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 energy to improving product quality" (Kotler, 1987, p. 28).
The product concept is important, and many of the things implied in its definition must be addressed by hospital organizations (for example improving product quality). The product concept is faulty, however, in that it implies that consumers purchase products, as opposed to purchasing solutions to their needs. This fault is particularly relevant in the health care industry.
Another concept...