Healthcare marketing is a multidisciplinary area of public health practice. This approach draws from traditional marketing theories and principles, adding evidence-based strategies focused on prevention, intervention, and health promotion. It involves the creation, communication, and delivery of health information to diverse populations. As a healthcare professional, you will be asked to participate in the marketing process, and, as you will learn throughout the course, there are various elements of a healthcare marketing plan.
The final project for this course is the creation of a marketing and communication plan. The final product represents an authentic demonstration of competency because when working in a management position at a healthcare organization, you could be involved in selecting or creating a healthcare marketing plan. The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three, Five, and Seven. The final product will be submitted in Module Nine.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
- Analyze internal and external market factors that impact marketing decisions and strategies in a healthcare setting
- Evaluate ethical issues considered when creating a healthcare marketing plan for alignment with industry criteria
- Apply fundamental principles of strategic marketing to healthcare organization strategic planning that align to organizational mission and goals
- Evaluate strategic marketing methods used in a marketing plan for their potential to reach specific healthcare audience demographic
- Recommend communication strategies for effectively collaborating with internal and external stakeholders in the implementation of marketing plans
Prompt
For the final project, you will develop a marketing and communication plan for Bellevue Hospital. In your plan, you will analyze the healthcare organization, propose a new service, and develop marketing strategies for this proposed service and identified target market. In addition, you will develop strategies to effectively communicate your marketing plan to the internal and external stakeholders, to drive collaboration in the implementation of the plan. To begin, you will review NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. You will use this organization as the base of your final project. Then, review the Bellevue Community Needs Assessment (2019). This needs assessment will inform decisions you make in your marketing and communication plan around the service you propose, your target market, and the marketing strategies you develop.
Resource:
Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and implementation strategy plan. NYC Health & Hospitals. (2019). https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/publications-reports/2019-community-health-needs-assessment/
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed. Most of the critical elements align with a particular course outcome (shown in brackets).
- Introduction: In this section of the marketing plan, you will be describing the current state of the healthcare organization and selected service.
- Describe the mission, vision, and strategic goals of the healthcare organization.
- Describe the current state of the service, using the guidelines of marketing.
- Describe the stakeholders, using the healthcare marketing guidelines.
- Evaluate how the current state of the services aligns with the mission statement, vision statement, and goals of the organization.
- Describe the current target market this service focuses on, including geographies, demographics, psychographics, and behaviors.
- Situational Analysis: In this section of the marketing plan, you will be conducting a needs analysis to identify and propose a service for the organization.
- Analyze the internal and external market factors impacting the healthcare organization.
- Propose a service to market for this organization. Include an explanation as to whether it is addressing an opportunity or weakness from the market factor analysis.
- Develop a marketing goal for the proposed service, applying the SMART goal framework.
- Justify the alignment of the marketing goal to the mission, vision, and strategic goals of the organization.
- Analyze the competition for the proposed service.
- Evaluate how the current marketing strategies used by the organization adhere to industry ethical criteria.
- Marketing Strategies: In this section of the marketing plan, you will be defending specific marketing strategies and tactics to meet the marketing goal of the proposed service.
- Select marketing strategies to guide your marketing plan. Be sure that these strategies are aligned to your previously developed marketing goal.
- Describe areas of the Four and Five Ps that will be addressed in the marketing mix. For example, one consideration might be how the organization will be paid for the service and how the service could be impacted by policy and politics.
- Describe the target market of the proposed service. For example, consider the geographies, demographics, psychographics, and behaviors of your target market.
- Explain why the currently used marketing strategies will not meet the needs of the proposed market.
- Justify how your proposed marketing strategies are appropriate for your identified target market.
- Explain how ethical criteria were used to guide your selection of marketing strategies.
- Communication Strategies: In this section of the marketing plan, you will explain the communication strategies you will use to involve the internal and external stakeholders of the healthcare organization that will be impacted by the proposed service. (Note that this is unique from your target market. These stakeholders are the individuals who will either partner with you to employ the plan or be impacted by the implementation of the plan.)
- Explain how you will communicate the marketing plan to internal stakeholders.
- Describe how you will share this marketing plan with indirect and direct external stakeholders.
- Justify how these communication strategies will effectively drive collaboration and contribute to the effectiveness of the marketing plan.
- Explain the how the ethical criteria were used to guide communication decisions for stakeholders of varying sectors of the population.
Milestones
Milestone One: IntroductionIn Module Three, you will provide an introduction to the healthcare organization (Bellevue Hospital) that is the basis of your marketing and communication plan. You will describe the organization’s current services; explain how the organization’s mission, vision, and goals serve its stakeholders; and identify its current target market. This milestone will be graded with the Final Project Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Situational AnalysisIn Module Five, you will conduct a full situational analysis to identify the internal and external market factors that impact Bellevue Hospital, propose a service to market for the organization, and generate a marketing goal for this proposed service. This milestone will be graded with the Final Project Milestone Two Rubric.
Milestone Three: Marketing and Communication StrategiesIn Module Seven, you will defend the specific marketing and communication strategies you have come up with to support the service you are proposing for Bellevue Hospital. In addition, you will explain the communication strategies you will use to involve the internal and external stakeholders of the healthcare organization that will be impacted by the service you are proposing for the hospital. This milestone will be graded with the Final Project Milestone Three Rubric.
Final Submission: Marketing and Communication PlanIn Module Nine, you will submit your final project. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.
12 pages
