An Analysis of the Competitive Marketing Strategies of the Hospitality Industry - Case Study Example

Mayo Clinic, which is based in Minneapolis, in Minnesota, USA, offers many services and products to the patients and the public. The clinic’s conversion into a non-profit making entity in 1919 was a bold step towards development and progression. The clinic is the center for quality and sustainable healthcare and charity service delivery.

Mayo Clinic SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Mayo Clinic emphasizes on research and innovation services. The initiative of the medical center enhances multidisciplinary focus, which boosts innovation within the clinic. The move helps the clinic to devise new strategies for treating patients with different medical complications. According to Mayo Clinic Model of Care (2014), preventive techniques are also devised in the application of research and educational activities. The clinic also focuses on quality service delivery, which is the bottom-line of any healthcare. In this regard, the clinic ensures quality in all aspects of healthcare service delivery. The clinic has experienced staff and state-of-the-art medical equipment. These promote the delivery of quality services given that the clinic specializes in medical complexities. The aspect of quality is also manifest in the time a patient is served and the rate of mortality rates.

The low rate of surgical infections also indicates the clinic’s quality service delivery. The patients are given adequate time to explain their ailment profile, which motivates and serves as a psychotherapy. Patients deserve respect, dignity, utmost attention and a sense of belonging. Furthermore, the clinic ensures that the appointments are always on time. According to Olsen & Dacy (2014), the availability of doctors also promotes the quality of services offered at the mega-clinic. Customers' decision of a human services association is controlled by their assessment of the option social insurance associations on the accompanying striking characteristics, specialists, restorative innovation, nursing care, physical offices, administration, and morals.

Weaknesses

The Mayo health system has low ranking in the world healthcare system. This is as a result of a combination of various challenges within and without the clinic. Additionally, the clinic has a variation in the intensity of care. The clinic is challenged to maintain consistency in the delivery of services at all its hospitals. According to Peters et al (2014), cultural diversity of employees at any organization spells disaster in case of lack of coordination and synergy in the dispensation of duties. Communication will be compromised in case of lack of cooperation of the employees. The interpretation of various languages should be done to boost the quality of services rendered to non-native English speaking patients. The lack of availability of processes and systems data is a weakness, which is negatively impacting the operations at the Clinic.

Opportunities

The clinic has a lucrative opportunity of converting its research and innovation into reality. The innovative nature of the clinic harnesses opportunities for progression within the clinic. Additionally, the research and innovativeness of the clinic enhance the quality of service delivery. According to Massimino, Joseph & Kopelman (2015), innovativeness procures efficient systems in the treatment of patients. The clinic is also seeking affiliates with other medical entities in order to expand its operations into new market niches. Such partnerships will also enhance the clinic’s competitiveness in the healthcare industry. It will also enable the company to undertake objective benchmarking. For instance, the clinic established the Mayo Clinic Care Network. The network links the clinic with other hospitals with an aim of broadening its scope.

The clinic is also renowned with the integration of confidential medical record. Such an initiative is vital for a patient because many patients value the privacy of their ailments. The clinic has an integrated medical record system. The system incorporates the schedules for patients, which eases the allocation of patients to various medical specialists. The system maintained by the clinic captures a wide range of data for the patients. This includes the availability of the patient, laboratory tests, and diagnosis. Moreover, the system enables the doctors to access the patient’s medical profile to enhance objectivity treatment. In fact, such strength boosts and fosters collaboration in the treatment of a patient.

Threats

One of the threats affecting the clinic is the salary-based compensation system. The system leads to an increase in the fixed cost of the hospital. Additionally, the lack of highly qualified medical practitioners is a major challenge for the Mayo clinic. According to Desai, (2013), many medical experts are critical of the researches and innovations made by Mayo clinic. This compromises the credibility of the clinic’s innovations and novelty. The trend of the clamor for medical practitioner’s welfare improvement is a cause for alarm for the clinic. For instance, the medics are demanding reimbursements of costs like calls and other auxiliary services delivered. The clinic is also faced with business risks and stiff competition. The rise in the cost of raw materials is a big threat for the clinic.

Overview and Assessments of Services Provided

Among the services clinic, offers to the patients is the healthy living program and medical products. The medical laboratory services are also offered to the clients at par values because Mayo clinic is non-profit making organization. The organization also runs a health plan administration. The administration encompasses all healthcare processes within the clinic. The Mayo Clinic Global business solutions are also another service offered by the clinic aiming at boosting the business prospects of members (Mayo Clinic Model of Care, 2014). Moreover, the clinic ensures that its personnel accesses career development opportunities. Such opportunities lead to quality service delivery. Patient education materials are also offered to boost the medical literacy of the patents. In fact, such materials are vital because they educate and enlighten the patients on the preventive measures of some maladies.

The Mayo Clinic health letter also enlightens the patients and the public on healthy lifestyles and habits. The clinic also offers social services to the patients and the public. According to Olsen & Dacy (2014), counseling and guidance enhance recuperation of patients. The social service also boosts the coping mechanism of the patients with terminal illness. Furthermore, the clinic attends to issues related to family separations. The clinic takes care of the issues related to grief among the patients. The offer of social service promotes prompt recovery of the patients. Hospice care is one of the most sought services, which the clinic offers. The patients with terminal diseases are adequately cared for, by the Hospice department. Additionally, the clinic offers home care, nursing home services, and child life care services.

