Marketing Plan-Rehab Center for the Elderly

The Center, located in an area with many elderly people, has to have the correct type of marketing for it to be successful. Getting to know the local population and all of the environmental, technological, and social, as well as many others, is a critical element in knowing how to prepare a marketing plan. Utilizing resources properly and evaluating the current and past situation will allow for a better future of The Center as well. This marketing plan lays out all of these factors to show how the next step in how The Center will be moving forward. Situation Analysis Having a rehabilitation center for the elderly in a minimally populated area can present problems for the business, but it also has its perks. Population in this general location is not the only factor that effects business; economical, and technological issues may arise also. These elements can do many things for business such as: help predict future trends of consumers, keep in touch with competition and their strategies, discover your own company’s marketing needs, know the social, political, and demographic aspects, and internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. Organizational Analysis of Objectives and Resources This rehabilitation center’s objectives allow for persistence in outcomes and ability to reach goals. Maintaining customer satisfaction, reducing the overall cost of rehabilitative services, and reducing the cost of maintaining these services are currently important objectives (Masters, 2011). Another objective The Center is focusing on is providing housing facilities for those whom need long-term rehabilitation care. Many resources are used to sustain these objectives. Management teams and committees have been formed and put into place, as well as working with the ommunity, and using financial, technological, and educational resources. Utilizing these resources properly allow for The Center to run smoothly and efficiently. Getting to know the customer, and figuring out what they seek in a rehabilitation center are ways to maintain customer satisfaction. Research efforts have made it possible to determine that customers, as w ell as their families, enjoy the wide range of services provided along with the highest quality of care. To maintain this satisfaction, the results from research are taken into consideration and put into action as realistically as possible. Some of this research has shown that by allowing customers to be as independent as possible cause satisfaction ratings to stay up. Educational resources are used to train current and future employees on subjects pertaining to care for the elderly. For example, depending on the type of work the employee does, workshops and training sessions are given on a regular basis. All employees are required to attend at least two annually. These classes cover various topics such as how to use new technology, new management strategies, how to make life comfortable before, during, and after rehabilitation, i. . the new living facility, and how to make working conditions more enjoyable for all employees. The local and even regional communities are resources utilized by The Center as often as possible. Many individuals and social groups host fundraisers, social benefit gatherings, and some visit the patients at The Center regularly. In addition to financial support, the community also does volunteer work to keep up the landscaping, fix any minor damage to buildings, and work one-on-one with patients for moral support. Consumer Market Analysis It is an ever increasing trend for elderly consumers to want a more relaxing and convenient way to get through rehabilitation. While we offer outpatient services to our customers, it has been noted that many would benefit from a residential type setting. Furthermore, demographic research has shown an increasing number of elderly people in the local area. In a survey given to residents within a 20 mile radius and age 50 or above, the majority has shown that they are comforted by the option of staying in a housing facility during their rehabilitation. Competitive Market Analysis While other nearby healthcare centers provides rehabilitation services, none provide residential options in addition to their outpatient options. Additionally, the technology used in The Center is the latest available on the market. There have also been additions to the machinery and tools. Upgrades in technology are not the only improvements that have been made; customers wanted to have a more private visit to The Center, so stations have been separated with adjustable walls and curtains. External Market Environment Being a part of an industrial economy with few natural resources to provide for it, The Center depends on the consistency of patients and its resources to survive. The Center focuses on customer satisfaction by listening to the customer and changing the way we operate to better suit them. Another way The Center achieves a high rate of satisfaction is by understanding who the customer is on an individual level. Demographically, the location of The Center is convenient to most people within a 20-mile radius. Also, as stated earlier, the population within this area is aging fairly rapidly. The elderly population has almost doubled over the past 7 years. Machinery is not the only part of the technology upgrades that bring customers to The Center, medicine and surgery options that have been adopted by The Center have shown improvement in rehabilitation outcomes. SWOT Analysis â€Å"The SWOT structure is layered with reporting and communication channels designed to provide a system of communication and accountability† within The Center (Judy N. Muthuri, 2009). With this system, internal Strengths and Weaknesses, and external Opportunities and Treats are examined and categorized. This will allow for the company to better understand what is going on internally and externally. Internal Strengths The Center has many internal strengths, including up-to-date technology, the additional housing facility, some of the top physical therapists are located at this center, and management teams are highly trained and qualified before they are hired. Historically, The Center has been financially stable, ithout many discrepancies in regard to values and beliefs held by The Center and its employees. Recently, The Center has been awarded for its high level of customer service and was recognized as one of the top grossing rehabilitative centers in the South East. Internal Weakness The main internal weakness The Center faces is cost. With the newest technology highly qualified staff and the new housing facility, the cost of running The Center has increased sig nificantly over the past couple of years. Because The Center is fairly large in size, it takes a lot of financial and human resources to operate. Another weakness is being understaffed. Many employees are working extra hours and days so that all positions are covered at all times. Opportunity The Center has been attempting to keep up with changing trends in healthcare, and more specifically rehabilitative care. It is essential for The Center to