Digital Mammography for Women in Southern California, Marketing Plan Example

Executive Summary

Digital mammography has revolutionized the detection and treatment of breast cancer one of the most commonly diagnosed forms of cancers in the world. The technology is rapidly being implemented in clinics across the United States to aid in the battle against breast cancer. The Memorial Care Breast Center is a specialized woman’s health unit based in Southern California. The clinic specializes in the detection and treatment of breast cancer. In a bid to offer its customers the latest technology in their fight against breast cancer and the clinic is currently in the process of installing digital mammography in all six of its locations including the mobile unit. The marketing strategy for Memorial care Breast Center focuses on exploiting   a mix of its product, placement, price and promotional resources to both enhance the patients’ experience and achieve competitive advantage..The report examines these 4 essential components also known as the Marketing mix. It outlines a marketing plan to implement the introduction of digital mammography services in all six of its locations. It discusses the company’s existing strategy and how it is influenced by the company’s external environment .These include variables such as the country’s legal political and cultural environment which may pose a hurdle for the Companies Operations. The paper conducts a full analysis of these factors by using analytical frameworks such as the SWOT analysis and a competitor analysis. The paper concludes by drafting a systemized plan for implementing the technology and also looking at the budget and financial requirements of this implementation process.

Business Overview

The Memorial Care Breast Centre is a specialized unit of the Memorial Health group serving the Long Beach and Orange County, California. Memorial Care Group  encompasses a number of hospitals in Southern The medical group has achieved a reputation for its innovative practices in health care and is renowned for its unique approach to caring for its patents. Reuters currently lists it among the top 20 percent of health systems nationwide It has also been identified as a leading hospital organization for technology by the team of Most Wired Hospitals as well as one of the best governed hospital systems in the U.S. by the Governance Institute. (Memorial care, 2011).  The Memorial Care Breast Centre is a woman’s health unit specializing in catering to the needs of patients suffering from breast cancer. From detection to treatment and recovery the Memorial Care Breast Centre offers its patient constant and superior care in their battle against cancer. Today the clinic has grown to encompass 4 locations all over Southern California

The endeavor to set up a specialized breast cancer centre was the result of a vision to offer dedicated health care to women suffering from the disease. Today the clinic has the distinction of being among the top comprehensive programs in the region designed specifically for breast health and care. The clinic encompasses state of the art facilities utilize the most advanced technology available to care for women suffering from breast cancer.

The team at Memorial Care Breast Centre incorporates highly trained and experienced oncologists, surgeons, nurses, social workers, physical therapists as well as other specialists. (Memorial care, 2011).  The centre provides services geared towards prevention detection screenings, genetic counseling as well as radiation treatments and surgery.

Organizational Mission, Vision Statements

The Overall Mission of the Memorial Care Breast Centre is to provide compassionate, comprehensive, coordinated care for women either at risk for breast cancer or already suffering from the disease. The achievement of this Vision can be broken down into a series of vision statements represented as follows:

• To provide breast cancer education and self breast exam training sessions for women in Southern California.
• To provide early detection services for women at risk of breast cancer
• To administer a range of treatments including radiology to prevent the spread of the disease
• To grant breast cancer patients access to cancer rehabilitation products including prostheses, wigs, special bras, as well as head ware.
• To provide those at risk the option to obtain medical genetics testing, evaluation as well as advice for cancer prevention and early detection. (Memorial care, 2011).

Market Position Statement

The Memorial Care Breast Centre aims to give a sense of hope to women between the ages of 20-65 who are at risk of developing breast cancer women at every stage of their battle from prevention to detection, treatment, rehabilitation and cure. It aims to empower women battling this disease by providing them with access to medical knowledge, testing facilities utilizing the latest technology, prevention strategies and  the latest forms of radiological treatment as well as rehabilitation services  (Memorial care, 2011).

Market Analysis

Digital mammography provides instant results and offers a convenient option to both doctor and patients. Compared to traditional forms of mammography where both parties had to wait for several days for results of testing digital mammography provides results instantly and is a convenient option for both doctors and patients. The target market for digital mammography services at Memorial Care Breast Centre are women between the ages of 20-60 who are customers of the clinic’s affiliated community hospitals and maybe at risk for developing breast cancer due to various reasons including genetics. (Memorial care, 2011).   Early detection is the key to effective cure and this is where digital mammography providers hope to offer competitive advantage for clinics and hospital which use them. However this quest is not easy and involves a multitude of factors. These factors include variables such as the country’s legal political social and economic environment which affect the company’s operations. (Griffin, and Pustay 2006).

