Title: Positioning your service to target key buying influences: the case of referring physicians and hospitals
By: Rajshekhar (Raj) G. Javalgi, W. Benoy Joseph and
William R. Gombeski Jr
Source: Journal of Services Marketing Vol. 9, No, 5 1995 pp.42-52, MCB University Press. 0887-6045
1.0 Introduction
In the modern era today, not only the commercial products can implement the positioning strategy, but the hospital nowadays in USA are trying to carry out the positioning strategy in order to obtain more patients among the competition. The objective of this research is to:
a) Explore the positioning implications of referring physicians’ perceptions and evaluations of tertiary care hospitals.
- Perceptual map is used to examine positioning options and strategies for several tertiary care hospitals in the
b) Highlight the importance of correspondence analysis in assessing a business’ image.
- The physician’s expectations are playing a crucial role in making decision for the patients to undergo certain treatments. Therefore, the particular hospitals are able to position their services by referring to the strength/weakness and improve their service by knowing competitor’s position.
This research focuses on tertiary care hospitals. According to this journal, tertiary care hospitals are those that provide specialized medical services and depend extensively on referrals from physicians or from community hospitals. In this case, physicians play an important role in deciding the hospital for the patients for further treatment. Positioning strategy must be imposed on the physician in order to influence their decision making in choosing hospitals.
In this research, physicians are assigned to fill in the evaluation form when making decision for the patients. They filled in the form with expectations of the hospitals and did not rate the hospitals.
According to this research, evidence suggests that the physician is important to hospitals for at least three major reasons:
- Physicians decide the patient’s length of hospital stay.
- Physicians decide whether to admit their patients to a particular hospital based on past experiences and perceptions of the hospital and its offerings.
- Physicians’ decisions to admit patients to a hospital affect that hospital’s cost per patient-day (Mackay and Lamb Jr, 1988).
1.2 Terms of positioning
The purpose of market positioning is to have potential customer perceive your product or service in a particular way that not only differentiates it from the competition but also makes them more likely to want to buy from you. (Alpha, E.P, 2003) From the book named “The complete idiot’s guide to starting your own business.”
2.0 Suggestions after the Research by Using Positioning Strategy
There are four suggestions by the author after the analysis is done:
a) Strengthening the hospital’s marketing position through effective communications
- For instance, Hospital E’s strengths in organ transplant should be reinforced with communications such as advertising, publicity, personal or telephone contact.
- They should attract physicians who have not made referrals in the past and promote its strength or competitive advantages in credible campaigns and promotions. These efforts are to create awareness of the physicians and induce their loyalty in choosing the hospital.
b) Creating a differentiated position or niche
- Every hospital can be differentiated by its quality and reputation among the competitions, which are the facilities, equipments, and the environment of the hospital.
- In the competitive situation, this is one of the methods to compare or differentiate its special features. Physicians are more likely to evaluate the hospitals by comparing the uniqueness or strength of a hospital.
- Niche means limit their service to concentrate on a narrow service line, distribution channel or target market. For example, since hospital E is dominant in organ transplant, it can become the local or regional benchmark for organ transplant.
c) Establishing ongoing physician relationship
- This suggestion’s objective is to promote physician’s bonding and loyalty on certain service. The stronger the perceived image of the hospital and its offerings, the easier it is to establish networking programs and relationships with the referring physician market.
- They have to organize a program that not only to strengthen the existing relationship between hospital’s staff physicians and referring physicians, but also to foster new relationships.
d) Strengthening hospital reputation through sponsorship of tutorial, educational, and CME programs.
- This effort is to promote the reputation of the hospital and publicity in order to compete among the hospitals.
- Normally, the sponsor’s name will be mentioned during a program and this is the time for the hospital to promote their service more effectively.
2.0 Conclusion
This journal indicates the competition of the hospital and suggests the way to promote their service. It also tells us not only a product or service needs positioning, but hospital service also needs positioning and it is getting more commercialize nowadays.
3.0 Application
In
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4.0 Positioning Strategies
There are seven positioning strategies that can be pursued:
Product Attributes: What is the specific product attributes?
Benefits: What are the benefits to the customers?
Usage Occasions: When / how can the product be used?
Users: Identify a class of users.
Against a Competitor: Positioned directly against a competitor.
Away from a Competitor: Positioned away from competitor.
Product Classes: Compared to different classes of products
Source: http://www.determan.net/Michele/mposition.htm
Author: Michele
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