Marketing in Small and Rural Hospitals. - book reviews

Healthcare Financial Management, April, 1990 by Shahram Heshmat

Marketing in Small and Rural Hospitals

By Carolyn C. Robert and Eugene C. Beck

American Hospital Publishing

Chicago, Ill., 1989

139 Pages, $28 AHA members; $35

nonmembers

During the past decade, marketing has become an important tool for hospital managers. Unfortunately, marketing also is misunderstood by them. According to a recent article by Jeff Goldsmith in the Harvard Business Review, hospitals during the 1980s suffered from a "classic case of 'marketing myopia,' throwing dollars after a maturing acute care market while ignoring a crucial shift in the demand for care."

A well designed and carefully executed marketing plan is crucial to the success of an organization. For smaller and rural hospitals, a marketing plan is a matter of survival.

The authors of this book, both experts in rural health care, effectively combine their experience into a realistic and comprehensive approach to rural hospital marketing that is tailored to the specific needs of these facilities. The process of developing a marketing plan is examined within the context of the overall strategic plan, and strategies and techniques are presented for practical implementation.

The book contains nine chapters and an appendix. The first two chapters introduce the rural hospital environment, define the principles of marketing and planning, and describe the steps to develop a marketing plan. Chapter three focuses on market research, its uses, the role of the market research consultant and selection process, and the effective use of consultants.

Chapter four discusses budgeting and using nonfinancial resources. Chapters five through eight describe the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. The last chapter presents case studies illustrating the concepts previously described. The appendix examines the results of three annual surveys of marketing in small and rural hospitals conducted by the authors.

Rural hospital managers planning a marketing study of their environment will find this book useful. It also is a valuable text for senior members of the hospital management team, students of health services administration, and key healthcare trustees and community leaders concerned with the hospital's role, mission, and responsibility.

Reviewed by Shahram Heshmat, PhD, assistant professor, health services administration, Sangamon State University, Springfield, III.