SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) is a widely used strategic analysis tool that can help identify and evaluate the internal and external factors that significantly impact an enterprise. Strengths and weaknesses are internal components under the control of a company. Strengths involve the positive, unique aspects that highlight the advantages, while weaknesses refer to an organization’s negative traits that need to be improved or eliminated (Dandan, 2020). Effective market entry requires awareness of the opportunities and threats that represent factors outside an organization’s control.
Strengths
Ajo Medical Center’s (AMC) primary strength is its strategic location in the town’s business district. The site strategically places the facility at an accessible and easily identifiable to many potential clients. The hospital is set to offer specialized procedures that the competitor in the neighborhood in the state cannot provide (Dandan, 2020). The layout plan of the facility has used modern technology and hence conducive for proficient patient care. The few clients who have visited the AMC have indicated high satisfaction levels after their first visit to the center. The hospital is also equipped with modern technology and facilities that promote efficiency and hence customer satisfaction.
Weaknesses
The main weakness of this healthcare facility is low bed capacity. Currently, the medical facility operates at over 75 percent capacity due to the absence of a similar facility in the town center. The capacity has already started to overwhelm the available staff and facilities. This issue is a serious concern because of the potential negative impact on the hospital’s ability to provide efficient healthcare services, affecting patient outcomes, such as satisfaction (Pantzartzis et al., 2017). In this regard, AMC should prioritize addressing the issue of capacity to become more efficient and sustainable.
Opportunities
The healthcare facility will provide a market to other doctors who do not use the facility to generate more referrals. The hospital is new in the area with unique services that the other hospital lacks, and hence increasing awareness about the services would increase the number of clients (Dandan, 2020). The competitor’s location has led to the release of part of the market who prefer to seek medical services within the business district due to the nearness to their places of work and residences.
Threats
The hospital in the neighborhood offers competition to the medical center since it has been operational for a long time and may have attracted a larger customer loyalty percentage. Out of network patients has been an increasing phenomenon in the recent past and hence a threat to the optimizing revenue for the organization.
Proposal for Marketing Entry Strategy
The hospital will adopt direct exporting, which will involve direct selling of services and products to the patients. Ajo Medical Centre has a unique offering that attracts the interests of patients. The strong customer appeal has adapted to meet the demands of the local residents. AMC is entering a market with the low competition since the only hospital in Arizona is situated outside the town’s business district. Various factors have made direct exporting the most appropriate entry strategy for AMC.
The few months that the AMC has been operational have received positive feedback from the clients. The healthcare institution retains high-quality physicians, nurses, and subordinate staff, which have ensured quality results and continuous quality improvement. The hospital has recruited and intends to retain the nursing staff through respect and empowerment while also allowing them to advance. AMC has established departments with adequate staff members with sufficient training to enhance problem-solving procedures. These strategies also ensure the health center offers unique services that promote customer appeal.
Quality Customer Service Approach
AMC maintains high-quality service standards through technical results and functional outcomes. The hospital uses reliable and user-friendly equipment, which gives high-quality services. Quality aftersales services and education to the clients is also available to promote quality services.
Speedy and Reliable Distribution Strategies
Distribution strategies need to be of speedy service to the demands of clients through taking the service to the appropriate location through a marketing campaign to attain a larger market share. The organization provides a variety of services that the competitor has failed to offer throughout its existence. AMC is competent and able to keep up to date with the technological innovations and uses products and services that meet customers’ expectations.
Product Offers
AMC intends to enhance product diversification by introducing new products and services that meet various clients’ changing demands, which the existing player in the market has failed to provide. The approach would attract new patients from the competitors and limit the threats that can result from offering inadequate product lines (Hargett et al., 2017). The hospital has adopted new products by utilizing new technology for acute care specialties such as CT scans. Funding new programs to offer incentives on treating specific diseases also attracts customers.
Communication Strategy
Effective communication with the existing and potential patients is essential for AMC as a medical health establishment. AMC uses five advertising components, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing, as appropriate methods to reach target clients. The Center will employ an integrated marketing communications strategy to ensure the target audience received consistent and compelling messages.
The strategy will blend verbal and visual marketing channels to move customers through the purchase decision-making process. The CEO needs to communicate the vision to the top management of the hospital. This group would act as the primary disseminators of the vision. The CEO will also have to employ the captive method to communicate the message to all employees. Maintaining the broader aspect of employee communication at the message delivery’s pole position would be essential (Jena, 2020). The informed and engaged employees will promote a healthy relationship with the patients.
This communication strategy will offer a practical ability to listen to the physicians’ concerns through various platforms such as hall meetings, intranet comments, or direct conversations. The feedback and messages from the stakeholders of AMC would help the CEO improve the facility’s operations at various angles. Videos on platforms such as YouTube and the hospital’s internet are appropriate ways for the CEO to communicate to the employees and the community while delivering the institution’s message (Elrod & Fortenberry, 2020).
Market Research Tools
Various tools would be appropriate for use as marketing research tools for AMC. This includes Google Keywords Tool, Questback, social mention, and Google trends. Google Keywords Tool would help AMC to determine consumer behaviors when looking for products and services. Questback would help the health facility bridge the gap between the firm and the prospective clients. On the other hand, social media would help AMC to sell its brand in a short period. Google trends would be advantageous as AMC would get data in addition to selling its brand.
References
Dandan, S. M. M. (2020). Quality of medical services of primary health care centers at airports–using binary and SWOT analysis. Calitatea, 21(178), 157–166. Web.
Elrod, J. K., & Fortenberry, J. L. (2020). Integrated marketing communications: A strategic priority in health and medicine. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1–5. Web.
Hargett, C. W., Doty, J. P., Hauck, J. N., Webb, A. M., Cook, S. H., Tsipis, Neumann, J. E., Andolsek, K. M, & Taylor. D. C. (2017). Developing a model for effective leadership in healthcare: A concept mapping approach. Journal of healthcare leadership, 9, 69–78. Web.
Jena, B. N. (2020). Effective marketing tool for the marketing professionals in healthcare organization: The 4 ‘S’model. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 13(3), 201–206. Web.
Pantzartzis, E., Edum-Fotwe, F. T., & Price, A. D. (2017). Sustainable healthcare facilities: Reconciling bed capacity and local needs. International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, 6(1), 54–68. Web.