Sample Case Study On Missed Opportunities

Abstract

The researcher highlights that the key pros of new billboards placement from the perspective of Crestview Hospital are substantial increase in brand visibility / recognition and greater advantage in establishing new clientele. The only demerit is the high threat of competitive rivalry from Briarwood Hospital as its marketers will initiate aggressive marketing communications to ensure their public reach and sustain existing market share. Briarwood Hospital should opt for opening a second branch within Oakland city at any strategic destination to enhance its public reach followed by service portfolio extension and price reduction strategies. Briarwood should adopt an extensive online media marketing campaign such as email marketing, direct marketing and social media presence for effective and broad marketing communications. It is recommended to Crestview to adopt the same billboard placement strategy at other strategic locations as well in Oakland especially at busy commercial centers and public destinations. Also, it should develop a social marketing campaign of its own to standout in Oakland city against major competitor Briarwood.
This paper starts with the explanation of pros and cons from the perspective of Crestview Hospital of the placement of its new billboard directly adjacent to Briarwood Medical Center. The researcher then elaborates on the competitive marketing entry strategies to suggest the action that Briarwood Hospital should undertake to counter the messages in the new Crestview Hospital Billboard postings. In addition, the researcher will also recommend the marketing communication strategy or strategies that both Crestview and Briarwood Hospitals should employ. Finally, the paper includes an evaluation of the value of the various marketing research tools that Briarwood and Crestview hospital could use to promote effective marketing communication strategies.

Pros & Cons from the Perspective of Crestview Hospital

As far as the benefits from the perspective of Crestview Hospital are concerned, it should be highlighted that the placement of its new billboard directly adjacent to Briarwood Medical Center would surely be attraction of all passersby because of its strategic location and directions. Secondly, the new billboards will instigate angry customers of Briarwood Hospital who aim to switch to better quality services and prices. Third, the billboard placement will also be beneficial for Crestview authorities as they could increase their brand recognition, identity and recall rate, thereby convincing new customers to try its services. In other words, the investment in new marketing strategy will facilitate in reducing costs of establishing relationships with new customers. Next, the switch of existing clients of Briarwood Hospital to Crestview will further spur referral rate for the latter, which means a loss of market share for the dominant hospital in future. It should also be highlighted that Crestview Hospital is already an established medical institution in the community circles with substantial physical, human, financial, technical and organizational resources; therefore, the billboards will further dent the competitive edge of archrival Briarwood that faces intense rivalry with Crestview (Kotler & Keller, 2012).
The only negative aspect for Crestview Hospital will be the increase in competitive rivalry from Briarwood Hospital, which may opt for aggressive marketing communications strategy to downplay the potential adverse consequences of losing a strategy billboard placement location. In short, the Briarwood governing authorities could initiate an inclusive brand recall campaign using techniques of persuasive and reminder advertising to enhance customer engagement. Also, there is a threat of price rivalry for Crestview Hospital if Briarwood introduces certain discounted prices for medical services to retain existing clientele. The customers and community stakeholders will positively interpret the strategy of billboard positing as it promotes a healthcare institution and fosters competition between two large archrivals. Resultantly, the competition in healthcare industry will be prolific from a community’s perspective as both core institutions will enhance services quality, integrity of patient care and rational pricing to facilitate masses in anticipation of sustainment of market share.

Competitive Marketing Strategy for Briarwood Hospital

It’s high time for Briarwood Hospital to undertake competitive marketing strategies to counter the messages in the new Crestview Hospital Billboard postings. Now, it should be pinpointed that Briarwood has several options such as service portfolio extension (new services offering), service price reduction, new branch opening, service diversification and service partnerships with other industry players.
The researcher would suggest that Briarwood Hospital should unequivocally opt for opening a second branch within the Oakland city at any strategic destination to enhance its services offering to those customers who either face house-full or avoid Briarwood due to distance issues. In addition, the hospital authorities must also adopt service portfolio extension strategy to sustain their market reputation as industry leader and innovation-centered organization that constantly focuses on new solutions and preventive treatments. In this way, the hospital would not only attain a competitive advantage but also create a niche market for patients who could not get certain services at any other hospital but Briarwood across entire Oakland city. The major threat of Crestview’s new billboards placement could be partially minimized by introducing a discounting price list and services package for all customer segments. The hospital should offer substantial discount packages specifically for new and regular patients by introducing loyalty programs and financial saving plans for chronic patients. In addition, the regular customers should be offered family health cover and some additional services free of charge ambulance pick and drop, once-a-month home checkup and others etc. to build relationships for word-o-mouth marketing.

