Marketing mix is the most popular marketing concept. This concept was used for the first time in 1948 by J. W. Culliton. It is a combination of the best and most-needed ingredients and marketing means. The described concept serves to meet the recipients’ needs and achieve the goals of the individual.
At the beginning, the marketing mix consisted of four elements, namely “4P”:
- Product – product / service,
- Place – distribution,
- Promotion – promotion,
- Price – price.
Then, along with the development of this concept, another “P”, or Staff, was added. At this point, the “5P” marketing mix is being discussed. However, its development did not end there, as two more “P” were added: Physical evidence-material certificate and Process-the process of rendering. Currently, the marketing mix contains “7 P”. The first “P”, or product, is an individual focus on the product or service offered. This instrument is called the central element of the entire marketing mix. It consists of tools supporting a product / service such as:
- the scale of service production,
- features of this service or product,
- quality of offered services,
- use of a trade brand,
- service guarantee system,
- after-sales services,
- complaint management.
In health services, the patient can be offered, among others knowledge and competence as well as the experience of medical personnel, his skills, technical security of the building in which medical services will be provided and the necessary tools to perform it, e.g. medical equipment. Price is also an important element of the marketing mix, especially on the medical services market. Determining the price of the service can cause considerable difficulties, and its designation takes into account service costs, demand and recognition of competition. Another factor influencing the pricing policy is location, because otherwise the price of medical services will be shaped, for example, in a larger city, and differently in the countryside. Distribution is another, very important element of the discussed concept. In the health services sector, it is the location of service implementation mentioned earlier. In this specific market, which is the medical services market, it is very important because a person needs a service as close as possible to their place of residence. Providing a service at a large distance from the patient’s home rather unfavorably translates into his or her health, sometimes it can be highly dangerous in a state of threat to health and life. The promotion allows to acquire patients, because it is a helpful tool that allows the recipients to be informed about the offer of services, such as a clinic. The patient information instruments include, for example:
- advertisements in the local newspaper;
- accounts on social networks eg Facebook;
- recognizable logo;
- participation in health fairs, white sundays, sports competitions;
- organizing preventive actions;
- publishing your own brochures with health advice;
- creating a loyalty program;
- posters, leaflets.
Staff as a component of the marketing mix is the most important resource of any organization. On the market of health services based primarily on the relationship between medical personnel and patients. This particular type of marketing is called relationship marketing. It is worth to mention the relationship, probably the longest in time, between the service provider and the patient, i.e. the family doctor, who often takes care of the doctor from the newborn to the elderly person. Maintaining good relations between the parties is extremely important, because it should be based on mutual respect and trust. Staff in the medical industry should have:
- qualifications,
- skills,
- predispositions,
- empathy.
A material certificate is an element that consists of the material environment of the place where the service is being provided, i.e. interior design of the clinic, its coloring, adapting the building to mothers with children and the disabled, distance from the busy street. The service process is the organization’s functioning and organization (eg the way of registering for a given service, waiting time).
SOURCES:
- Bukowska-Piestrzyńska A., 2014. Marketing usług zdrowotnych – od odbudowania wizerunku placówki do zadowolenia klientów. Warszawa: CeDeWu Sp. z o.o.
- Düssel M., 2009. Marketing w praktyce. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo BC.edu.
- Pobrotyn P., Nowicki P., Czaprowska I., Fal A., Pirogowicz I., 2008. Funkcja strategiczna marketingu. W: Drobnik J. (red.), Nowicki P. (red.), 2008. Wybrane zagadnienia zdrowia publicznego. T.3: Marketing i negocjacje na rynku usług medycznych. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Continuo.
- Hereźniak G., 2001. Marketing usług medycznych. W: Nosko J. (red.), 2001. Ekonomika i zarządzanie w opiece zdrowotnej. Łódź: Instytut Medycyny Pracy.