Positioning Strategy: Akron Children’s Hospital
Positioning Strategy: Akron Children’s Hospital
Introduction
Organizations that desire to remain competitive must strive to determine the best positioning strategy. Research is one way that organizations can use. It is vital that the organization determines the most effective research strategy to enable them capture the needs of the customers. It is by capturing these needs, that the organization will be capable of addressing them in relation to the organizations overall objective. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate an organization steps towards determining the best way to determine the ultimate positioning strategy of Akron Children’s Hospital. The paper reviews qualitative research as a reliable strategy that the organization can use
Body
Researchers engage in qualitative research so as to gain a better understanding of human behavior. With regards to Akron children hospital, engaging in qualitative research will lead the health care facility to understand how households select one hospital over another. When the marketing team determines these reasons, they can then strive to reorganize their operational structure to suit the needs of the customers (Kardes, & Cronley, 2010). Understating the customer is vital for t continuity of the health facility. If the facility experiences a shortage of patients or is faced with stiff competition from other health care providers, it is an indication of the need for change.
Understating the behavior of the consumers meant that the organization will be able to engage in one-on-one consultation with the customers. The consultation will be conducted to establish the customer’s thoughts, their desires and what they would like to see in the organization. Unlike other research methods such as quantitative research, a qualitative research will enable the health care determine what households look out for when seek health services. Qualitative research helps the researcher determine what the consumers finds effective and what they find ineffective within an organization. A qualitative research also enables the researcher and participants to focus only on a case. In the scenario, a qualitative research will involve a research team and participants who will review operations at Akron Children’s Hospital (Malhorta, 2010). Focus will squarely be on strategies of selection of hospitals for their children when in need of health care services.
Survey methods are non-experimental and allow the researcher to collect data that he could not have directly observed. The most appropriate survey methods that Norton could use if he is permitted to conduct the qualitative research would be interviews. Interviews are participatory and actively engage the consumers. In the case of Akron Children’s Hospital, Norton would strive to interview individuals who seek services at the facility. He can also interview surrounding household and determine their opinion of the services rendered at the facility. The flexibility of this survey method allows the interviewer to restructure questions, inquire for clarification or create new questions based on the reaction of the interviewee (Kardes, & Cronley, 2010). Using interviews as the survey method also gives the research an opportunity to either do it face to face, or use telephone interviews to include a wider participant. In the end, the interviewer will gather more content on the direction that the facility should head.
Akron Children’s Hospital should pursue plan C in their marketing effort. Plan C involves the use of a survey method with a follow-on focus group (Malhorta, 2010). The survey method will entail face to face and telephone interview with individuals to give their take on the services on the facility. The interview will allows the researcher to get an in-depth view of the operations of the facility and what changes need to be made. Interviews will enable the researcher determine the behavior of customers at the facility. After the survey research method, the research will then engage focus groups in the discussions. The focus group will involve a group of people who will validate the survey findings. The focus group will discuss whether the findings from the interviews are true. The focus group will then identify with the findings from the interview or they will give alternative opinion. Conduction a survey followed by a focus group research will enable the marketing team at Akron Children’s Hospital to determine effective strategies to keep the facility ahead of its competitors.
Conclusion
When strategizing for the future, it is vital that the management puts into consideration, the views of the customers. A company cannot realize any profits or remain competitive if its customers are unhappy. One way that an organization can engage the consumers is through qualitative research. Qualitative research is involving in that it directly engages the consumers in determining the future of the organization. The qualitative method has strategies such as interviews and focus groups that are reliable in determining the opinion of the public regarding the facility. An organization that desires to remain successful will critically analyze the behavior of their consumers and make changes where necessary. The management at Akron Children’s Hospital will, for instance, rely on response from the interviews and the focus group to determine a marketing strategy that will put them ahead of their competitors.
Reference
Kardes, F. & Cronley, M. (2010). Consumer behavior. Cengage learning
Malhorta, N. (2010). Marketing research: an applied orientation, Case 2.3: Kids Stuff? Determining the best positioning strategy for Akron Children’s Hospital. Pearson education
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