Abstract
Most families in the United States forego medical care due to financial budget strains that are as a result of the economic recession. The behavior is more salient in populations that require more preventive care especially in the field of radiology. There is, therefore, a need for medical practices to increase community outreach that would show the importance of not foregoing medical care. To do these, health care providers need to implement marketing programs and strategies that will enable them also to maintain their revenue. The article provides smart-marketing prescriptions that will not only allow health care providers to remain healthy during the recession but also place them in a position that will enable them to benefit from the recovery.
Sampling & Questionnaire Design
Introduction
With the economic state of New York facing a significant downturn, many patients have been responding to the strains created in their family budgets by forgoing health care services. This article critique looks at women in the United States foregoing medical care due to budget strains and the necessary marketing programs that should be implemented to ensure that patients are aware of the importance of not neglecting their health in the time of economic downturn.
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Rudisill, T. (2009). Smart Marketing in a Sick Economy. Radiology Business . Retrieved from https://www.radiologybusiness.com/topics/business/smart-marketing-sick-economy
Summary
The fact that many people choose to forego medical services due to budget strains that are as a result of the economic recession is alarming. The trend has proven to be more common in salient populations that need the health services more, especially those related to radiology practices. Most of these people are women and members of minority groups; this could be attributed to the fact that the recession affected women more compared to men (Social Watch, 2013) . Research from (NWHRC, 2009) has shown that cost has led to almost half of the women in the United States to forego medical services with Hispanic women leading at 58%, followed by white women at 43%, and African American women coming last at 42 % (Bank, 2018) . There is, therefore, a need for new strategies and marketing programs to increase community outreach that will be able to inform people about the importance of not neglecting their health during hard economic times.
The main research question was to identify recessionary marketing programs for healthcare services. The independent and dependent variables were an economic recession and medical care. The article looks at the situation from a commercial context, stating that patients may be receptive when they get to understand how ignoring their health due to financial difficulties may instead lead to even worse financial situations or impair their ability to perform their duties. By undertaking a marketing measure that creates awareness of the harm caused to patients when they forego their health, a business may be able to reduce the loss of revenue which is as a result of the patients who forgo healthcare. Many companies, however, cut their marketing budgets during economic recessions; this is labeled as a bad strategy as it results in both short and long-term negative impacts on profitability and revenue. The article goes further to prove that socially conscious marketing messages receive the most reception from consumers during the economic downturn.
One of the smart marketing practices provided in the article for radiology services is putting out messages that remind patients of the need for thinking about health care services aggressively. Cutting down marketing budgets during economic recessions is an unwise marketing approach for many businesses (Rudisill, 2009) . For radiology practices, some of the smart marketing practices that may position them to benefit include; taking a top-down approach instead of a bottom-up approach when venturing into the market. A bottom-up approach involves placing focus on specific deliverables without first strategically planning.
The best method for strategic marketing is top-down, which involves analyzing the current situation of a business, including its strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities, then developing objectives stating where the practice is heading. This approach then involves the creation of a marketing plan that assists a business to reach its goals from its current position. Secondly, the article highlights the importance of aligning business, medical and public-health objectives, with consumers remaining receptive during economic downtime to cause-related marketing, radiology practices, therefore, have an opportunity to create patient-focused programs which would provide crucial services to patients from preventive-medicine and public-health perspectives.
Third, firms should be able to differentiate specialty and practice. For radiology practice, a proper recessionary marketing strategy should be able to remind patients that it is necessary to cater for basic health procedures even during a recession. This ensures that they do not drive patients away from their practice to that of competitors. Differentiation begins with analyzing the factors that make your practice the better option; it includes analysis of factors such as expertise of your staff, the longevity of practice, current technology, etc. According to MarketingWorks (2009), u nderstanding and identifying the strengths of your practice is a critical strategic process. A substantial list of differentiators that are worked into marketing communications together with general messages regarding the importance of radiology, creates a strong brand that sets a practice apart.
Finally, a business should ensure that it hires a marketing company that has proven expertise and knowledge in healthcare to assist it in working effectively and delivering better returns. This is better than placing dependence on in-house efforts as in the long run; it may be able to save an organization’s money at a time of recession and also because the firm does not have to spend a lot of funds in implementation of a marketing program. Understanding wise practices are necessary for developing recessionary marketing strategies that are in line with the firm objectives and the set budget (Rudisill, 2009).
Merit and Deficits
The main question under discussion as per the article was to understand the necessary recessionary marketing programs for healthcare services primarily in radiology practice. This question to me is very interesting as one would generally assume that people place their health as a priority at all times. Another interesting fact was learning that most hospitals cut their marketing budget when hit with a recession, which is a poor strategy. The presented data on the economy and health-behavior during recession revealed that there was a challenge in the healthcare industry. The article successfully identified the reasons why most women and minority groups chose to cut on medical care with the major cause being cost. It also provides possible solutions to medical practices in a clear manner, while breaking down the data to allow for easier understanding and implementation.
