Sociology

The changing healthcare environment has brought marketing front and center. Most of the trends affecting healthcare point to the need for increased marketing involvement, and all of the current developments in healthcare have a marketing dimension. As more interface is required between healthcare organizations and their environments, the role of the marketer will only grow in importance. More and more, marketing is becoming the action end of healthcare.

Research Objectives
Building awareness With the introduction of new products and the emergence of an informed consumer, healthcare organizations were required to build awareness of their services and expose target audiences to their capabilities.

Improving market penetration Healthcare organizations were faced with growing competition, and marketing represented a means for increasing patient volumes, growing revenues, and gaining market share. With few new patients in many markets, marketing was critical for retaining existing customers and attracting customers from competitors.

Influencing consumer decision making Once it was realized that the consumer had a role to play in healthcare decision making, the role of marketing in influencing this process was recognized. Whether it involved convincing consumers to decide on a particular organizations services or to speed up the decision-making process, marketing was becoming increasingly important.

Data Sources
Primary Data Collection (Reasons) Primary data collection involves the use of surveys, focus groups, observational methods and other techniques for the stated purpose of obtaining information on a specific topic. Primary research is likely to be used when certain types of data cannot be acquired from secondary sources.

Sources (1) conduct a set of interviews to determine current consumer attitudes about the service and (2) conduct a pilot study in which consumer perception of the proposed service is measured (primary experimental data) (3) Survey (4) Observation (5) Focus groups (6) Experiments (7) Case studies
Secondary Data Collection (Reasons) Secondary data refers to data gathered for some other purpose besides planning, marketing, or business development but that is nevertheless of value in the formulation of marketing strategy. Secondary data is the bread-and-butter of marketing research and should be used whenever possible. Indeed, the most effective marketing researchers are those who know how to find, access and interpret secondary data (Kindig, 1997).

Sources (1) examine hospital records for information relating to past introductions of similar services (2) Many of the sources of data used by marketers in other industries can be accessed by healthcare marketers, although it may sometimes be necessary to seek out health-specific data sources (3) Government Agencies (4) Professional Associations (5) Private Organizations (6) Commercial Data Vendors

Research Instruments
Marketers can gain access to the Internet for literature reviews and other sources of relevant information. Most bibliographic databases can be accessed through the Internet and any number of other sources. The data collection process can take a variety of forms, but will typically involve both primary data collection and the use of secondary data.

Research InstrumentPurpose  Reason for UseObservationData collection by means of observation is performed according to specified rules based on stated objectives. Observational methods are typically used in marketing research when data cannot be obtained through interviews or from secondary sources.Individual and Group InterviewsIn-depth interviews typically involve one respondent and one interviewer. The in-depth interview is of value when the respondent must be probed regarding his or her answers. Complicated questions or questions that do not lend themselves to simple dichotomous responses often require personal interviews.Mail SurveysMail surveys have the advantage of being a relatively inexpensive way to collect data. These surveys also provide anonymity to the respondent and eliminate potential interviewer bias.ExperimentsAllows for the isolation of a phenomenon in a controlled setting that eliminates other influences useful for testing concepts and materials.Case studiesAllows detailed description of a programs operation andor the experiences of participants identifies positivenegative attributes of the program provides basis for development of quantitative methods.Computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI)CATI has become increasingly common among survey researchers, and inexpensive software has made this technology available to most interviewers.

Sampling Plan
Who Will Be Surveyed
A marketing activity must be directed to someone or something and a number of terms are used to refer to the target for marketing. After having answered the question What are we marketing, the next question becomes To whom are we marketing it Just as the healthcare product has been undergoing change, so has the healthcare customer.

Producers of consumer health products have always had their purchasers and insurance plans their members, but now the customer for healthcare providers is being transformed from a patient into a consumer, customer, client, or some other manifestation that is more in keeping with the current healthcare environment. Some of the targets of healthcare marketers are consumers, customers, clients, patients, enrollees, end-users (Pointer and Orlikoff, 2002).

Number of Respondents
How large s sample Much folklore surrounds this question. One false believe is that a sample must be large or it is not representative. In random sampling there are a number of important factors which affect the size of sample. Since a sample is only a partial reflection of the population from which it is drawn. It must be an acceptable representation of the population, but what is acceptable Ultimately this is determined by the researcher by evaluating (1) the desired size of the interval range around the estimated parameter and (2) an acceptable confidence level for the estimate.

Selection of Respondents
Given the wide range of customer types, it may be difficult to know where to best focus the marketing effort. The situation may not always be clear-cut. With a general medical practice or a hospital, customers may arrive at the door through a variety of paths. Patients may be self-referred or, in the case of the hospital, choose a particular emergency room. They may be referred by a physician or other clinician or even by some other type of referral agent (e.g., social service agency). They may be channeled to the organization by a health plan or managed care organization.

Market segmentation can take a number of different forms and some of the more common are describe below. Selection can be based on demographic segmentation, geographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation, usage segmentation, and payor segmentation.

Contact Methods
Research InstrumentPurpose  Reason for UseThe InternetThe Internet is already becoming a force with regard to health data. Although the focus at the time of this writing has been on consumer-oriented health information on the World Wide Web, data for use by health professionals is rapidly expanding.
Face-to-Face SurveysThese surveys represent a valuable method for collecting data when the respondent must be probed regarding his or her answers. Complicated questions or questions that require explication on the part of the interviewer can best be handled in a face-to-face situation.Telephone InterviewsTelephone interviews represent a quick way to acquire information. Using multiple interviewers in a telephone interview bank, considerable data can be acquired in a short timeframe.