Week 3 How Health Care Buyers Make Choices Discussion

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Introduction:
Healthcare is an ever-evolving field, and its marketing strategies are becoming more and more essential to attract patients and buyers. As a medical professor, I understand the importance of teaching medical students about the buying decision process and how marketing plays a crucial role in the health care industry. In this answer, I will analyze SWOT and FIVE Factors analyses and determine which one is more valuable from a marketing perspective, along with providing specific examples and how they could be used to support informed marketing efforts.

1. Analyze the SWOT and FIVE Factors Analyses and determine which would be more valuable from a marketing perspective. Provide specific examples of how you could use the results of either analysis to support informed marketing efforts.

Both SWOT and FIVE Factors Analyses are essential marketing tools and help to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, potential threats and competitors in the healthcare industry. SWOT analysis focuses on the internal environment of an organization, while the FIVE Factors Analysis looks outward and identifies several external factors such as social, economic, and political aspects that can impact an organization.

From a marketing perspective, I believe FIVE Factors Analysis is more valuable as it considers external factors that are beyond the organization’s control. Identifying the significant external factors can help the organization develop an informed marketing strategy that will provide better insight into a potential target audience, competitors, and market trends that can be leveraged to promote products and services.

For instance, identifying a potential target audience, such as the elderly population, requires healthcare marketing strategies that are different from a younger generation marketing approach.

2. Recall a situation in which you sought health care of some type (not including care for an injury or illness). Determine if your situation followed the five steps of the buying decision model and what role marketing may have played in your seeking care. How does the personal decision differ from the organization buying decision process? Provide specific examples and rationale to support your response.

I required knee surgery recently, and it followed the five steps of the buying decision model. The five steps include recognizing the problem, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase evaluation.

For example, at the information search stage, I researched knee surgery and read reviews of potential clinicians. The marketing strategy played a critical role as the information I accessed about the best available knee surgery options and doctors resulted from a comprehensive marketing approach. Through targeted marketing and advertising, the best possible treatment for my condition was communicated effectively, resulting in me choosing a clinic that provided excellent service.

The personal decision-making process differs from the organizational decision-making process. In an organizational setting, several people can have input into a particular purchasing decision, and budgets are allocated to make that decision. In my personal decision-making process, I have the power to make a final decision, and finances are not as much of a deciding factor.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, marketing plays a vital role in the healthcare industry, and it is essential to understand the buying decision process to develop an informed marketing strategy. Through a FIVE Factors Analysis, organizations can develop a better understanding of external factors that impact their brand awareness, sales, and marketing efforts. Furthermore, understanding the buying decision model is crucial for healthcare professionals to understand patient behavior and we can ensure providing the best care to our patients.