When developing a marketing plan it is essential to examine both the internal and external factors influencing the industry and the organization. The internal strength and weaknesses of the organization and the opportunities and threats that it faces can be discussed using an analytical tool known as the SWOT analysis. (Below, Morrissey & Acomb, 1990)

• Using the SWOT analytical Approach

One of the key strengths of Memorial Care Breast Centre is the strong brand recognition and awareness that the Memorial Care Health group commands in the community health care market. This along with the groups extensive presence in South California market has helped it garner considerable brand equity  and consumer preference which can be used to gain competitive advantage. In addition the clinic has one of the top two breast cancer specialists in the region and this fact plays a strong part in attracting new patients to the clinic.

One of the major weaknesses of the clinic is that it has only four locations to cater to patients from all across Southern California. The parking at the two biggest locations is quite limited and makes it difficult for patients to access the facilities. Unlike other competitors the clinic does not have a mobile unit which could make it easier for patients to access patients in remote and diverse locations all across the region.

One Opportunity that the clinic hopes to benefit from is the increase prevalence/demand for mammography. Current trends indicate that women now have regular Mammography as a preventive measure to screen against breast cancer. Women over 45 are expected to get a mammography done every month as a cautionary step. This trend has greatly increased the demand for digital mammography.

One of the threats that the clinic faces is the possibility of growing competition in the form of the increased prevalence of diagnostic and imaging centers which have a number of branches and grant greater and more frequent access to patients

• Competitor Analysis

Memorial Care Breast Centre faces strong competition from private health care corporations such as Kaiser  Permanente .Unlike the community based hospital Kaiser Permanente   is funded by memberships and do not lack the budget to implement the introduction of new technologies such as digital mammography. (Hoover, 2011).Kaiser Permanente also has a greater of number of locations throughout Southern California and hence can provide access to more patients than the Memorial Care group.  These private health care corporations also have mobile units which provide digital mammography near the customer’s home without the customer undergoing the hassle of travelling to a centralized location.

The breast clinic also faces competition from private diagnostic facilities where customers can go to get digital mammograms done at cheaper rates. These diagnostic facilities offer flexible timings and are available at greater locations. Hence they are more convenient options for customers to get regular mammography tests conducted.

• Any other external factors that would affect the service/product growth.

A factor which could impact the growth of the digital mammography service is the change in legislation regarding existing health policies procedures and health insurance options. If legislation for example restricts insurance coverage for diagnostic treatment this would adversely affect the demand for digital mammography. If on the other hand legislation stipulates that insurance extend full coverage for patients wishing to get health care screenings and diagnostic exams it would help to increase the number of patients seeking these services.

Another factor which could have an adverse effect on the demand are the current economic conditions facing the economy.  California has been greatly affected by the recession and has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Since most companies offer insurance coverage for employees a rise in unemployment has meant that most people have lost their insurance protection and are now covered either by Medi-cal (California’s version of medicare) or not insured at all. This will adversely affect the demand for digital mammography as more patients will postpone their regular checkups because of a lack of insurance coverage or funds to pay for this procedure.

P’s of Marketing

Memorial Care Breast Centre utilizes a marketing strategy that focuses on exploiting   a mix of its product, placement, price and promotional resources to enhance customer experience and help it achieve competitive advantage. Let us examine the 4 essential components of  Memorial Care Breast Center’s  marketing strategy Also known as the marketing mix these components can be defined as follows (Fred,1995)

• Product: Since the clinic is a service organization its products are non tangible and can be experienced rather than packaged and sold over the counter. The products that the clinic sells are breast cancer preventive detection and therapy services. To give its patrons a higher level of customer experience the clinic seeks to position its products as being superior in both quality and technology (Memorial care, 2011). It is for this reason that it periodically introduces the latest technology in both its diagnostic and treatment procedures. The introduction of diagnostic mammography procedure is part of this strategy. It will result in customers obtaining their breast health results in a shorter time frame and hence will serve to improve current customer satisfaction and also attract new customers.
• Placement: The breast health center’s distribution strategies focus solely on a single distribution channel- its four hospital based locations. (Memorial care, 2011). In terms of distributions these four channels are very limited and must be expanded. Many customers have difficulty accessing these locations which are not in a centralized area and lack adequate parking facilities. In recent years many competitors have adopted mobile units which travel to consumers in remote locations where these services are not obtainable.  If the breast centre decides to operate a mobile it should consider equipping it with digital mammography services to attain competitive advantage.

