Marketing and Segmentation Problem for a Hospital - Research Paper Example

? Marketing Research and Segmentation Problem Introduction The hospital considered for this research paper is found to be involved with providing an array of medical facilities to the underprivileged as well as to the general people. The hospital is recognized to be amongst the oldest in New England. It treats regular as well as outpatients on a normal basis and also carries out different kinds of surgeries each day. The hospital is known to offer facilities or rather treatments related to cancer, neurology as well as neurosurgery, orthopedics, heart surgeries, psychiatry, endocrinology, respiratory disorders and gastrointestinal disorders. Therefore, it can be mentioned in a nutshell that the hospital caters to the general people with a wide range of medical facilities. Research A research on the consumers in the area surrounding the hospital would be carried out with the help of Value and Lifestyles (VALS2) and Potential Rating Index by Zip Market (PRIZM). VALS2 This tool for lifestyle analysis makes an endeavor to contour consumers by categorizing into three diverse orientation groups and they are principle oriented, action oriented and status oriented. Each of the categories is believed to be supported by two dimensions and they are resources as well as self-orientation. The orientation groups are then again sub-grouped into eight diverse lifestyle segments. These mentioned lifestyle segments are known as actualizers, fulfilleds or survivors, achievers, believers, experiencers, strivers, makers and strugglers. The medical facility or rather the hospital is assumed to be located in the United States (US) where the population has been learnt to be alienated into three main consumer kinds as previously mentioned. The principle oriented individuals are the ones whose selection for services is presided over by their respective beliefs rather than their requirement for support from other individuals. The selections of the status oriented individuals are supposed to be guided by the support, action along with the views of the other individuals. The action oriented individuals are measured to be those who get stimulated by a desire for physical or even social form of activity, risk bearing and variety (Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2012). The believers and the fulfilleds have been stated to fall under the category of principle oriented individuals. The actualizers, achievers, strivers and strugglers are learnt to belong to the category of status oriented individuals. Lastly, the experiencers and the makers are clubbed in the category of action oriented individuals or segments. Therefore, the application of this particular model would effectively aid in segmenting the market for the needed kind of service (Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2012). PRIZM The other tool for assessing the lifestyle of the individuals for the intended service is the PRIZM. The intention of this mentioned tool is recognized to be the assessment of the geographic regions along with associating them with the consumption pattern. This form of assessment is supposed to be founded on the assertion that lifestyle as well as consumption remains principally guided by the demographic rudiments. An imperative step with regard to this form of assessment is the ascertainment of the proper base definition in order to appropriately match up with the accurate household base (Scarborough Research, 2012). Market Segmentation The target segment or rather the kind of individuals targeted for the medical facility or the hospital would be the principle oriented individuals and the status oriented individuals. The initial category of individuals are learnt to be quite well educated individuals who are either engaged with professional occupations or are retired. This implies that the age group can be ascertained from middle to higher that is from 40 to above 65 years of age. This particular segment would be the appropriate choice as the target patients for the intended medical facility owing to their age group. The individuals belonging to this particular age group would tend to remain reasonably concerned regarding their health which implies that they could be easily lured by the range of facilities or medical services offered by the considered hospital. The broad variety of facilities offered would make it easy for the individuals to avail their needed kind of services under one roof. The category of the mentioned individuals is believed to be quite well educated which substantiates the actuality that these individuals would possess a significant degree of awareness regarding their respective health. This awareness would make them opt for regular health checkups where the concerned hospital could well take advantage. The other target segment for the intended hospital or rather the medical facility has already been stated to be the status oriented individuals. This particular category has been selected for the reason that it entails both the affluent as well as the underprivileged group of individuals. The affluent group proves the fact they are in possession of plentiful resources which implies that if properly attracted, they would not be restricted to avail the facilities of the hospital owing to lack of funds. Successfully luring this category would also eventually lure the other kind of individuals who attempt to emulate the lifestyle of those individuals with abundant resources. Therefore, these kinds of individuals would also end up in availing the medical facilities and services of the stated hospital. The underprivileged category of individuals are known to possess lesser quantity of resources in comparison to the other ones but are believed to be quite concerned regarding their health. These individuals are also known to have increased focus towards catering to their urgent requirements. Therefore, proper and effective health related schemes designed by the hospital are surely expected to attract these individuals which would prove beneficial for the hospital. Views of Individuals of Neighborhood Regarding the Facility The profile would help to successfully offer an insight on the way the mentioned medical facility is perceived by the neighborhood or rather the segmentation has been developed based on the characteristics of each category of individuals. The characteristics entail the tastes, preferences, lifestyles and dislikes among others which provide a detail account regarding the likes along with the dislikes for the kind of services. Assessment of the Developed Lifestyle Profile The lifestyle profile of the category of individuals considered as the target segment for the medical facility includes the affluent as well the middle class of individuals. Therefore, it proves that the lifestyle profile for the affluent would be quite lavish and their choices tend to reflect their scale of success. The lifestyle of the individuals fitting in middle class is measured to be quite modest and conservative. These individuals are known to be increasingly concerned regarding the value, permanence and functionality of the services opted by them. Information Accuracy The demographic as well as the psychographic information stated cannot be regarded as perfectly accurate. This is owing to the cause that this information was gathered from secondary sources and not from actual surveys which limits the authenticity of the obtained information. Conclusion The above discussion lucidly highlights the ways by which the market for patients of a particular medical facility or hospital could be segmented. The discussion also states the need and importance of the lifestyle analysis tools while determining the market segments. The tools aid in offering a detailed insight regarding the various groups of individuals in the US. This grouping helps to identify the appropriate kind of individuals in accordance with the nature of the service. References Indira Gandhi National Open University. (2012). Consumer behaviour and lifestyle marketing. Consumer behaviour-issues and concepts, pp. 18-32. Scarborough Research. (2011). PRIZM segmentation analysis. Nielsen. Read More