realize and understand how the population is changing in respect to social trends, lifestyle changes, population size and age, economic factors, legal, political, and financial changes, what the competition is doing, and technological changes (Charles Lamb, 2010). Threat The main threats The Center faces are competition, and the economy. The local competition poses a threat mainly because of the location and the lower costs for some of the same services. It is very easy to find the location of the competition. They are situated in an area that has lower traffic flow and from the interstate the customer will travel less time. Because the competition does not offer as many services, the amount of resources used to operate are much less than The Center. The economy is a threat because healthcare costs are still high. Many of the residents within a 20-mile radius are retirees and income is not very substantial, especially if they are in need of high quality rehabilitation. Marketing Plan Objectives Increasing the number of residents in the new housing facility is the main marketing goal for the next year. Over the next couple of months, The Center plans to increase awareness of The Center and the housing center by placing advertisements in several types of media outlets. Television and newspapers are the main types of media that will be used by The Center. Research has shown that people of all ages still watch TV and many ages 30 and above still read newspapers. The advertisements will appear everyday, two times per day, for the next five months. If a certain percentage of the local population sees the advertisements, the advertisements will be shown less often. Newspaper advertisements will be shown in every Sunday’s edition for five months also. Differentiation and Positioning The new housing facility is a service no other rehabilitation center has. In addition to the new facility, the services provided are of the highest quality. All staff is knowledgeable of daily operations, which allows for efficiency. Customer satisfaction is the basis of values The Center runs on. With the elderly population growing rapidly, it is important that as many services be available to them as possible. The Center has more services to offer than any local rehabilitation center. Marketing Strategy The marketing strategy is to involve the elderly population and their families by promoting the highest quality of rehabilitative care. Advertisements and other types of promotional outlets are used to market The Center and its new housing facility. Target Market Because the focus of The Center is elderly rehabilitation, the target market is those the age 50 or above and within a 20-mile radius. It is also important to target the families of these people. If the families are learning about The Center, they are more likely to propose that their elderly family member choose The Center rather than the competition. The marketing strategy also requires that doctors’ offices and hospitals refer their patients to The Center. With that type of relationship, it is more likely that more customers will go to The Center. The Marketing Mix Product/Service, price, place, and promotion are the â€Å"four P’s† of marketing. The proper combination of these four elements will increase customer ratings and revenues (WebFinance, 2013). The customer satisfaction that The Center strives for is possible because of the four P’s. It is also the reason for it being so successful over the many years it has been a part of the community. Service/Product The product being marketed is the new housing facility. Its many additional services set it apart from, not only the competition, but also any other rehabilitation center in the region. Patients are able to spend time at the rehabilitation center rather than load up the car and drive to a center and leave the same day. If this travelling becomes a burden on the patient, they will have the option of actually spending a night or several nights. Price As mentioned earlier, the price for this type of care can get expensive. But it is also important remember that this is the only place to receive certain types of services. On the positive side, the only part that can get pricy is the housing facility. After all, it is an additional service that is optional. Most of the other services offered by The Center are actually less expensive than those of the competition. There are plans to reduce the price over time after revenue increases. Place The location of The Center is very easy to access. It is relatively close to downtown and is in an area with fairly low traffic. Another factor that makes the location of The Center is navigation. It is easy to navigate the area, even from the interstate or other parts of the city; the customer can easily find The Center. Promotion Advertisement is the biggest form of promotion The Center utilizes currently. In addition to paid advertisements, the social events and fundraisers held by the community also promote The Center. It is very important to The Center to keep these close ties with the community because it is a type of informal communication that keeps the community informed. The Promotional Mix As mentioned previously, the main promotions are advertisements and an additional promotion is word-of-mouth. Advertisements are paid forms of promotion for a good or service, usually in newspapers, television, or on the radio (Dictionary. com, 2013). Promotions are ways to promote a good or service to the public through means of personal appearance, brochures, and posters (Dictionary. com, Promotion, Define Promotion at Dictionary. com, 2013). Advertising Newspapers and television are the main sources of advertisement for The Center. Many other forms are used but are typically considered informal. Word-of-mouth advertising is another useful form that lets people know the services provided by The Center. Personal Selling Personal selling is not a form of promotion that The Center uses regularly. It is much too costly, and from past experiences, it is not very successful. Publicity The fundraisers and social events hosted by the community are the two main ways The Center gets publicity. Such events are open to anyone who wishes to join. They are held every couple of months and bring in a lot of new and prospective customers. They are also beneficial because many of the customers, past and present, join in and tell of their experiences while at The Center. Sales Promotion It is very rare for a rehabilitation company to offer sales promotions in return for healthcare services. It is difficult to allow for customers to not pay for the service they have received because of the cost of rehabilitation; therefore, sales promotions are not offered at The Center. Implementation and Control The marketing plan will be implemented at the beginning of the next quarter. Management teams and all members of the staff have been informed of this and are being trained to properly implement the new strategy. The ideal outcome is that The Center will gain customers and therefore increase revenue. Advertisements and promotions are being used to encourage customers choose The Center.