Convenience, quality, and accessibility are key features patients look for when staying with a healthcare system. If a system is lacking particular services or specialties, it is important that the organization takes steps to develop a comprehensive network or at least partnerships with providers that can provide the needed care (Huang, 2012). The comprehensiveness of the network reduces the need for the patient to seek care elsewhere and potentially be permanently lost from the system. According to a study conducted by the Health Service and Research Trust, consumers that are part of a larger healthcare system are less likely to leave the system for another (Carlin, 2012). Most, if not all, of the services needed exist within their healthcare network increasing ease of accessibility and convenience. In addition to possessing an extensive service line, health organization must proactively make consumers of these services. Aggressive marketing must continuously occur so that both consumer and referring physicians are aware of the specialties and services available within the system. In their article, Market Orientation Gap and Its Impact on Relationship “Perceptual Quality and Patient Loyalty: The Role of Internal Quality”, the authors suggest a triangular relationship of service marketing be employed by organizations. This approach to marketing the organization’s services includes: 1) external marketing- relations between customers and the organization, 2) interactive marketing: relations between customers and employees, and 3) internal marketing: the relations between organizations and employees (Huang, 2012). Creating awareness among all points of access to the system is a fundamental step in bringing in and retaining patient volume. Figure 2 below shows this three-pronged approach to marketing. Figure 2: Three-pronged approach to marketing services
Convenience, quality, and accessibility are key features patients look for when staying with a healthcare system. If a system is lacking particular services or specialties, it is important that the organization takes steps to develop a comprehensive network or at least partnerships with providers that can provide the needed care (Huang, 2012). The comprehensiveness of the network reduces the need for the patient to seek care elsewhere and potentially be permanently lost from the system. According to a study conducted by the Health Service and Research Trust, consumers that are part of a larger healthcare system are less likely to leave the system for another (Carlin, 2012). Most, if not all, of the services needed exist within their healthcare network increasing ease of accessibility and convenience. In addition to possessing an extensive service line, health organization must proactively make consumers of these services. Aggressive marketing must continuously occur so that both consumer and referring physicians are aware of the specialties and services available within the system. In their article, “Perceptual Market Orientation Gap and Its Impact on Relationship Quality and Patient Loyalty: The Role of Internal Quality”, the authors suggest a triangular relationship of service marketing be employed by organizations. This approach to marketing the organization’s services includes: 1) external marketing- relations between customers and the organization, 2) interactive marketing: relations between customers and employees, and 3) internal marketing: the relations between organizations and employees (Huang, 2012). Creating awareness among all points of access to the system is a fundamental step in bringing in and retaining patient volume. Figure 2 below shows this three-pronged approach to marketing. Figure 2: Three-pronged approach to marketing services
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