International Marketing Research at the Mayo Clinic Analysis

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING RESEARCH AT THE MAYO CLINIC
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The marketing challenges and problems/ other issues the mayo clinic faces in this case
The quality of their own data – the method Mayo has been accustomed to collecting data in the US falls short in the international space. For example, a system that can collect biographical data of a patient in the US detailing their name, address, etc is not sufficient to hold international information. the system has to be re-configured to collect the information from the international respondents. The problem is compounded by the fact that internationally, the Mayo may need to reconfigure the system for each country.
Infrastructure to aid in collecting data – the US and many other developed countries have elaborate and efficient systems for data communication. Their postal services and telecommunication infrastructure is reliable and efficient. In other countries, these systems are unreliable and it is difficult to hold phone interviews or guaranteeing that the mail will reach the respondent. In such cases, collecting the information from such areas may necessitate additional investment like sending the information to the field to conduct face to face interviews.
Cultural dynamics – the United States has a relatively homogenous culture. However, in the international space, culture is vastly different. In some communities any official communication, especially from international numbers, may have some bureaucratic channels even at the family levels before they reach the intended respondent. Such processes are time-consuming and may lead to collecting biased information from the respondent. Additionally, language barrier is a thorny issue that leads to lots of time consumed communicating to one respondent at the expense of another. In such cases, the quality of data collected is not very good.
High standards of quality – Mayo Clinic has its own standards of the data it collects. The standards dictate the data collection process to use high-quality language and culture-specific fielding on its research projects. In all these projects, there must be an oversight authority hired internally or outsourced to ensure that Mayo comes up with highest standards of data collected through methods designed to guarantee the be highest quality.
Mayo clinic recognition does not translate to business – Mayo research found out that some nonpatients hold policies with their insurance providers that list Mayo Clinic as a benefit and they do not wish to ever use it. they are confident in the healthcare quality they can find in their borders and do not necessarily mean or wish to ever travel to the US for treatment.
Recognition of Mayo Clinic around the world is limited – Despite the aggressive marketing the organization has done in the last 20 years since the establishment of its marketing department, the brand is still relatively unknown and unrecognizable to some people. It is even unrecognizable to some people whose insurance providers offer Mayo Clinic as a benefit. The company also found out that only 25% of policyholders knew mayo clinic among other US medical centers.
The data Mayo has been collecting about its patients
Mayo Clinic has been collecting information on the biodata including name, addresses etc, medical history and familial information. the name and addresses which constitute the biodata of the individual are common. The clinic would like to know where the client comes from, their occupation, age, channels of communication i.e phone number and email etc. Mayo has also been requesting medical records especially from their physicians especially to create a general profile of the patient. The data could be instrumental in future cases. Familial information is important as it also helps in identifying patterns of people who come to their medical center. In the report, Mayo notes that in some years, they receive 9,000 and 10,000 patients, from more than 160 different countries annually. Some are third-generation patients maybe their grandfather was cured there in 1930s.’
Limitations
The main limitation stems from the way mayo has been collecting its information. mayo clinic has been collecting the information through its channels. This is through interviews, postal correspondence, through their staff etc. this model is costly and expensive. secondly, it will only avail data about the people who are directly contacted by the mayo clin...