Report: Contemporary Marketing Issues in the UK Healthcare Sector

This report provides a detailed analysis of contemporary marketing issues within the UK healthcare sector. It begins by defining marketing's role in healthcare, emphasizing its importance for promoting treatments, prevention, and services. The report then identifies key challenges, including the need to balance patient needs and wants, navigate market uncertainties, adapt to rapid changes in marketing tactics, and address public perception issues. It also highlights issues such as budget constraints, the impact of online reviews, and the complexities of the UK healthcare system. The report further explores the different dimensions affecting healthcare marketing, including political, economic, social, technological, and legal factors. The report concludes by discussing potential solutions, risks, and measures to reduce implementation risks, providing a comprehensive overview of the current marketing landscape in the UK healthcare industry.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE 2
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Marketing as health care issue.........................................................................................................3
Health care issue in the UK.............................................................................................................4
Different dimensions related to the issues.......................................................................................6
Discussion on the potential solutions related to the healthcare marketing issues...........................8
Risks and contingencies related with the plan of improvement......................................................9
Measures to reduce the implementation risks..................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The healthcare management focuses on smooth running of the healthcare systems tht
includes hospitals, public health systems and healthcare networks. The main objective of the
healthcare management in the system is evaluated to be moulding various departments with the
utilization of person power, equipment, problems as well as finances. Like any other industry the
healthcare industry also faces various kinds of management issues that need to be addressed in
order to run the system in the most effective manner. In this context the assignment will focus on
evaluating the aspects related to the marketing issue in healthcare system in the country the UK.
The UK healthcare sector is considered to be the strongest and most productive with turnover of
£70bn. In the UK marketing the products and services of the healthcare industry has become
essential. It uses the bran and digital strategies that includes the communication channels like the
web designs, print advertisements etc. However the marketing domain of the sector is facing
issues due to various reasons that will be addressed in the assessment. The different dimensions
that affect the healthcare sector in regards of issue in the context of strategic development and
planning mechanisms will also be addressed in this assessment. The potential solutions and the
risks associated with the implementation will be evaluated in order to find out measures to
reduce the risks.
Marketing as health care issue
Marketing is considered to be an indispensable part of the success of any kind of
organization in every domain of human life that also includes healthcare. In regards of the
healthcare system marketing is used for promotion of any kind of treatment, prevention centres
as well as it is also evaluated to be the producers of different kinds of medications that helps in
encouraging the people in using the services of the healthcare organization. The purpose of
marketing is not only providing clients to the healthcare organization but also making people
aware of various kinds of illness, their consequences and also about the available treatments. In
regards of contemporary marketing in the healthcare domain in the UK both traditional and
innovative approaches in the context of advertising the products and services of the healthcare
industry are utilized (Wood, 2016). Healthcare organizations like any other organization also
face the threat from competitors in the market. The healthcare domain is not an exception

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE 4
because of the fact that there are various services from different providers. In this context each
organization of Healthcare in the UK needs to put effort to provide assurance to the customers
that their organization provides best services than the other available in the market. In this
consideration marketing plays an important role in helping the healthcare organization to gain
the competitive advantage in the market. There are various factors that create issues for the
marketing activities of the healthcare organization. For instance the image of the healthcare
institution plays a major role and has an effect on the marketing process. This is because the
negative reputation of the hospital or other healthcare institution will create barriers in regards of
the marketing activities of the organization. In this context the marketing issues of the healthcare
organization in The UK are required to be emphasised in order to develop the organization and
help to gain the benefits from the marketing activities.
Health care issue in the UK
In the current context the healthcare system in the UK are facing various kinds of issues
that are affecting the organizations in terms of revenue generation as well as in their activities of
making people aware about various health diseases and their consequences. One of the major
concerns related to the healthcare industry marketing aspects are evaluated to be related with
needs and wants. The healthcare professionals need to face the issue of the differences in the
needs and wants of the customers in regards of the treatment. The issue that the healthcare
organization faces is the dilemma that what is required to be prioritized the need or want of the
customer in regards of the advertisements and promotions (Blackstone & Fuhr Jr, 2016). For
instance, in the UK researches about the weight loss pill are being conducted. However the issue
with this is the negative effect of the pill on the customers. The markets in this context are facing
the issue of prioritizing between the needs of the customer that is weight loss and want of the
customer that is an easier way of weight loss by using pill. This want of the customer in the
current context are elated to have negative effects. However the marketers are not able to decide
the response to this want as it needs to be medically appropriate. Another marketing issue in
regards of the healthcare industry in the UK is evaluated to be uncertainty. It is analysed that
with the recent changes in the healthcare domain in the country the marketers of the healthcare
organizations are not sure in which way the market moves in regards of the happenings and
trends in the sector. Another factor is that the field of healthcare in regards of online marketing is

