Department of Veteran Affairs Products and Services
Background for essay: Health services continue to affect the gross domestic product, and this dramatic transformation has great demands on each dollar spent to deliver patient-centered products. Health care marketing must be repeatedly applied and practiced strategically to include environmental dimensions, such as technology, socioeconomics, competition, and regulatory.
In today’s global economy, investors and potential entrepreneurs must tap into the so-called “unexplored” market. In this aspect, health care establishments must use marketing, advertising, as well as sales strategies when pursuing new customers. For example, suppose a health care investor wanted to build a small hospital in a rural community—this would entail exploration and logistical experimentation to determine who will patronize the facility. In an impoverished neighborhood, the feasibility of having lucrative profits may see diminishing returns, and so the venture may be not worth the effort. Also, suppose that the potential investor wants to sell mosquito deterrents (such as bedside netting in malaria-infested regions of Asia or Africa). In that case, it would be wise to investigate the number of beds that are in the village, and who would be willing to purchase them. These activities consider the investor portfolio, as well as the feasibility of marketing and selling the product. Such exploration also examines competitors, cultural differences, and—most important—identification of the customer.
-Using the health care organization you identified in the learning activity last week, determine its product development practices. You may develop the discussion based on the ideas presented here, but feel free to inject any relevant marketing strategy that you believe might support your essay.
---THE HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATION TO USE FOR THE ESSAY IS (THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HOSPITAL).
-Justify the purpose of the selected health care establishments’ product(s) / service (s) and their associated life cycle(s).
-Suggest one strategy to improve the marketing mix of the selected health care establishment. Support your strategy by highlighting one benefit of portfolio analysis and providing two examples that display differential advantages.
-Discuss the impact of possible economic decline on product-market expansion and how it can affect business planning based on global operating environment.
-Assess the importance of technology in providing patients with clear and accessible information about health care organizations and the product(s)/service(s) that they provide.
Use 3–4 sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment.
LINK-----------down below
https://www(dot)bing(dot)com/ck/a?!&&p=47e8635f13f61b71JmltdHM9MTY3MzgyNzIwMCZpZ3VpZD0yMzM3NjJhZC0zZTZlLTZhZWMtMDYwZS03MjllM2Y5ZjZiMTMmaW5zaWQ9NTE5Nw&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=233762ad-3e6e-6aec-060e-729e3f9f6b13&psq=va+hospital&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudmEuZ292L2hlYWx0aC8&ntb=1
Department Of Veteran Affairs Products and Services
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Department Of Veteran Affairs Products and Services
The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) is a governmental agency that operates a wide network of healthcare service delivery centers created to make sure that veterans can easily access healthcare services. In addition, the agency provides additional benefits such as financial aid to veterans and their families, and administers programs that facilitate the transition of veterans to civilian life (Martin et al., 2021). Consequently, the purpose of the various program and services designed by the VA is to make sure that veterans have access to high-quality and all-encompassing medical care. The products address the unique healthcare needs of the veteran population such as injury-related or illnesses-related diseases that are incurred during military service. Such products include inpatient and outpatient care, mental health services, long-term care, and rehabilitation services.
Notably, the life cycle of the VA’s products and services is heavily linked to the needs and demands of the veteran population. To this end, VA healthcare organizations are required to adjust the healthcare services they provide to veterans in response to considerations such as age and other factors. The advancement in medical technology also determines the life cycle of the various products and services that an organization offer in the sense that a VA hospital may end up introducing new products and services that meet the needs of veterans with the advancement of medical technology. An example is the continual search for PTSD new treatments and prosthetic devices.
A strategy that could improve the marketing mix of the VA network of healthcare delivery facilities is boosting the use of digital marketing and social media as promotional tools. A review of the organization’s activity in the social media field shows that the organization has not managed to enhance its social media engagement. VA has 294,000 subscribers on YouTube (2023) and less than 650,000 followers on Twitter (2023). Notably, promotion is one of the four elements of the 4Ps marketing mix and it describes the wide range of tools and approaches used to reach different audiences and achieve different objectives (Meffert et al., 2019). VA could use digital marketing and social media can be used to advertise its services and facilitate public relations. To this end, VA should create more engaging and informative content, such as videos and infographics, that highlight the hospital's services and how they can benefit veterans to attract more followers.
A benefit of a portfolio analysis of the VA's implementation of digital marketing and social media as a promotional tool is the ability to identify which services are most in demand among veterans and to focus marketing efforts on those areas. For example, the VA can recognize a high demand for mental health services among veterans and thus allocate more resources to promoting and expanding such services. The approach would allow the VA to target a specific audience and increase the chances of converting potential patients into actual patients (Appel et al., 2020). Two differential advantages that would be achieved using the VA’s use of digital marketing and social media are improved public relations and enhanced patient engagement.
In regards to improved public relations, digital marketing and social media tools can be used to update veterans and the public on the organization’s policies and procedures in a way that creates a sense of accountability and transparency. With the use of digital and social media tools, the organization can respond to complaints and inquiries promptly in a way indicating that the organization listens and cares about the needs of the veterans (Tian et al., 2019). VA can also improve its public relations by sharing positive stories about the organization. In the same vein, digital and social media tools can help VA enhance the levels of...