Why Healthcare Practices Need a Marketing Plan

Why Healthcare Practices Need a Marketing Plan

Marketing is a key component to small and large businesses. A person in marketing has the ability to show creativity when presenting a company's product whether it is something fairly old or presenting something new to potential consumers. Bruce Maller (2009-2013) noted that healthcare practices need to implement a plan to drive a constant changing market due to other healthcare competition, patient healthcare systems, new technology that is developing or will be developed over the next couple of years. A marketing plan will help the healthcare practices with current and future challenges. In order for a small business or large business to become profitable, a plan has to be put into effect. If there is no plan, that is a disaster waiting to happen.

"If you plan nothing, nothing is what you accomplish" (Kmccoypbo, 2009). If there are no plans or goals, there is no way to see which direction to start first. Having no plan or some type of strategy can hurt a business down the road, yet alone the businesses character. Healthcare practices need to focus on a vision and a strategy to compete with neighboring healthcare competitors. In the YouTube video, "Why Your Healthcare Practice Needs a Marketing Plan" (2009) explained key reasons why practices need to outline a marketing plan stressing emphasis on not being able to accomplish anything without having a plan, further informing watchers that in order for the plan to go through or begin to work, an investment has to be made. Not having a plan or a course of action can hurt the practices. Problems happen to any type of business, not just the healthcare practices. Problems happen more to smaller businesses the most because a lot of entrepreneurs find that they have a good business, but walk into the business world without any type of plan. The entrepreneur invests little or no money and think that is all to it. The fact that they know what type of business they have and the products, but the outside world has no clue, without a plan of action, tools and goals to go with it, will set them up for failure. Bruce Maller (2009-2012) article emphasized that developing a lengthy business or strategic plan asks for imperatively to determine the significance and to scrutinize carefully options for the future of a practice. Healthcare practices need to look into its mission and vision and fill it and lean towards meeting the goals in which is set long term.

The main reasons why the healthcare practice needs a marketing plan as outlined in the YouTube video is in order for a healthcare practice to execute a market plan appropriately to its purpose or circumstances and to perform or function to its best with least problems by utilizing three necessary considerations and distinguished strategies. Having knowledge of the type of industry, such as the healthcare industry, just knowing the history, its current obstacles at hand and the potential growth of future activities are very important aspects in the planning of the marketing process (Pophal, 2009). Knowing all there is needed to know about the healthcare industry will give a perfect picture of what competitors, current and future technologies are out there. Healthcare has its ups and downs, which in terms of employment, has its shortages but will always have jobs. If a well implemented strategic-marketing plan was set forth, the healthcare practices can better handle the shortages when they arise.

Hillestad and Berkowitz (2004) write:

Once an institution can focus its marketing and general business strategy, it can place greater force behind that strategy. Such force includes money, people, and strategic thinking-critical elements in a successful marketing program. It makes little sense for a company to enter a market with a new product unless it intends to be the dominant player in the market. Hospitals often enter many markets (clinical programs), however, and end up as minor players in all of them. An aggressive position to capture a market was missing. Hospitals and clinics need to think about becoming forceful-forceful in spending capital, forceful in dominating the market, and forceful in advertising. Once they have decided to enter a market, they need an aggressive strategy with supporting tactics (p.16).

Having a well written marketing plan will have budgets and specific guidelines that follow them. With that said in mind, it will save a lot of valuable time from being wasted as well as money. Along with financial investments, there are risks as well. Something by which is bound and financial costs can be real risky. The fact of being without a place of employment says a lot. Too much money could get invested into the healthcare practice with no profit gain at all. Things happen, and painting a bad picture of the practice would not be good. Any mishap can destroy the reputation of the healthcare practice. Therefore, if a well-polished marketing plan is unavailable and not suitable to the eye of the public, the healthcare practice accomplished nothing, but a bad reputation. Furthermore, reputation goes a long way, if employment is lost there, the odds of finding employment elsewhere can be jeopardized as well.

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