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE 5
way back then the other industry. This is because healthcare organizations in the UK have just
started using the online platform to attract the customers. In this context it becomes difficult for
the marketing departments of the healthcare organizations to evaluate where they stand in
regards to online presence and speed up in the context of the use of the platform in an effective
way.
Rapid changes in the healthcare marketing are another issue that needs to address in the
current consideration. It is evaluated that the traditional marketing in healthcare industry in the
UK is being overpowered by the inbound marketing tactics that includes social media and
blogging (Safanta, Shihab, Budi, Hastiadi & Budi, 2019). This involves a good amount of budget
that creates issues for marketing in regards of the healthcare organization. Public perception
about the healthcare system is another reason that creates issue in the marketing activities and
gaining the desired result. Most of the consumers suffer due to the weird medication
advertisements that influences tier trust over the marketing activities of the healthcare system. In
this context the marketing issue that arises is that it becomes difficult to win over the trust of the
sceptical and cynical consumers. Another issue is the tight budget and the less priority that the
marketing activities receive from the healthcare organizations in the UK (Oderanti & Li, 2018).
It becomes difficult on the part of the marketers to make the organization to accept the idea of
the need of being different with a digital-driven as well as customer-oriented healthcare market.
It is also analysed that most of the consumers are placed in regards of having choices and
agencies in healthcare. However the doctors have the view that die to the marketing pro-activity
the pressure in regards to accepting the demands of the ill informed patients as well as
cheapening the value of the expert advice will increase.
The online review provided by the consumers also creates barrier in obtaining the
expected results by the marketing department of any healthcare organization. The negative
review given by the consumers affect the reputation of the healthcare organizations and in that
consideration it becomes difficult to obtain the required outcome through the marketing
activities. The UK healthcare system is considered to be the most complicated one in the global
context. In this context the other factors of the healthcare organizations like the billing issues or
insurance revival issue may have direct impact on the marketing activities (Fine, 2017). It is
evaluated that squaring the circle in regards of the different stakeholders of the healthcare
organization is analysed to be a never ending healthcare marketing issue. Marketing

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE 6
segmentation is another factor that creates issues in regards of marketing. This is because that
class marketing tools are utilized that includes the customer relationship management suites. In
this context the issue is using the tools and strategic thinking in regards of planning as well as
compliance with the responsibilities.
Different dimensions related to the issues
There are various dimensions that have an effect on the marketing activities of the healthcare
domain. In this context it is essential to understand the factors as well as its impact on the
marketing aspects of the healthcare organizations or the industry as a whole in the UK.
Following are the dimensions discussed that are considered to have an effect on the marketing
activities of the healthcare system of the UK -
1. Political factors are evaluated to be one aspect that creates marketing issues in the
healthcare system. This is because the marketers are not able op emphasis or focus on the
long term marketing strategies due to changing political environment in the UK (Thune
& Mina, 2016). The change in the political party in power also has an impact on the rules
and regulations affect the marketing activities of the healthcare organizations. This is
beaches the change in the rules and regulations makes the marketers change the strategies
and they need to plan from the beginning in regards of working according to the rules set
by the new government.
2. The impact of economic factors on the healthcare industry in regards of marketing is also
evaluated. One of the economic factors that affect the marketing activities is considered
to be the lack of resources that is important for conducting the marketing activities. The
economic environment is considered to be having huge impact on the marketing aspect as
the market highly depends on the economic condition of the country (Sloan & Hsieh,
2017). In this context the marketing activities are required to e in accordance to the
changes of the economic dimensions in the country. The economic environment can
affect in obtaining the objectives of the healthcare organizations through marketing. The
healthcare organization's investment plan on marketing also gets affected due to the
changes in income distribution as well as the fiscal conditions that have an effect on the
borrowing rates.

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3. Another factor that the healthcare organizations in regards of marketing needs to sensitive
is the social factors that include the demographic and cultural trends. The social factors
can have an impact on the marketing activities and create issues as well. This is because
the marketers in regards of setting up the strategies need to take care of the factors like
changing work ethics as well as culturally diverse marketplace. In this context the
marketing issues that is created is evaluated to be meeting the needs of the different types
of people that belong to different cultural domains and background.
4. Technological factors are another aspect that creates issues marketing of healthcare
organizations and their facilities. The rapid change in the technological factors has huge
impact on the industry because the organizations involved in this domain are required to
invest in these technologies to incur the benefits. However there may be some issues that
can directly hamper the hospitals and healthcare centres if the technology is not used in
the appropriate and authentic way (Brownson, Colditz & Proctor, 2018). For instance big
data technology can be used to create strategies for marketing but the lack of resources
required in using the technology creates issues for the marketers of this domain. In this
context operating the web-based happening services are also evaluated to be creating
challenges for the healthcare industry in the UK.
5. Legal environment can also create issues in regards of marketing of the organizations and
their facilities. This is because the marketing activities are required to be compelling with
the legal factors. However working in accordance to the legal practices sometimes creates
issues for implementing the marketing strategies of the organizations (Avorn, 2017). It is
important for the marketers to abide by the legal factors in a strict way otherwise the
healthcare organization may get shut as this is considered to be one of the important
environments that needs to be emphasised in the UK healthcare industry in the proper
manner. For various marketing activities the healthcare organizations needs to seek
government approval that makes the process slow and using any other way is considered
to be illegal.
6. In regards of the marketing plan of the healthcare sector it is evaluated that the
competitive forces and the factors related to them are the uncontrollable element that
creates issues. In this context it becomes difficult on the part of the marketers to plan the
strategies without reflecting on the factors related with the competitive forces in the

