Marketing mix of Healthcare Success
The process which is implemented for marketing the healthcare based products is not quite different from the marketing based process of normal small or big organizations. The marketing of healthcare based services is thereby considered to be an important process which is helpful for the organizations to reach the prospective consumers. Different marketing based principles which are applicable in the marketing of healthcare products include, strategic planning, competitive research, positioning, budgeting, marketing based strategies, branding, public relations (Izogo and Ogba 2015).
The analysis will be based on the products or services which are offered by a healthcare based organization. The organization which has been taken into consideration for the analysis is United Healthcare. The company mainly believes in the process of scientific marketing which is helpful for the organizations in healthcare based sector in order to operate in the industry. The marketing based process which is thereby implemented by the organization is unique in nature. The organization helps people to live healthy lives and develop trusted relationships with the consumers as well (Healthcareglobal.com 2018).
According to Chakraborty, Bhattacharya and Dobrzykowski (2014), the characteristics which are shown by the users of the healthcare based services which are offered by the organizations in the industry are based on their specific needs and demands. The organizations which are a part of the healthcare based industry thereby need to analyse the needs of consumers in order to provide them with the appropriate services. United Healthcare is considered to be a large healthcare provider in the USA. The organization mainly serves some major areas which are based on the consumers of healthcare services and the sponsors as well.
The organization aims at providing effective levels of assistance to people in the country who require healthcare based services. United Healthcare thereby offers huge number of programs which are based on the health based benefits which are offered to the individuals, employers and Medicaid beneficiaries as well. The organization and operations are based on more than 6000 hospitals and 800,000 physicians as well. The major consumers or users of United Healthcare are those people who wish for healthier lives and further make their health based system in an effective manner (Izogo and Ogba 2015). The organization is aiming at developing a system which is connected in nature and much more affordable as well. The consumers in this sector also wish for high levels of sustainability in the services which are being offered to them.
Product
The market or industry in which United Healthcare has its operations is highly competitive in nature. The organization thereby needs to develop the operations in such a manner which will be able to play a key role in attracting the consumers. The growth of revenues of the competitors is at par with the growth which is shown by United Healthcare. The competitors of United Healthcare include different organizations which include, the insurance based companies, outsourcing organizations and the healthcare professionals as well. The most prominent companies which are considered to be competitors of United Healthcare are Humana Inc., Aetna Inc., Cigna Corporation, Well Point Inc. (Kemp, Jillapalli and Becerra 2014).
The entry of various new organizations is also able to affect the ways by which United Healthcare is able to increase the revenue based levels. The factors which are related to the competition faced by United Healthcare include, marketing operations, sales, pricing of the services and products, customer satisfaction levels, consumer engagement and the quality of services and products. The financial strength which has been developed by the company is also considered to be a major competitive factor which is faced by United Healthcare. The organization has been able to gain huge share in the healthcare based market with the help of its variety of services and products (Kitapci, Akdogan and Dortyol 2014).
The level of revenues gained by United Healthcare in the industry has reduced in the recent years. However, the organization has been able to maintain its competitive share in the market in an effective manner. The competitors have been able to affect the revenues of United Healthcare in a huge manner which has started reducing the profitability. The level of net margin which has been developed by the company has been helpful for United Healthcare in gaining high profitability as compared to the other organizations. The competition which is faced by different companies in the industry is quite fierce which can be considered to be a threat to the revenues and market share as well (Lonial and Raju 2015).
Recommendations – The major recommendations which can be provided to the organization for future marketing based success are related to deciding the prices based on needs of consumers. The health packages which can be developed by the organizations are based on requirements of the consumers or patients in the healthcare industry.
Marketing mix of the organization is helpful in analysis of the company or the brand which is based on the 4 Ps including, product, price, place and promotion. This analysis is also helpful in explaining marketing based strategy which is developed and implemented by United Healthcare.
Price
Product – United Healthcare mainly offers the products with the help of two different business platforms which can serve around 70 million consumers in the country. The organization is considered to be a Health Benefits based platform which can serve various markets in diverse geographic areas. The organization thereby provides a wide range of benefits related to health products to the individuals, employers and families (Lovelock and Patterson 2015). The organization is also known for offering coverage based services including vision and dental coverage, health coverage, Medicaid plans and Medicare, value related care and solutions related to global health. A major part of the operations of United Healthcare is Optum which is a software that offers the services to the consumers.
