It is necessary to understand a healthcare environment before a marketing plan can be developed. Marketing should have strategic goals that are intended to address certain needs. One way of determining the goals for a marketing program is to conduct a SWOT analysis.
Element
Examples
S for strengths
areas of excellence, positive relationships
W for weaknesses
suboptimal services, negative relationships, problems
O for opportunities
unmet needs, changes in population demographics
T for threats
competition, regulation, change in reimbursement
Difficult tasks are identification of weaknesses and recognition of profitable opportunities.
The analysis may include a review of:
(1) physical facility
(2) location
(3) administrative teams
(4) workers
(5) professional staff
(6) community
(7) special populations
(8) other service providers
(9) available resources
Output:
(1) what needs to be preserved and built upon
(2) what needs to be reduced and eliminated
(3) how and where to allocate resources
(4) what to monitor and measure
(5) who and what to target
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