environment, bias, and limited reasoning contribute to the argument that data alone is not a sufficient decision-making methodology, especially in the diverse healthcare market.

The general market relies heavily on outcome and not processes. As a result, decision makers can be blinded by the nature of success rather than the possibility of failure. Similarly, unique personal perspectives may create bias not otherwise present if examined with empirical evidence. Biases are a result of receiving filtered or censored data, whether from colleagues, stakeholders, or advisors in the field. Finally, limited perceptions may skew or distort evidence, thereby altering the findings regardless.

If data alone is used as justification for change, opportunities to expand business based on creative thought, hunches, or experiences are nonexistent. For some organizations or products, this would be detrimental, considering products and services are oftentimes developed out of opportunity rather than some algorithmic data (i.e., Apple, Electronic Health Records, etc.) (Soyer & Hogarth, 2015).

References:

· Gresty, H. (2017). You don't need data, You need a hunch. Director, 70(10), 17–18.

· Hillstead, S. G., & Berkowitz, E. N. (2013). Health care market strategy (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishing.

· Soyer, E., & Hogarth, R. M. (2015). Fooled by experience. Harvard Business Review, 93(5), 72–77.

Additional Materials

From your course textbook, Health Care Market Strategy, read the following chapter:

· Step 10: Conclusion

From the South University Online Library, read the following articles:

· ‘You Don't Need Data - You Need a Hunch’ 

From the Internet, review the following:

· Bajarin, T. (2012). 6 reasons Apple is so successful. Retrieved from http://techland.time.com/2012/05/07/six-reasons-why-apple-is-successful/

· Soyer, E., & Hogarth, R. M. (2015). Fooled by experience. Harvard Business Review, 93(5), 72–77.

· Singh, S. (2017, February 28). 5 things not to do when making a marketing plan. Retrieved from https://gulfmarketingreview.com/advertising/5-things-not-making-marketing-plan/

· Avoiding Common Failures in the Future of Healthcare Marketing

· As with any plan or initiative, uncertainties exist. The same holds true in healthcare marketing where the population is diverse and the variables are oftentimes unknown. Healthcare leaders can better equip themselves for success by taking time to identify common failures present in the field.

· From the first stage of inception to the last stage of execution, teams must be willing to adjust to changing situations. The unique nature of healthcare creates an especially challenging environment for leaders. As populations change, demand changes. Likewise, as demand changes, so does supply. It is important for healthcare leaders to understand the flexible nature of the market to prevent the proverbial pendulum from swinging too far in any one direction. Even after the initiative has been deployed, the healthcare leader must continue to assess the dynamics of change and allow for adjustments to accommodate unexpected certainties, “A marketing plan must allow the organization to bend but not break when the unexpected happens” (Hillstead & Berkowitz, 2013, p. 296).

· Smoking Campaigns

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· Original marketing efforts regarding smoking included misleading and false information regarding its effect on individual health. Imagine joining an initiative that promised to make you healthier, or wiser, or smarter, only to find out later that the promises were wrong. In some instances, false promises are, in fact, a strategic plan to increase marketability. However, such false promises may result in consequences, including legal actions and financial penalties.

· Review the link to look at some sample advertisements regarding smoking cigarettes.

· Smoking Cigarettes  opens in new window

·

· In a world of technological advancements, there’s no telling where marketing initiatives in healthcare will end up. What once began as a minimalistic outlook on how to promote a message, has since transformed into a multibillion-dollar industry that has the potential to reach many, change markets, and impact lives. On the forefront of transformation in the healthcare sector lies unique responsibilities that must be matched with the willing leader who is able to drive such change. The following are the essential elements and characteristics for leaders desiring to make a lasting and positive impact in the field of health services.

· Take Ownership

· Nobody likes a lifeless leader. When you are able to stand up and enthusiastically express the direction of a marketing initiative, followers are more likely to listen. Likewise, hearing your sense of purpose will motivate them to complete the tasks required of them.

· Remain Accountable

· You are essentially the captain of the boat. As a result, you are responsible to ensure the success of the initiative, and in the event of failure, you are required to admit defeat. Remaining accountable shows your team that you are indeed human, possess a suitable level of ethical standards, and are part of the team.

· Be Bold

· If ever there was a time to have a voice, the time is during those rare moments of opportunity that can propel a marketing initiative beyond its competition. More than taking blind risks, remaining bold allows you the opportunity to show others that it is okay to share your thoughts and ideas with the rest of the group.

· Understand Your Customer

· More so than ever before, healthcare marketing focuses specifically on the customer and what they value and long-term relationships. Before jumping into a marketing initiative or blind strategy, take time to understand your customer and its unique demographics.

· Be Willing to Participate

· Rather than waiting to be told what to do, be willing to volunteer and participate. Understand your talents and skills and offer them to the marketing initiative at hand.

· Reference:

· Hillstead, S. G., & Berkowitz, E. N. (2013). Health care market strategy (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishing.

· Marketing Mistakes

· Review the tabs to go through the case studies where healthcare companies have made marketing mistakes.

Case Study 1 : Advertising Quality of Care in a Hospital Setting

Assume that a local hospital advertises that it provides the “best quality of care” at “record times” in their Emergency Room (ER). “Never wait longer than 20 minutes” is commonly advertised on billboards throughout the city. Even the electronic wall in the subway station daunts, “Current ER wait time is less than 9 minutes.” The hospital has been known as the provider of choice as a result. However, a recent news report reveals that these assertions might be rather far from the truth. Complaints from more than fifty patients over the past few months have been received at the hospital; and after no resolution, one patient opted to contact the local media.

