Marketing Product Development

Product Development
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Abstract
For a fruitful positioning of healthcare products in the market, some considerations must be in place such as product development. What follows should be comprehensive research and an analysis of the needs and the segment markets. There is the regulatory environment that is part of healthcare products that cannot be snubbed. It will continue to play an important role in placing the products on the market. Pricing of the products is one of the factors that affect the positioning of the products. Planning on the pricing in the initial development of the product development process is key. By looking at who shall be paying for products that may either be the patients, government, or the hospital. The reimbursement of the health products needs to be considered, which determines if the product can deliver suitable returns. Moreover, the healthcare providers are primary stakeholders in the lifecycle of both products and services making them crucial to the welfare of patients.
Keywords: Healthcare, products, service, portfolio, technology, survey
Product Development
Introduction
Products have a life cycle in that, at times, those goods perceived to be well established in the market decline and are less popular. Interestingly, the demand for new products and modern goods increases with time after such products are launched in the market. Most firms understand the nature of product lifecycle, and they utilize aggressive marketing in the launch of new products (Stark, 2015).

This move ensures that the business grows with the product doing well in the market. The stages of product life cycle revolve around four cycles;
Introduction stage – it marks the initial step in the product life, and at this time, the market share of the product is small. The sales at this stage are low as the product has not taken root. The cost of research, marketing, and consumer testing is high (Stark, 2015)
Growth stage – it is marked by strong growth in the profit margins and turnover, and the firm may start to enjoy the privileges of economies of scale. The enterprise can invest from the profits realized for promotion
Maturity stage – at this point, the product has already established itself in the market, and the aim of the management solely lies in sustaining the market share they have fabricated. It marks a stage where competition is mostly high, and the management needs to tread carefully on the marketing strategy undertaken (Stark, 2015). Additionally, they need to consider any need for product modification to give the products a competitive advantage
Decline stage – it marks when the market shrinks, which is brought about by the market being saturated in that customers may have already purchased the products they require, or they decide to switch to other products
St. Andrew Health Care Center
St. Andrew health care specializes in the provision of medical care and treatment of the patients in the neighborhood. The healthcare center offers a variety of products and services to meet the needs and wants of the patients. It offers in-patient services that include laboratory services, childbearing, dental, emergency, and intensive care. Moreover, it offers out-patient services that cover ambulance services, nutrition, and physiotherapy. Interestingly, the outpatient services are more popular considering they have a longer product lifecycle. In-patient services have shorter life cycles since patients can only access the products promptly.
Out-patient services are associated with longer life cycles since they go beyond just meeting the needs of the patients. Follow-ups are necessary to establish how the patients respond to medication which needs close monitoring. The healthcare has taken a measure to increase the lifecycle of the products and services by centering on value and personalization of the needs of the patients so that the customers are enchanted.
The marketing mix of St. Andrew health care entirely revolves around the 7ps of marketing. In improving the health care in the hospital, a focus on customer satisfaction is addressed by ensuring the needs and demands are met. Additionally, the institution offers competitive prices for services and products to the patient. At the same time, the pricing strategy should meet the necessary reimbursement for the hospital as well as achieve quality and value for the healthcare. The satisfaction of the customers is a basis that can reflect effective performance measurement. The satisfaction of the customer reflects the perception the medical services offered and the hospital.
Portfolio analysis is a necessary tool that helps in bridging strategy formulation and implementation in the hospital, responding to the vital mandates while simultaneously helping the organization to move forward. This analysis helps in identifying areas that the healthcare center ought to focus on their service and product provision that is aimed at addressing the desires of the customer. Moreover, the portfolio analysis is indeed useful in the pricing strategy, which gives the management of the health care center the opportunity to look at their processes. It creates a chance to set its goals and apportion resources accordingly.
Importance of Technology
The rise in the use of technology in healthcare has proved to be beneficial in the provision of medical services to the patients. Indeed, technology is an important tool that influences the communication of vital information to the patients about health care services and products provided. The age of internet and social media has drastically transformed communication process by health care providers. Through such communication, the healthcare providers can reach out to the patients (Wildevuur & Simonse, 2015). Additionally, technology facilitates communication to many patients in that the healthcare providers communicate and reach out to many patients in short period. Information is posted on social media and health blogs that can be accessed by patients. There are interactive websites and emails that the health care providers use which enable the patients and the providers to interrelate (Wildevuur & Simonse, 2015). Health care providers can pass information about a disease break out, ways for prevention, and where treatment can be accessed by patients.
Still, technology assists in creating awareness of new health products and services being launched to patients (Wildevuur & Simonse, 2015). The social media and dedicated websites act as good publicity in informing the public of the new products in the market. Moreover, patients and clients provide feedback through with questions and comments on interactive websites and blogs (Wildevuur & Simonse, 2015). Moreover, technology has ensured information is readily available through the blogs and dedicated healthcare portals.
Survey Outline
The survey below is a tool that is useful in gathering information with regards to whether the patients’ anticipations were met through delivery and convenience of products and services.
Do you know of products and services that are provided in St. Andrew health care center?
No
Yes
What products and services did you imagine to find in St. Andrew health care?
Which clinics were you able to access? Did the level of service provided appeal to you?
Yes
No
When you came to the hospital were you expecting to be admitted?
Yes
No
What was the cause of hospitalization?
Surgery
Ongoing treatment
Checkup
Lab tests
Emergency
Were you contented with the services and products that St. Andrew health center provided?
How did the staff attend to you? Did you feel that they attended to your needs? Were they concerned with your situation?
No
Yes
Uncertain
What should the hospital improve on so that it meets your expectation?
Conclusion
Assertively, the healthcare providers can help to increase their products lifecycle by giving a closer look to the welfare of the patients. Given that the satisfaction of the patient is paramount, healthcare providers can interact with the patients at a personal level. It will help the organization to give substantial consideration to the products and services they offer. Moreover, by mixing the marketing strategies, it can help them market their products and increase their product lifecycle.
References
Stark, J. (2015). Product lifecycle management. In Product Lifecycle Management (Volume 1) (pp. 1-29). Springer International Publishing.
Wildevuur, S. E., & Simonse, L. W. (2015). Information and communication technology–enabled person-centered care for the “big five” chronic conditions: scoping review. Journal of medical Internet research, 17(3).