MARKET FORECASTING FOR HOSPITALS

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this research is to examine the use of market forecasting by hospital organizations. The use of marketing techniques by non profit organizations is not new, although techniques developed for profit oriented organizations often required modification for use by the not for profit sector. The increased emphasis on the application of marketing techniques by hospitals, including market forecasting, in the contemporary health care services delivery environment, however, does not emanate from the needs of not for profit hospitals. Rather, it is the result of the rapid growth in numbers of profit oriented health care services delivery firms, many of which operate hospitals.

MARKET FORECASTING NEEDS

All organizations, profit oriented, or not for profit, have a need to know what demands will be placed upon them by the clientele they serve. Their precise information needs, with respect to the development of market forecasts, depend to a great extent on the approach taken by the organization, in the development of marketing objectives.

There are several different concepts upon which the process of marketing, and in turn, the development of marketing objectives, may be based. First, there is the product concept, which assumes that "consumers will favor those products that offer the most quality for the price, and therefore the organization should devote its ene

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by the activities of marketing organizations, and how these impacts are perceived by a marketing organization's customer base (Kotler, 1987, pp. 110-112). 4. The technological environment. This environment is concerned with the type and pace of technological changes which occurr in the industry within which the marketing organization functions, as well as those technological changes which are external to the industry, but which affect industry conditions. 5. The political environment. This environment consists of the "interacting set of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and constrain the conduct of various organizations and individuals in the society" (Kotler, 1987, p. 115). The political environment is critical to the operations of marketing organizations, regardless of the type of activity in which an organization may be engaged. 6. The cultural environment. This environment describes the ways in which a society "shapes . . . basic beliefs, values, and norms" (Kotler, 1987, pp. 116-117). Within a given society, people hold many beliefs, and of these many beliefs, "those . . . most central . . . can be called . . . core beliefs" (p. 122). The remaining beliefs are the secondary cultura
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Analysis Forecasting, Markey Shafran, Steinbrenner Bent, ACCURACY APPLICATIONS, MARKET FORECASTING, Office CBO, DeLozier Woodside, Census Summary, Magee Boodman, Stroup Studenmund, health care, market forecasting, health care services, care services, kotler 1987, marketing organization, profit oriented, hospital organizations, marketing concept, care costs, environment environment, health care costs, medical services industry, care service delivery, markey shafran 1986,
Approximate Word count = 6168
Approximate Pages = 25 (250 words per page)

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