As a result, a news reporter has picked up the story, made a few calls, and within a few days produced a solid news report highlighting the poor quality of care received at their local hospital. Subsequently, the hospital experienced a consumer backlash against false advertisement and poor quality of care. Once the story aired, the Joint Commission grew interested in their quality programming and has since requested reaccrediting for compliance. Overall, the hospital’s decision to advertise that they were the best, the quickest, and the most efficient hospital was a mistake with substantial consequences.

Case Study 2: Lost in Translation

You have just accepted your first executive leadership role in healthcare administration. You’ve been working as an assistant administrator of a nursing home in the New York City; however, you’ve been in this role for the past five years and you’re ready to operate your own facility. You have the education, the experience, and the determination to succeed. The only problem is that there are no open positions anywhere near you. After careful considerations, you opt to expand your horizons in a different location and consider this “opportunity cost.”

Within a few months, you were picked up as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the healthcare system in the Midwest. You are super-excited as this is a big title. This is an executive leadership position. This means a big difference in salary. This is the beginning of your career in healthcare administration. You are pumped!

In reality, however, you were hired as the administrator of a rural healthcare facility that includes a nursing home, which subsequently requires your license to operate. The term CEO is used because your position oversees five mini-facilities on a small, farm-like campus. And your pay? Well, compared to the New York salaries, it is substandard. However, with 60% savings on your home in the country, as compared to the city, you are actually able to save some money.

One of your first tasks instructed by the board of directors is to increase customers at the clinic. The numbers had been slowly declining over the past few months, and the Board wants to see an increase in these numbers. Without a marketing director (or a department for that matter), you are responsible to ensure this initiative comes to fruition.

At the next board meeting, there is some confusion regarding your attempt to increase clientele. From your recollection, advertising is an excellent method to promote awareness, which increases clientele. You decided to use the same theory in practice. Surely, if it worked in such a successful city such as New York, it must work here as well. Recalling methods of advertising, you decide to select the most notable, the most creative, and the most target-reaching method you could think of—a huge billboard out on a highway, picturing a seeming photo model of a nurse providing care to another photo model of a patient. The name of the facility and the hours of operation are provided in large contrasting text. You walk into the meeting, proud of your accomplishment. However, you quickly realize that your enthusiasm is not shared by the board.

Although the content of your intended message was effective (name, location, and contact information), the selection of advertising technique (billboard) and marketing illustration (canned models) were not. You failed to realize that you are the only healthcare facility in the county; the community did not need a billboard reminding them, especially at the premium price it cost the organization. Likewise, you failed to consider the target audience. In this small town, if anyone’s picture is being plastered on a huge billboard, it would be better if it was of the real people from the town who seem to have a smiling face.

Additional Materials

From your course textbook, Health Care Market Strategy, read the following chapter:

· Step 10: Conclusion

From the South University Online Library, read the following articles:

· The Mistake Companies Make When Marketing to Different Cultures 

· How to Stop a Good Idea Going Bad 

· The Most Common Mistakes Companies Make with Global Marketing 

· Five Marketing Mistakes That Cost Your Health Care Organization Patients 

Demarketing

The concept of demarketing is not new; however, it has not been widely discussed in contemporary issues. Demarketing refers to the concept of decreasing demand for a product or service that is in limited supply. This is relative in healthcare, especially as medical supplies, products, and interventions are growing scarcer as the population using such services is increasing at an alarming rate. Likewise, demarketing is useful to change the behavior of a given population. Demarketing sits at the opposite spectrum of traditional marketing strategies and initiatives.

Take, for example, the concept of tobacco products. During the 1950s, the concept of smoking cigarettes was “cool, cheap, legal, and socially acceptable” (Rodrigues, 2009). Marketers took full advantage of the opportunity to place their products in every convenience store, airport, and movie theater in the country. By the mid-1960s, trends in cigarette smoking among adults reached 42.4% (CDC, 2016). Young adults were targeted and by the mid-90s, smoking by high school students reached 36.4% (CDC, 2016). It would appear that big tobacco corporations were successful in their marketing strategies. It wasn’t until 1951 when scientist Sir Richard Doll uncovered the correlation between smoking and lung cancer that sparked a nationwide initiative to increase efforts to protect the health and well-being of secondhand smokers (Rodrigues, 2009). Thereafter, new initiatives were developed to reduce smoking. Such demarketing initiatives proved to be successful as the current population of smokers has declined dramatically in the United States (CDC, 2016).

References:

· Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Trends in current smoking among high school students and adults, United States, 1965–2014. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/trends/cig_smoking/index.htm

· Rodrigues, J. (2009). When smoking was cool, cheap, legal and socially acceptable. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/apr/01/tobacco-industry-marketing

Demarketing Campaigns

Review each image to know more about some demarketing initiatives.

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Smoking Kills

Once the truth about nicotine was made aware to the public, demarketing initiatives began. Instead of advertising the “cool” effects of smoking cigarettes, real stories from suffering patients with lung cancer were advertised.

Get Fit and Fine Faster

Another demarketing initiative in the United States includes the reduction of advertising for the provision of long-term care services. As the population segment aged 65 and older rapidly increases, so does the demand for geriatric healthcare services, such as services offered in a skilled nursing facility. However, a limited number of available beds in this healthcare environment limits the number of individuals able to secure such services. As a result, long-term care advertising has reduced and other healthcare service options are marketing in its place.

Additional Materials

From the South University Online Library, read the following articles:

· Strategic Demarketing of Healthcare Services 

· Demarketing, Yes, Demarketing