Price: Since Memorial Care Breast Center’s operates as part of a community based hospital the pricing structure of the new range of digital mammography services will be in a competitive range. The clinics’s pricing strategy focuses on rewarding existing and repeat customers in the form of discounts and rebates. Therefore regular mammography customers will be initially offered price discounts to use digital mammography services. Repeat customers will also be offered a discount in the beginning for a stipulated trial period.

Promotion:    The breast centre’s promotional campaigns are designed to increase awareness of its product and also to attract both repeat and first time customers (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994) Most of the clinics current promotional   activities are conducted in the clinics four locations and focus on price rebates and discounts on specific services. The two main concepts that the clinic seeks to convey in its promotional activities is that its services are technologically advanced,  and are priced at a competitive  level. (Memorial care, 2011).

Marketing Goals and Objectives (measurable)

The marketing Goal of the implementation of digital mammography systems in the clinic is to increase the number of new customers and improve market share. The objectives to achieve this goal can be identified as follows:

• Generating greater awareness of this product in the market and introducing customers to the benefits of opting for a digital mammography instead of a conventional one.
• Encouraging patients above 45 years to increase the number of digital mammography procedures they have in a year to ensure greater breast health. Customers in this age range should be advised to have a digital mammography on a monthly basis as a recommended protective measure. This will increase both revenue and also the turnover generated by the newly implemented technology.

There are certain quantifiable measures that the clinic can adopt to ensure its goals and objectives are met. These include hiring market research companies to evaluate market share and analyze whether it has grown as a result of the implementation of the new marketing plan. It can also gauge customer feedback through a series of questionnaires and surveys that measures how satisfied the customer is with the newly implemented technology.

Budget

The implementation of digital mammography technology in all four locations requires a huge amount of capital investment. Each digital mammography device costs up to $400,000 and its maintenance can cost an additional $135,000 a year. (Aunt Minnie, 2011)For four devices to be installed in four clinic locations the clinic would have to invest $1.2 million in equipment cost alone and an additional $540,000 in maintenance costs. The total budget for the implementation of digital mammography equipment in four locations would therefore amount to $1,740,000. Additional budget costs include training employees to operate the new system and also employing consultants to measure customer feedback and impact of the change on the market share and will come to another $300,000

It will take a number of years for the clinic to generate returns on this heavy initial investment. How soon the clinic is able to break even depends on the number of customers the new technology will generate. As a rule of thumb a facility is expected to perform between 15000 to 25,000 mammography procedures a month to break even on the cost of investment. (Aunt Minnie, 2011)

Implementation Plan

Goal:  To increase new customers and improve market share commanded by the clinic

Marketing

Conclusion

The marketing plan presented above aims to increase the clinics customer base and market share. It seeks to do so by using a combination of the price, product placement and promotion mix to outline a plan on how to increase market share. The above plan will help the company increase both its profits and business activity by helping it retain existing customers and increasing its base of new patients

Works Cited

Below, Morrissey & Acomb, 1990. The Executive Guide to Strategic Planning , Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

De Wit, Bob & Meyer, Ron, 1998. Strategy: Process, Content, Context, Thomson Publishing Company, London.

David Fred ,1995, Concepts of Strategic Management, (5th Edition) Prentice-Hall. New Jersey.

Griffin, R. W. and Pustay, M. W, 2006. International Business: A Managerial Perspective. London: Prentice Hall.

Hamel G and Prahalad C.K, 1994. Competing for the Future. Harvard Business School Press, Boston.

Hoover, 2011. Southern California Permanente Medical Group retrieved June 24 from the website http://www.hoovers.com/company/Southern_California_Permanente_Medical_Group_Inc/rrfjtri-1.html

Memorial Care (2011) About Us retrieved June 24 from the website http://www.memorialcare.org/medical_services/breast-care/services.cfm

Aunt Minnie (2011) Trends in radiology retrieved June 24 from the website http://www.auntminnie.com/user/documents/content_documents/spt_tir/Trends_In_Radiology.pdf