Piedmont Healthcare is considered as one of the most advanced and largest healthcare providers in the regions of Atlanta and some Southeast locations. The healthcare units of Piedmont are available are more than a hundred locations so as to make it convenient for customers to visit. It is believed that there are more than eleven hundred doctors or trained professionals hired by Piedmont Healthcare which offer their services to patients around the clock. There are reportedly thirty-two departments of Piedmont Healthcare so that majority of the health related issues of patients can be addressed at all its locations. The healthcare services of Piedmont Healthcare are very innovative and technologically updated. The staff is well qualified and highly experienced which serves as the greatest strength of Piedmont Healthcare. Piedmont Healthcare has its own laboratories where there is the latest equipment for an ultrasound, CT Scans, MRI, X-ray and other tests (Piedmont, n.d.). The customers of Piedmont Healthcare include people of all ages from infants to the adults. Families, corporations, government agencies and individual patients are its major clients. People looking for fitness or rehabilitation services are also the customers of Piedmont Healthcare. All of these customers are the ones who are looking for exceptional and hygienic healthcare services- and desire that their ailment is diagnosed with the best possible of the equipment and treated under the supervision of highly specialized doctors and nurses.
Piedmont Healthcare ensures that it meets the standards set up by the customers and probably this is why its healthcare services are regarded as the best in the US. Furthermore, the core aim of Piedmont Healthcare lies in the idea that there is no better cure for a disease than prevention therefore, specialists not only treat diseases but also consider it as their responsibility to educate the patients on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle coupled up with basic life-saving training.
Competitive Environment of Piedmont Healthcare
The competition in the healthcare industry is very strong for Piedmont Healthcare. Many healthcare centers have begun to believe that providing healthcare products and services is not sufficient to give them an edge over others in the competition. Therefore, they are considering various other strategies to add up to their strengths. Emory University Hospital and WellStar Health System are two of the main competitors of Piedmont Healthcare. They have considered expanding their services by getting into mergers with other renowned healthcare providers. This move will not only strengthen their current position in Atlanta but also generate more revenues as the number of customers and specialists will increase in number due to a merger. Moreover, the two healthcare centers have also planned to take a step further by getting into insurance services.
Health insurance is an activity, which if the healthcare centers provide to the patients on their own, will not only attract more patients or customers but also play a vital role in increasing the worth of the healthcare center. Providing healthcare to the patients by making use of the best techniques, equipment, and qualified doctors is one thing which almost all healthcare centers do- but taking a step ahead and thinking of ways to grow or expand the business is what the competitors are thinking. Piedmont Healthcare must be aware of the moves of the competitors and take wise steps accordingly.
The basic factor of competition in healthcare is firstly based on the techniques or innovative equipments being employed to treat various ailments or the strength of research and development. Another contributing factor is based on the fact that patients sometimes satisfied by one doctor and would never visit another one for treatment. If the doctor switches to another healthcare center, the customers would follow. So whenever a doctor or specialist moves to a new healthcare center, he would also be bringing his loyal patients along with- this is a great way to earn more revenues. Therefore, healthcare centers compete with each other by having more senior and specialized doctors. The doctors and specialized staff are retained by offering competitive compensation packages.
Marketing Mix Tools for Piedmont Healthcare
We know that the marketing mix is composed of basically four elements, namely product, pricing, placement and promotion and an integration of all these elements is necessary to ensure that the needs and demands of the target market are met.
Product
There are a number of products and services offered by Piedmont Healthcare to its respected customers. Mostly, the healthcare provides services which range up to thirty-two. These services are meant for the treatment of several diseases as well as counseling the patients on how to live a healthy life and prevent the re-occurrence of symptoms. The overall aim of Piedmont Healthcare is to ensure that the products and services it offers to customers are aimed at their well-being and healthy lifestyle.
Pricing
Prices of products and services at Piedmont Healthcare are done in a competitive manner. However, pricing has been seen as a great way to attract and retain customers. Special discounts are offered to regular and senior aged customers, which increase their loyalty for Piedmont Healthcare.
Placement
Piedmont Healthcare is available in approximately a hundred locations in the US which means customers can have access to the healthcare centers at their convenience. If Piedmont Healthcare decides to get into a merger with another similar sized healthcare center, then obviously the number of locations will increase and more people would benefit.
Promotion
In order to promote the services of Piedmont Healthcare, mostly medical advertising is used which means placing the advertisement in journals and magazines which are read by those in the medical profession. Direct marketing and customer relationships are also seen as great ways to attract more and more patients to avail the innovative methods of treatment at Piedmont Healthcare.
People
As Piedmont Healthcare is basically aimed at providing healthcare services to its customers therefore, it sees people as an integral part of its marketing mix (English, 2000). In order to attract customers, the attitudes and behaviors of the employees must be streamlined with the ultimate objectives of Piedmont Healthcare. The high quality of service and effective running of Piedmont Healthcare is dependent upon the skills and kind or helpful attitudes of receptionists, doctors, nurses and the administrative staff members.
Physical Evidence
When a patient enters the healthcare center, the first image it gets about the quality of treatment at Piedmont Healthcare comes from its physical look and the attitude of the front staff. If the healthcare center is neat and equipped with quality physical evidence, then the customers will certainly get a positive image of Piedmont Healthcare.
Processes
In order to ensure that all the customers get treated in a fair, equal and right manner, the processes are designed in a systematic manner (Sargeant, 1999). There is a timely and orderly integration of all the activities or steps which a customer has to go through in order to avail the services offered by Piedmont Healthcare. For instance, if the customer wishes to see the doctor, he is given an appointment and then a phone call is made for confirmation; forms are filled with relevant information and once the appointment session is over, feedback is collected in order to improve the service of Piedmont Healthcare.
Pricing at Piedmont Healthcare
The pricing in healthcare is done differently as compared to other industries as here, life and well-being of customers are given priority. The services offered by healthcare are priced in a traditional manner which needs to be reviewed. Due to technology, R & D and innovations in the medical industry, services are becoming more expensive, causing it difficult to be owned by people with low to middle income. However, not for profit agencies and team efforts with the supply chain are making it certain that healthcare services are provided to all customers at prices which do not exceed their income levels. For instance, the delivery of babies is a service which is carried out with improved measures to satisfy the customers-pricing is done in a way to ensure that the health of mother and baby is kept at priority.
References
English, J. (2000). The four" P" s of marketing are dead. Marketing Health Services, 20(2), 20.
Piedmont. (n.d.). Piedmont Healthcare. Available: http://www.piedmont.org/about-piedmont-healthcare/about-us-home. Last accessed 26th Feb 2016.
Sargeant, A. (1999). Marketing management for nonprofit organizations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