The clinic also offers discharge planning. Such an initiative provides the patients with a guaranteed opportunity for a repeat visit in the clinic. Consequently, the public has confidence in the service delivery of Mayo clinic. According to Peters et al (2014), Mayo clinic works in conjunction with patient families to establish the physical and emotional needs of the patients. The clinic also offers both transportation and lodging services for the friends and relatives visiting their patients. The clinic also provides interpretation service to its patients to enhance better treatment for patients. Mayo Clinic has a long-standing notoriety as a pioneer in the essential and clinical sciences. There is little in the distributed writing about Mayo Clinic's commitments to the conveyance of social insurance administrations. The clinic has succeeded in the improvement of gathering practice and therapeutic claims to fame, the production of restorative records, the utilization of associated social insurance suppliers, and office outline.

Competitive Marketing Analysis

The clinic is competitive in the healthcare sector in terms of quality service delivery. For instance, the clinic’s multidisciplinary teamwork ensures coordinated care. The coordinated care also attracts many beneficiaries from across the world. The approach is crucial because it applies a comprehensive coverage of the challenges of the patients. Massimino, Joseph & Kopelman (2015) assert that the regional network of Mayo clinic provides the clinic with a competitive edge against other players in the healthcare industry. The undertaking of research and innovative activities attract many clients and patients because of the perceived and actual quality service delivery at Mayo clinic. The partnership of the clinic with major healthcare sector leaders, assures the clients of quality and sustainable service delivery. The multilingual arrangement, enlistment and account faculty help patients and families some time recently, amid and after their visit to Mayo Clinic. A brand-value research venture found that the Mayo Clinic was thought to be the best practice in the nation. The other piece of its methodology is the improvement of the brand. The Mayo Clinic depends on showcasing exploration to screen the impression of its patients, people in general, benefactors, the restorative staff, and the different voting public.

The clinic’s charity services are a good gesture to the general public. In fact, the organization invests a big proportion of its resources to corporate social responsibility. Such is a competitive strategy, which many healthcare providers have not managed to attain. All operations at Mayo clinic are customer-based (Desai, 2013). The patients are provided with adequate opportunity to express their views on their illnesses and suggestions on treatment. The financial resources of the clinic are channeled towards supporting education, research, and patient care. In fact, the clinic sets a good precedence for all another medical clinic to follow. At Mayo Clinic, translators are accessible at no expense to help correspondence between social insurance suppliers and patients whose essential dialect is not English. Experienced therapeutic translators can go to arrangements, interpret understanding instruction materials, and offer other help as required. Patients ought to show in the event that they require a translator while asking for an arrangement at Mayo Clinic. At Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota, translators are accessible to an individual for some dialects, and through phone administrations for all others.

Recommended Strategies for the Future

The strategies Mayo clinic need t apply in the future to boost quality service delivery includes the adoption of the salary-based compensation plan. Additionally, the adoption of an integrated infrastructural framework will also help in improve the organization’s operations for the sake of efficient service delivery. The clinic should also continue with its multidisciplinary practices to broaden the scope of its clients. The integration of systems of service delivery is important because it ensures that the patients and the public are better served. The clinic should also develop a business model, which specifically focuses on the plight of the patients. The clinic should also embark on expanding its services, especially to the aging population. The nursing services for the aging population will provide help to the large population of people. The clinic is also burdened with the need to solicit funds for its research and innovation ventures, which are usually expensive.

Moreover, Mayo clinic should justify all its investment projects to enhance objectivity in the expending of resources. This comes in the wake of Mayo clinic’s commitment of $180 in the proton beam plant project, which was not warranted (Peters et al, 2014). There should be quality control and improvement especially lean operations and six sigma application in healthcare. The clinic should also endear to reduce costs while increasing quality service delivery. The Mayo Clinic has looked to underscore these variables. In the administration business, the onus of keeping up a decent notoriety and name depends on generally in transit the administration is conveyed. It is most essential for Mayo to continue conveying the item and not dismiss the way that Mayo is a social insurance supplier and the greater part of the brand value it has in the psyches of Americans relies on upon is preceded with the conveyance of incredible medicinal services.

Competencies and Resource

Communication is one of the competencies the clinic has managed to utilize in its success. Efficient communication boosts leadership in Mayo clinic. The communication in the clinic is enhanced by the integrated systems of service delivery. According to Mayo Clinic Model of Care (2014), the availability of the translation services for the patients who do not understand English boosts healthcare service delivery. The concept of communication in healthcare is informed by the shift of the healthcare continuum from hospital to personalized healthcare. Mayo clinic has managed to achieve its objectives inaccurate application of treatment procedures due to the absence of communication barriers. Additionally, the clinic applies collaborative and holistic thinking. In fact, the clinic always applies coordinated delivery, which enhances efficient service delivery. Moreover, the clinic’s information technology department ensures the availability of adequate data on patient and latest medical breakthroughs. This helps in enlightening the public hence boosting recuperation rates.

The clinic also has the adequate medical equipment to carry put various complex medical procedures. This boosts quality service delivery and achievement of the clinic’s mission and vision. The clinic also wisely manages change. According to Peters et al (2014), Mayo clinic management always keeps abreast with the technological trends in the healthcare industry. For this reason, plans are always made in advance to accommodate changes in the healthcare. Keeping the brand solid well into the future will depend principally upon patients' day by day encounters, which can be upgraded by promoting research distinguishing quiet needs and creating therapeutic projects to address those issues. The Mayo Clinic has possessed the capacity to cut a unique spot for itself in the hearts and brains of individuals and fabricate a solid brand. This was conceivable because of the determined spotlight on patient consideration, bleeding edge research in restorative science, and dependence on promoting research.

Conclusion

Mayo clinic is the center for quality and sustainable healthcare and charity service delivery. The clinic is a non-profit organization. The clinic is focused on quality customer care. The clinic expands its financial resources in the education of patients, research and innovation and education of needy children. The clinic has an integrated system of management although many healthcare players are skeptical of its research and innovation initiatives.