Questions:
1. A hospital marketing director has several research projects to undertake this quarter. He must try to determine the appropriate sampling methodology in light of each problem. Provide your recommendation on each issue:
(a) The hospital urology department wants to establish a sexual dysfunction clinic. The department head wants to get an estimate of the number of males aged 35 to 60 in the community suffering some form of sexual dysfunction.
(b) A primary care medical group is trying to determine whether patients are being greeted and serviced appropriately by the billing and admitting departments.
(c) An MCO is trying to determine what concerns physicians have in agreeing to become part of its panel of doctors who will treat the managed care plan's subscribers.
2. The American Academy of Pediatrics wants to conduct a survey of newly graduated family practitioners to assess why they did not choose pediatrics for their specialization. Provide a definition of the population, suggest a sampling frame, and indicate the appropriate sampling unit.
3. Listed below are the alternative samples obtained by a health care marketing research firm for its clients. Describe the type of sample each represents.
(a) Ten people sitting in the waiting room are asked to describe the ambiance of the facility and the attitude of the receptionist.
(b) The medical school samples alumni regarding an evaluation of their education. Respondents are selected in an amount equal to the same population of specialties from the graduating class.
(c) The walk-in clinic calls every 15th patient who visited the clinic on Wednesday to assess whether the patient was greeted by the receptionist and given a handbook regarding the scope of services and an explanation as to how the clinic operated.
4. Assume that a multi-specialty medical group has decided to segment the market in the community by income level. The group has decided to target a small niche of middle-aged, white-collar professionals who are married, with both spouses working outside the home. How might this medical group tailor its marketing mix to appeal to this segment?
5. Bethesda Hospital recently has developed an occupational medicine program. It wants to target employers in the Baltimore metropolitan area. The director of the program has a range of services within this program including toxicology assessment, education around issues such as preventing back injuries and stress management, and providing medical treatment at factories, should it be desired. Suggest three alternative ways the customer base for this new service could be segmented, and indicate how each base of segmentation would result in a change in the marketing mix.