Market Segmentation, Essay Example

Market research and segmentation within the healthcare industry requires a significant degree of emphasis on areas that identify specific needs, including older adults. Therefore, healthcare organizations must be able to identify their role in the current market and how they must align with these needs and expectations in order to accomplish their desired objectives. This process supports the continued growth and development of practice settings through an expanded focus on local needs. Healthcare needs require a critical focus on specific services that will accommodate demand and provide a specific understanding of market segmentation and the ability to be successful in meeting the demand for healthcare services within the population.

Healthcare needs must be considered as a means of developing new strategies for improvement to accommodate the demand for services (DSS Research, 2014). This process also demonstrates the importance of developing new perspectives to address specific market segments, such as older adults (DSS Research, 2014). The healthcare consumer market is divided into a number of key segments that drive healthcare demand and costs and include different perspectives regarding healthcare needs, such as “casual & cautious” and “content & compliant” (Deloitte, 2012). This method identifies current market trends that support the demand for services and for the creation of new opportunities for growth to support new models of healthcare practice to accommodate these segments (Deloitte, 2012).

Finally, differences in healthcare needs must be addressed on a continuous basis by adjusting market segments according to current demands (Pinnell, 2003). Differences within the market must be driven by specific factors that will support current demands and improved outcomes for healthcare practice (Pinnell, 2003). Drivers of healthcare must be evaluated in order to accomplish the directives of care that will positively impact the demand for services within the industry (Pinnell, 2003).

References

Deloitte (2012). The U.S. Health Care Market: a strategic view of consumer segmentation. Retrieved from http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/us_chs_InfoBrief_2012HealthCareConsumerSegments_011813.pdf

DSS Research (2014). Market segmentation. Retrieved from https://www.dssresearch.com/Solutions/StrategyResearchSolutionsGroup/marketsegmentation.aspx

Pinnell, J. (2003). Improving healthcare marketing through market segmentation and targeting. Retrieved from http://www.warc.com/fulltext/ESOMAR/78785.htm