Price – The services which are offered by the organization are also based on different price based ranges. The prices which are offered by United Health Group to the consumers are also quite varied and diverse in nature. Prices are thereby dependent on the coverage or plans which are selected by the consumers. Different types of consumers have varied needs which are related to the selection of effective coverages. The prices which are thereby decided by the organization are also able to affect the consumers and products which are offered to them (Meesala and Paul 2018).
Place – The presence of United Healthcare in USA is quite high. The organization is also able to serve different market based areas which are considered to be helpful for its operations. United Healthcare aims to target the international market in an effective manner with the help of proper services which are provided at prices which are suitable for the consumers. The different markets which are being targeted by the organization and its products mainly include, India, Brazil, UK and Portugal. Different areas and markets are thereby able to fulfil the requirements which are related to place factor of marketing mix (Mosadeghrad 2014).
Promotion – United Healthcare has also been able to develop its position in the social media with the help of different platforms which include, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube. The organization is known in the health industry for offering different types of services. The tools are used for management of claims, tracking the expenses and further storing the information based on family health in a secure manner. The organization aims at promoting the products with the help of print based ads in the newspapers and magazines and television ads (Sargeant and MACQUILLIN 2016). The CSR based efforts which have been implemented by the organization are related to the solutions that are offered for different health challenges. The communities are provided with maximum levels of help by the customers of United Healthcare.
Place
The pricing strategy which has been implemented by United Healthcare is based on the ways by which the organization is able to provide the services at best value. The services offered by the organization to customers are rewarding and easily accessible as well. The organization is able to provide the products and services to the consumers with the help of collaboration with other organizations (Talib, Azam and Rahman 2015). The prices are decided in such a manner which is able to attract more consumers towards the organization. The relationship which is developed by the organization with the customers is based on the prices of different services. United Healthcare can expand its operations in other market areas with the help of proper prices which are set by the organization (Vogus and McClelland 2016).
Conclusion
The analysis can be concluded by stating that United Healthcare has been able to develop an effective position in the industry with the help of its services. The marketing mix which has been created by the organization is also related to the expansion of services in other areas. The pricing based strategy has been able to play a key role in the attracting the customers. The organization can create its position in the industry with the help of proper promotions and marketing mix as well.
References
Chakraborty, S., Bhattacharya, S. and Dobrzykowski, D.D., 2014. Impact of supply chain collaboration on value co-creation and firm performance: a healthcare service sector perspective. Procedia Economics and Finance, 11, pp.676-694.
Healthcareglobal.com 2018. UnitedHealthcare. [online] Healthcareglobal.com. Available at: https://www.healthcareglobal.com/company/unitedhealthcare [Accessed 26 Nov. 2018].
Izogo, E.E. and Ogba, I.E., 2015. Service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty in automobile repair services sector. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 32(3), pp.250-269.
Kemp, E., Jillapalli, R. and Becerra, E., 2014. Healthcare branding: developing emotionally based consumer brand relationships. Journal of Services Marketing, 28(2), pp.126-137.
Kitapci, O., Akdogan, C. and Dortyol, I.T., 2014. The impact of service quality dimensions on patient satisfaction, repurchase intentions and word-of-mouth communication in the public healthcare industry. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 148, pp.161-169.
Lonial, S. and Raju, P.S., 2015. Impact of service attributes on customer satisfaction and loyalty in a healthcare context. Leadership in health Services, 28(2), pp.149-166.
Lovelock, C. and Patterson, P., 2015. Services marketing. Pearson Australia.
Meesala, A. and Paul, J., 2018. Service quality, consumer satisfaction and loyalty in hospitals: Thinking for the future. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 40, pp.261-269.
Mosadeghrad, A.M., 2014. Factors influencing healthcare service quality. International journal of health policy and management, 3(2), p.77.
Sargeant, A. and MACQUILLIN, I., 2016. Marketing for nonprofit organisations. In The Marketing Book (pp. 555-576). Routledge.
Talib, F., Azam, M. and Rahman, Z., 2015. Service quality in healthcare establishments: A literature review. International Journal of Behavioural and Healthcare Research, 5(1-2), pp.1-24.
Vogus, T.J. and McClelland, L.E., 2016. When the customer is the patient: Lessons from healthcare research on patient satisfaction and service quality ratings. Human Resource Management Review, 26(1), pp.37-49.
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