4Ps of Marketing Plan for Medical Practices
Published on Dec 13, 2015
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4 Ps of Marketing plan for Medical Practice
Photo by Alex E. Proimos
“This world was not built with random bricks of chance
A blind god is not destiny's architect;
A conscious power has drawn the plan of life,
There is a meaning in each curve and line”.
Photo by Lars Plougmann
Success in establishing any business including Medical Practice/Clinic is not a random brick of chance!
Rather, a conscious process and planning is required to achieve what we call a business success story.
Marketing Plan is an essential element of any business including Medical Practices (or) Multi-Specialty Clinics (or) Out-patient Diagnostic and Surgery Centers.
4 P’s of marketing plan is comprised of PRODUCT, PRICE, PLACE and PROMOTION!
PRODUCT
Healthcare is a services industry and the nature of this product allows for on the spot customization.
This also means that the point at which this activity is occurring becomes very important.
To ensure repeat experiences of similar quality and a consistently good user experience, most service providers aim to give some customization within an overall standardized mode of delivery.
Providers’ ultimate goal is to reduce or eliminate health concerns from patients.
PRICE
Price is one of the Marketing Elements that is less leveraged in a Medical Practice.
Invariably payment towards healthcare services rendered is controlled by Insurance Companies’ through a terminology called “Approved Amount” or “Contracted Amount”.
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This applies to most Medical Practices that are participating with various Health Insurance Plans.
A practice may participate in various incentive programs from insurance companies or quality initiatives to curtail overall cost of care for patients.
A practice has a choice to stay out-of-network with Insurance Companies’ and define their own price based on “Quality of Care”, “Experience”, “Ambience” and “Overhead”.
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This may require an excessive scrutiny of patients’ benefits with their Health Insurance
It is essential that Health Insurance covers care provided by out-of-network providers.
Patient may have to contribute a portion of this cost towards co-insurance or deductible.
In a nutshell, the price is not a competitive advantage in a Medical Practice Marketing Mix.
PLACE
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Place (Product Distribution) is the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user, using direct means, or using indirect means with intermediaries.
The healthcare service is produced and consumed in the same place. It cannot be owned and taken away from the location.
This is why the place at which this transaction occurs is of vital importance.
The location of the service provision is carefully analyzed to allow ease of access and the desire to make the effort to reach it.
It is essential that Providers’ from Medical Practices are providing services to their patients in an entire spectrum of care.
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This includes office, skilled nursing homes, hospitals, daycare centers (or) adult homes.
PROMOTION
Promotion fulfills the same role as it does in any other marketing context.
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A healthcare service may not be more easily replicated than a physical product.
Photo by kevin dooley
The promotion is a process of establishing communication with patients and outside world to show that the ‘Practice’ delivers an accessible and accountable care.
Practice provides an assurance of quality towards the clinical decision making provided by caregivers.
To prevent a service becoming interchangeable with its competitors, it becomes vital to create a desirable brand image and name in the market.
Differentiation becomes a key goal in order to attract both new and repeat patients.
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