Kid Stuff?

Determ ining the Best Positioning Strategy for Children Hospital Summary Children Hospital The participants in the situation -1 Marketing Director Hospital Operations Officer Communication Executive The research agency Finance Staff Member PR Director Situation: How to approach positioning Children Hospital -2 .in next year's advertising campaign Management Objective: the Children Hospital board wants the hospital to become the preferred hospital in the high-growth areas of the region. The board wants to select the best positioning for next year's communications campaign intended to boost the number of patient cases 10 percent in the following year." 3-Plan Ado focus groups only The agency would conduct four focus groups, with an average of 10 respondents per group Objective of the Focus Groups: to discuss participants experiences while at a hospital. Participants: -the primary decision makers for health-care decisions within the family - have a childnewborns to 18 years old - who had spent at least 3 consecutive days in a hospital. -female between 25 and 54 years old with one or more children Cost: $20,000 Plan Bdo focus groups with a follow-on survey Focus Groups objectives: identifying the unaided and aided awareness of hospitals in the region to identify the concepts of three positioning strategies. Survey objective: ask respondents which one they prefer most and which one they prefer next most to be able to statistically determine the degree of preference among the positioning alternatives. Cost: $60,000

Plan Cdo a survey with follow-on focus groups Survey objective: identify the best positioning strategy Focus Groups objectives: explore the salient aspects of this positioning strategy to the consumers Cost: $60,000. Plan Ddo no research. .Turn the creative staff loose and hang on for the ride Define the management decision problem confronting the .1 . Children Hospital and a corresponding marketing research .problem and show the linkages between the two The management decision problem What positioning strategy should be adopted for the hospital to ?boost the number of patient cases 10 per cent in the following year
The marketing research problem

Determine the potential level of consumer awareness, as well as preferences a for the childrens health care services. In this case, how do the hospital operations and the 2 finance people differ from the marketers (marketing and communication) in their views about the roles of exploratory ?and conclusive designs The finance people have a flawed perception about the role of exploratory research. They wrongly view focus groups (an In their exploratory technique) as rendering conclusive results.

view, focus groups should be done to confirm what is already known. This is an error that is commonly made by business persons who are not well-grounded in their understanding of marketing research. By comparison, Powell and Jones view focus groups as a way to uncover hidden insights about customers in the high-growth areas. In a subsequent survey, an inference can be made about the portion of the population of interest who agree with the insights uncovered in the exploratory phase of the research. This tandem use of

exploratory and descriptive research is what was proposed in Plan B. Alternatively, the sequence of this tandem use of exploratory and descriptive research can be reversed, so that the exploratory research follows the descriptive research. Here, any anomalies emerging from the descriptive research (Such as investigating the unexpected preference of women for a particular positioning idea) can be investigated. This was the sequence proposed as Plan C. In your opinion, what would be the best sequence for .3 ?using exploratory and conclusive research in this case ACHs pre-research level of understanding for the customers in the high-growth areas of Akron is a determining factor. If a high degree of understanding about the customers in the high-growth areas is assumed, then Plan C will likely be preferred. By comparison, if a low degree of understanding about the customers in the high-growth areas is assumed, then Plan B will likely be preferred. .Develop the graphical model of your problem definition .4 1) What criteria are used by consumers when selecting a childrens hospital? 2) criteria? 3) 4) Which competing hospitals have the best perceived childrens What are the demographic and psychological profiles of ACH's (5 programs? customers? For the competition's customers? What is the appeal of alternative positioning strategies for ACH to the target consumers How does ACH rate, in comparison to competitors, on these

.State 3 research objective for the study .5

What kind of secondary and syndicated data would be .6 ?helpful in the problem definition for the Children Hospital Investigation of ACH's admission records may reveal useful information such as: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) insurance). 6) 7) 8) External External sources may come in one of three forms: sources, computer databases, and syndicated services. Published secondary sources may come from the government, nonprofit organizations or many other sources. The government bodies who legislate governmental hospital policy may conduct and publish studies on the hospital industry. Professional organizations, such as the Medical Association, may have relevant statistics. Additionally, insurance firms may collect data from their own research or claims that are pertinent to ACH's problem. A search could also be conducted for other marketing research reports on similar topics, to give added direction to the researcher. One published Number of admissions for elective (i.e., unnecessary medical Number of admissions per month, broken down by type of Trends in the types and quantities of services consumed. procedures) treatments, such as cosmetic surgery, etc. service rendered. Number of admissions by type of service rendered (i.e., Average revenues or profit per type of service. Demographic profiles constructed from admission information. Admissions which required multiple services, and surgery, illness, accident, etc.).

identification of the service combinations. Type of payment made for services (i.e., cash, credit,

way to locate these studies would be The Directory of Marketing Research Reports, Studies and Surveys. Computerized databases include online sources that can be searched for information. List some primary data for your research.7 Determine how consumers become aware of childrens hospitals and form selection criteria. 2. Identify the selection criteria consumers use to choose a childrens hospital. 3. Determine which childrens hospitals are considered the best (in the community), and what factors contribute to this perception. 4. Identify demographic and psychological characteristics of consumers who view acute care as an asset or a major factor in childrens hospital selection. 5. Identify characteristics and criteria of consumers who have a need or a potential need for childrens acute care. Discuss the role of qualitative research in your problem .8 ?definition A detailed list of objectives must be drawn up to collect through qualitative research: 1. The effect advertising has on awareness. 2. The effect of price on selection? Location? Staff? Parking? Quality of care? 3. The differences and similarities, or desirable and undesirable characteristics of local childrens hospitals. 4. The criteria used to evaluate acute children health care programs. 5. The existence of a perceived need for acute children health care.

Do you think that the hospital operations should a survey .9 in this case? If yes, which survey method would you

?recommend and why Can an experiment be conducted to address the issue of .10 your problem definition? If yes, what experimental design ?would you recommend and why How should the hospital operations evaluate the ..11 ?marketing research report