The independent and dependent variable which in this case were the economic recession and medical care were well chosen and explained. From the article, healthcare providers were able to learn of the different marketing programs that they could adapt to help during the recession, mainly in retaining their customers and showing the patients why it was necessary not to forego medical care during the recession. For successful marketing programs, the article stated that healthcare service providers should think strategically and not tactically which requires a top-down approach to business. Secondly, business, medical and public health objectives need to be aligned for greater success, thirdly differentiating specialty from practice to accomplish the two main things especially in radiology. These are: remind patients that annual procedures are essential for health care and drive patients towards your practice and not to your competitor and finally hire a marketing company with expertise in your specific field. The article clearly defines these solutions making it easy for any company to take them up. I agree with the interpretations provided as they are structured in ways that will allow healthcare providers to achieve their objectives and increase revenue as per the set budget. Also, they have a significant impact on the patients and may work towards encouraging them not to forego medical care during the recession.
Through the information provided, major practices get to learn that by using smart marketing strategies they can up their game. This marketing strategies sometimes do not require a lot of money instead of implementing wise practices in everyday business operations can create a suitable and efficient recessionary marketing strategy for the firm (Haluk Köksal & Özgül, 2007) . There are many practices available in the healthcare industry, this article, however, mainly focuses on radiology practice. It is not clear whether the marketing strategies if implemented in other practices during the recession will also be successful. Overall the article is well structured and contains sufficient information that is backed up by research.
Making Connections
There are many marketing mistakes that most health care service providers make during the economic recession. This includes cutting the marketing programs budget, practicing ‘feel good’ marketing and trying out different ideas (Healthcare Success, 2013). When economic anxiety is on the rise, some firms rush to cut costs especially on activities they consider not important (Solar, 2018). During an economic downturn, it is common for people to forego medical activities including checkups, etc. However, health care providers can learn through the article how using proper marketing strategies can influence patients to engage in healthcare even during a recession.
Feel good marketing involves benign marketing which includes activities such as sponsoring football teams, giveaways, etc. While this strategy may seem safe, it does not provide major results. By working without a marketing plan, health care providers may engage in different marketing strategies during a recession which may lead to more loss of resources and revenue. The article provides the necessary knowledge to the field or recession marketing allowing healthcare providers to get various strategies that they can use and also how to implement them. It has provided answers to many questions that I had as it is vast and is accompanied with well-researched information.
The article is biased, as it is clear from the research provided that the healthcare industry is no longer recession resistant. It also goes ahead to provide evidence from the National Women Health Resource Center that showed that almost half of the women in the United States forego medical care due to costs. For future research, I believe it would be necessary to show how different healthcare service providers implement different marketing strategies and the results obtained. This would work as proof that the marketing programs provided by the article are indeed efficient.
Conclusion
Through the research, it was clear that most of the people whose medical care is affected by the economic recess are women. Most of them prefer to skip on healthcare to save money, and this may cost them later. It is the responsibility of practices to ensure that they have made this known to many people, therefore, influencing their decision to cut on medical care. To do this, service providers must, therefore, implement marketing strategies that will enable them to retain their patients and maximize their revenue. The article was able to clearly define smart marketing prescriptions to enable different practices to remain active during the recession and gain benefit after the recovery. For health care providers especially the radiology practice, these practices if implemented could bring significant changes in their client retainment and maximizing profits.
References
Bank, R. (2018, March 29). Rising Health Costs Prompt Women to Neglect Health | HealthyWomen. Retrieved January 19, 2019, from https://www.healthywomen.org/content/press-release/rising-health-costs-prompt-women-neglect-health
Haluk Köksal, M., & Özgül, E. (2007). The relationship between marketing strategies and performance in an economic crisis. Marketing Intelligence & Planning , 25 (4), 326-342. doi:10.1108/02634500710754574
HealthCareSuccess. (2013, July 25). Medical Marketing Recession - Dental Marketing Recession - Healthcare Marketing Recession. Retrieved January 19, 2019, from https://www.healthcaresuccess.com/blog/healthcare-marketing/how-to-use-marketing-to-win-patients-despite-our-current-economic-crisis.html
MarketingWorks. (2009, April 12). SMART MARKETING IN A SICK ECONOMY. Retrieved January 19, 2019, from https://marketingworks.net/talk/smart-marketing-in-a-sick-economy/
National Women’s Health Resource Center (NWHRC 2008) rising health costs prompt women to neglect health. Retrieved January 19, 2019, from http://www.healthywomen.org/womentalk2008/1222008_01.html .
Rudisill, T. (2009). Smart Marketing in a Sick Economy. Radiology Business . Retrieved from https://www.radiologybusiness.com/topics/business/smart-marketing-sick-economy
Social Watch. (2013, August 1). Global Financial Crisis Affecting Especially Women. Retrieved January 19, 2019, from https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/218-injustice-and-inequality/52461-global-financial-crisis-affecting-especially-women.html
Solar, R. (2018, January 24). Strategies to roar out of a recession for private healthcare companies. Retrieved January 19, 2019, from https://www.liveseysolar.com/strategies-recession-private-healthcare-companies/
