Marketing for Surgery Services Essay
Plastic surgery has grown in popularity in recent years since people view it as a way to correct their perceived deformities. Data indicate that there is a growing demand for the service, especially in the United States. Notably, clinics have to market their services due to increased competitiveness. Promotion for plastic surgery is similar to other types of medical services, but has a unique target market.
The most critical information that a health facility must understand when designing a marketing plan for its services is the target audience. Understanding which part of the population demands the service the most helps a business determine how to focus its efforts (Wirtz & Lovelock, 2016). For instance, a majority of clients in the plastic surgery market are women. However, the demand for these services among men and teenagers has been growing over time. Based on the location and the quality of services offered it is important to determine the particular segment a clinic targets (Wirtz & Lovelock, 2016). Some plastic surgeons target high-income earners; this means that their facilities offer expensive packages. The business can be categorized as under people services since it involves physically attending to bodies of the customers. (Wirtz & Lovelock, 2016) The clients will be required to personally visit the clinics and co-operate actively with the service provision process. Therefore, the firm will be required to consider time, mental, and physical efforts involved, in addition to the financial requirement.
The clinic will use demographic segmentation. The target customers will be wealthy women above the age of 30 years. In an industry with numerous plastic surgery clinics, it is vital for a business to design adverts that explain to target customers why it is the best in the market. This statement is known as the value proposition (Lavinsky, 2013). A firm requires a strong value proposition that distinguishes it from its competitors. The business will present itself as having a plastic surgeon with many years of experience in a market dominated by individuals with little working knowledge. The pricing strategy that a clinic plans to use is also a vital aspect that has to be considered when developing a marketing approach (Lavinsky, 2013). The clinic will be a premier brand offering high-quality services at a high price. Apart from the services, the clinic will offer free consultations and discounts will be given for any returning costumers. The strategy will help retain customers.
It is critical that a clinic understand its 7 Ps of marketing when promoting its services. These will include price, promotion, place, product, positioning, packing, and people (Wirtz & Lovelock, 2016). The price helps determine the most suitable population; the company will use premium pricing. The main product sold at the clinic will be the plastic surgery services. Based on the market study, the product will be sold in the founders’ residential town due to the high number of customers. The services will be packaged as high-quality services, which are aimed at offering the customer the desired look at the end of the procedure (Wirtz & Lovelock, 2016). The people involved in the marketing process will include the management, marketing agencies, and the consumer. The most important of the three groups will be the consumers since they will have a major influence on how the marketing is done. The promotion element will include the use of both the traditional and digital advertising platform (Wirtz & Lovelock, 2016). The clinic plans to use billboards, television advertisement, social media, and Google Ads. The positioning of the company in the market will be that of a premier brand, which expensive. The management intends to use this method to communicate quality.
The pre-purchase stage of services includes four steps, namely, need awareness, information search, evaluation, and alternative services, and purchase decisions. The need awareness is stimulated by a need for the particular service due to various reasons (Tsiotsou & Wirtz, 2015). In this case, the need for awareness is caused by body awareness of the clients for aesthetics or medical conditions. The clinic will aim to appeal to the customers by making them consider some of their physical flaws as correctable. The approach will trigger the curiosity of the customers. When searching for information, most clients use multiple sources to ensure that they understand the service clearly (Tsiotsou & Wirtz, 2015). The firm will post its adverts on various online websites. In the current era, people tend to rely on the internet since it is easier to use. Therefore, making the information available in multiple web pages and types of sites will increase the customer confidence in the service offered. Customers use multiple traits to evaluate the quality of the services they intend to purchase. Therefore, the clinic will present its service as satisfactory, convenient, safe, and high-quality (Tsiotsou & Wirtz, 2015). The decision to purchase will be made when all the expectations of the consumer are met. Therefore, the adverts must be convincing. The clinic will use the value to customer approach since it supports that premium pricing strategy.
Marketing of plastic surgery services is similar to other forms of advertising. However, the promotional approach must be specific since only a few individuals in a large target market require the services. Furthermore, customers seek to obtain high-quality services; this makes customer referral the best approach to use to market the facility.
References
Lavinsky, D. (2013). Marketing plan template: Exactly what to include. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/davelavinsky/2013/09/30/marketing-plan-template-exactly-what-to-include/#517861193503
Tsiotsou, R. H., & Wirtz, J. (2015). The three-stage model of service consumption. Handbook of Service Business-Management, Marketing, Innovation and Internationalisation; Bryson, JR, Daniels, PW, Eds, 105-128.
Wirtz, J., & Lovelock, C. (2016). Services Marketing: People, Technology. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Company.
