As the medical markets have gradually changed from suppliers´ markets to consumers´ ones, the demands for consumer-centered strategies of hospital management and marketing, improved medical services, etc., have been increasing.
Under such circumstances, this study was aimed at evaluating the marketing policies of our hospitals centering around the internal, cxternal and mutual marketing for consumers, and thereby presenting more influential strategies for hospitals.
For this purpose, the employees and patients of a third stage general hospital in Seoul were surveyed by means of a questionnaire. All in all, 285 patients and 284 employees answered the questionnaire.
The results of the survey can be summarized as follows : First, patients come to a hospital directly, according to rumors or being introduced by its employee.
Second, the important factors determining patients´ choice of a hospital are facility, medical staff, traffic and employee. Other factors are patient´s age, living area, distance between patients house and hospital, etc.
Third, patients perception of a hospital affects their choice of the hospital.
Fourth, employees and patients perceive differ ently the marketing strategies of the hospital.
Fifth, well-planned marketing strategies may change some sources of inconveniences into those of conveniences.
Based on the above findings, effective marketing strategies for gonoral hoopitale can be presented as followes.
1. The poblic relations of hospital should be established first with visiting patients and employees.
2. The marketing strategies should be-based on the factors determing patient´s preferences for hospital.
3. The marketing strategies should be flcxiblc enough to complement the weak points of the hospital.
4. The marketing strategies should be directed towards the improved medical services as well as mutual actions between consumers and employees.
5. The marketing strategies should take into consideration employees perception and thus induce their voluntary participation.
All in all, the study may be limited in that its results cannot be easily generalizod due to its small size, patients variublcs rather than qualit ative medical services are primarily reviewed, and that it depended on a straight forward questlonnaire survey.
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