Recommendations for Crestview Hospital and Briarwood Hospital

It is recommended to the hospital marketers at Briarwood Hospital to urgently commence a brand recall strategy of which the first phase should be organizing seminars, symposiums, events and medical camps (for free medical checkups) across entire Oakland to ensure customer awareness and patient engagement. The events should receive print and electronic media coverage to enhance Briarwood brand recall and popularity in the social community circles. Indeed, the purpose of this marketing communications is to focus on how Briarwood Hospital is different from other medical institutions and why it’s better than competitors. On the other hand, the Briarwood’s should also adopt an extensive online media marketing campaign such as email marketing, direct marketing and social media presence for effective and broad marketing communications. The hospital governing board should direct marketing department to utilize patient data to offer special persuasive emails about certain free or low-cost services vouchers to all existing customers who could availed the special discounted offerings and perks within a month deadline. Nonetheless, the strategy will help building increased patient attendance and desire to make monetary savings on healthcare by using Briarwood’s medical services. The core objective of marketing communications is to retain the maximum percentage of existing clients and ensure greater engagement of frequent visitors. Hence, the damage from Crestview billboards advertising could be minimized and measured only when Briarwood’s existing customer inflows see negligible decline over the six months tenure.
First, it is recommended to Crestview to adopt the same billboard placement strategy at other a couple of strategic locations as well in Oakland especially at busy commercial centers and public destinations. This is subject to legal permissions and communal acceptance for healthcare advertising. The researcher would also like to emphasize that the Governing Board of Crestview Hospital must understand that a proactive role is compulsory in promoting and implementing effective marketing strategies. Therefore, the hospital strategic planners should prioritize marketing management in business expansion and growth because they are a profit-generating enterprise that aims to provide healthcare services for social good and generate profits for financial goods of owners and investors. For example, the institution should also initiate social marketing campaign to grapple with rising alcohol consumption, illicit drugs and obesity. This will enable Crestview in not only obtaining community support but also distinctively positioning its image as a societal stakeholder instead of merely a for-profit organization (Gordon, McDermott, Stead and Angus, 2006).

Evaluation of Marketing Research Tools

The marketing research is a continuous process for any for-profit or non-for-profit commercial and healthcare institution because it enables strategic planners to grasp market underpinnings, consumer perspectives and social rating of products and services. The various marketing research tools that Briarwood and Crestview hospital could use to promote effective marketing communication strategies are random consumer surveys on societal level, specific surveys of patients who have used particular services and treatments, unstructured interviews of patients and their care-takers (family, friends, nursing staff), behavioral observations, focus groups and interactive sessions with medical professionals, manufacturers, suppliers and stakeholders.
The aforementioned techniques are quite effective in attaining valuable insights not only about consumer experiences but also about producers’ perspective, judgments and assertions. The marketing is effective when demand and supply side forces and determinants are evaluated and incorporated in decision-making and problem-solving. For example, the Briarwood marketing professional had inclination for billboards placement but the CEO disregarded the recommendation. This could have been avoided if the governing board has analyzed the CEO’s marketing research ability and vision by using interactive session strategy before confirming CEO’s appointment for the strategic post.

References

Gordon, R., McDermott, L., Stead, M. and Angus, K. (2006). The effectiveness of social marketing interventions for health improvement: what’s the evidence? Public Health, 120(12) pp. 1133–1139
Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2012). Marketing Management. Pearson Prentice Hall, 14th edition
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