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE 8
market (Dogramatzis, 2015). The marketing issue that is created in this consideration is
that the competitive forces are not stagnant and can have various kinds of effect on the
marketing strategies and implement action decided by the healthcare organization and
other institutions in the UK.
Discussion on the potential solutions related to the healthcare marketing
issues
It is essential for the healthcare marketers to resolve the issues that they are facing in the
current context. The marketing departments of the organization needs emphasis on the
opportunities in the market as well as develop strategies to deal with the limitations that the
structure of healthcare system creates in the UK. In this context it is essential on the part of the
markets to work within the boundaries of the healthcare structure that will help in following the
government rules and legal factors in the appropriate way. In this context it is essential on the
part of the marketing department to restrict using certain tools that includes the remarketing tools
that comprises the confidential health data of the patients. This will help in safeguarding the
information of the consumers and abide by the law (Gilligan & Lowe, 2018). Another factor that
marketers need to emphasize is that they are not sharing any kind of false claims in the
promotional activities and advertisements. In this context the focus of the authority of the
healthcare organizations is required to check that the messages do not inflate the results of
certain products or services of the institute in any way. In this context the issues related to
content marketing needs to be emphasized in the effective manner. The content marketing can
help healthcare organizations to attract consumers towards using the facilities of the institutions.
It can also help in creating awareness about any kind of disease or illness and explain the people
about the importance of consulting the healthcare practitioners in regards of that disease.
Another issue is the right financial budget that needs to be dealt with utmost priority. In this
consideration the healthcare organization marketing department can approach the senior
management for the requirement of the appropriate budget and requirement for the long term and
short term goals. In this context the marketing team van make reports to show the management
the return of investment that can be incurred with the proper allocated budget. In this
consideration the team needs to focus on the fact that marketing is just not a cost to the
healthcare organization it is a revenue generator a well. In the contemplation of dealing with the

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE 9
resistance of change by the consumers the marketing team of the healthcare institutions in the
UK needs to emphasize on the patient experience of the hospital for the targeted audience
(Danaher & Gallan, 2016). In this context they can understand and know about what they can
expect from the healthcare organization in terms of facilities and other important attributes. For
example the healthcare institution marketing team can record a short video that shows the real
picture of the healthcare facilities. This will help in making the viewer go through every step that
is related with the services that are being advertised and promoted.
Risks and contingencies related with the plan of improvement
There are various factors that are involved in implementing the strategies of marketing in
an effective manner. One of the factors is involved with the context marketing. The use of the
words in content marketing lie best a well as world class is not appropriate. Another risk related
with the implementation of the strategy is related with generation of the budget. In this context if
the marketing will not be able to achieve the desired return of investment then it will have an
effect on the future investments by the management of the healthcare institution (Becker, 2015).
Another risk in regards of implementing the solution to resistance to change is that the team can
get carried away and utilize any content that can have false acquisitions. This will have a huge
impact on the marketing activities as well as the reputation of the healthcare institution in an
adverse way. In regards of dealing with the issue of online reviews the marketing team can
emphasize on the impactful content shared by the consumers that includes related stories. This
will help in building trust overtime and also help in leading the audience towards better
understanding of the healthcare knowledge and expertise of the organization.
Measures to reduce the implementation risks
In regards of reducing the implementation risks the hospitals and other healthcare
institutions are required to emphasize on every factor of strategy implementation and the risks
involved with it. In the context of content marketing it's essential that the words that are not
quantifiable in regards of the healthcare organization are not used. This helps in not portraying
any kind of false acquisitions that later provides the consumer with the reason to blame the
hospital. Another measure in regards of reducing the risk is not able to incur the desired Return
of Investment. In this context the marketing head of the organisation needs to recruit a skilled

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE 10
analyst that has the proper knowledge of using the tools that includes Google Analytics (Sarkar,
2017). This will be helpful in consideration of attributing revenue in regards of specific tactics
and campaigns. In the context of reducing the risk related to the solution of reducing resistance
to change of the consumers the marketing will make a team that will emphasize on reviewing the
content shred through the social media marketing as well as traditional marketing. This will help
in stopping the activity that has false acquisitions.
Conclusion
From the above discussion it can be concluded that marketing in the current content of
the healthcare industry plays an important role. This is because it helps the healthcare institutions
and organizations to develop and grow. It also helps in making the people aware of the various
kinds of dishes and their effects on them. With this the organizations can fulfil their social
responsibilities and also advertise about the facilities and treatment available in their respective
organizations. In this consideration it's important that the healthcare organizations in the
healthcare system in the UK emphasizes on the factors associated with marketing and focuses on
mitigating the issues faced by the department.

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