$5-Assgn

Readings

· Course Text: Essentials of Health Care Marketing

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. Chapter 4, “Buyer Behavior" This chapter describes various factors that influence consumers’ decisions.

. Chapter 5, “Marketing Research" Health care organizations use marketing research to gather consumer information or data that informs their marketing strategies.

. Chapter 6, “Market Segmentation" This chapter addresses the premise that “the more tailored the marketing strategy is to subgroups within the population, the greater the resulting sales and customers" (Berkowitz, 2011, p. 226).

. Chapter 7, “Developing Customer Loyalty" “It has been increasingly documented that the costs of gaining a new customer are five times that of keeping a loyal one and that the retention of customers can lead to significant increases in profitability" (Berkowitz, 2011, p. 232). In health care, customer satisfaction has received increasing attention; yet, as this chapter points out, satisfaction is not the same as loyalty.

. Chapter 8, “Product Strategy" This chapter examines the classification of products and services, the product life cycle, and branding.