Introduction

A local hospital requested that Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc. assist them in assessing community perception and developing a strategic marketing plan. To develop a realistic and effective strategic marketing plan, it is important to understand how the community feels about the hospital and issues related to the hospital.

In order to achieve the most representative sample of community members, Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc. conducted a random telephone survey of residents in the hospital service area. Once the survey was completed, Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc. worked with the management and the Board of Directors to develop a strategic marketing plan for the future of the hospital.

Research Objectives

After a meeting with hospital management and staff, the following research objectives were developed for this project:

• Quantify the community perception of the hospital
• Understand how the community feels about hospital compared to other hospitals, and their preferred choice of health care providers
• Investigate why residents choose to use other health care providers than the hospital and what would get them to consider using the hospital
• Examine the unmet health care needs of residents in the area
• Gather information on how the community gets health care information and the most effective methods to communicate health care information
• Examine how affiliation with other hospitals is received in the community and the benefits or concerns about affiliation

Research Process

Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc. completed the following activities for the hospital:

1. Initial meeting with hospital management to understand the market position and mission of the hospital as well as the history of the hospital. The research objectives were refined and clarified and specific information needs to be accommodated in the survey design were discussed.
2. Develop a customized telephone survey, incorporating the ideas and concerns of the management of the hospital. The customized survey included 41 questions and took approximately ten minutes, on average, to complete.
3. A total of 460 surveys were completed with residents of the hospital service area. Residents were randomly selected using random-digit dialing. All survey respondents were at least 18 years old and the survey was primarily executed on weekday evenings.
4. Analyzed and summarized the survey data. The survey data was analyzed on a general level, and then by factors such as age, gender, and household income to determine if there are statistically significant differences.
5. Developed a narrative summary report including a summary of the project, major findings, analysis and conclusions. After the report was completed, Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc. held a workshop session with hospital management to discuss the research results and how to interpret them. In addition, a facilitated half-day session with the board was held to discuss the strategic marketing direction of the hospital.
6. Development of a strategic marketing plan for the hospital based on the results of the research and the priorities and preferences of hospital management and the board. The strategic marketing plan outlined the critical marketing goals and objectives for the hospital over the next 1-5 years.
   

Reporting

Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc. prepares a narrative summary report for every research project we complete. To see some sample pages from the narrative summary report for this project – click here:

Narrative Summary Report Sample (Adobe Acrobat format)

In addition to the narrative summary report, all research projects include a statistical reference binder with the statistical information from the report. To see some sample pages from the statistical reference binder for this project – click here:

Statistical Reference Binder Sample (Adobe Acrobat format)