Marketing Case Study of Future Plans for Telehealth Ontario

This case study analyzes the marketing strategies of Telehealth Ontario, a company providing telehealth services. The study explores the transformation of the marketing mix from 4Ps to 4Cs, emphasizing the importance of convenience and cost-effectiveness in the digital age. It examines the potential of the 'Internet of Things' for Ontario, including integrating diagnostic devices and providing remote patient monitoring. A SWOT analysis of the proposed telehealth services highlights strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The study also discusses the impact of the internet on the spread of telehealth services and the adoption of an action research model for service launches, allowing for continuous improvement based on customer feedback. Furthermore, it touches on customer relationship management and the concept of a triple bottom line approach to telehealth services, and stakeholder analysis is also provided.

Running Header: MARKETING CASE STUDY OF FUTURE PLANS FOR TELEHEALTH ONTARIO
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Name
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Running Header: MARKETING CASE STUDY OF FUTURE PLANS FOR TELEHEALTH ONTARIO
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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
The transformation of the 4P’s of marketing worked like magic for the company.....................................4
Above the line integration is the need of the hour for Ontario...................................................................5
The “Internet of the things” can be the next frontier for Ontario...............................................................6
Marketing mix for the proposed Telehealth Services..................................................................................7
The impact of the Internet on the spread of Telehealth services................................................................8
Launching of a service on an action research model 9
The Bottom line moves on the sword of the Razor...................................................................................11
Customer relationship and database management...................................................................................12
Telehealth services on the scale of triple Bottom line...............................................................................13
Stakeholder Analysis..................................................................................................................................14
The application of current Marketing Mix in the case of Ontario..............................................................15
Bibliography..............................................................................................................................................16
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Introduction
We have not lost faith in the God, the story of any medicine company or a health care provider
starts on a very positive note. They compare it with the divine, in fact, active history of Native
Americans is evident, a simple pot filled with herbs and medicine was a blessing of God for
them. A simple vaccine was Godsend for them. It was the phase of 17th and 18th century.
Then came in another phase, where marketing Guru Philip Kotler, described the trade of
medicine as the trade moving ahead because of an unwholesome demand (Edward, 2010). He
was quite right in his assessment. Medicine related solutions were available in plenty in the
market. Medicine companies and healthcare providers were battling it to figure out space in the
market.
It was the time when the concept of diagnostic knocking the door. When we have a
macroeconomic look then we can divide, healthcare industry into roughly 13 to 14 segments,
diagnostic processes is one of them and it can be considered as the fastest growing segment as
well. This fast growth of the diagnostic processes created three more sub-industry segments
(Burns, 2014).
1. Heavy and expensive diagnostic Machines like MRI etc.
2. Light and end user-friendly diagnostic machines like Insulin count meter, home blood
pressure equipment etc.
3. Mechanical therapy devices like massage chairs and heat belts etc.
Before we head towards the main case study that we are going to discuss in this paper, we would
also like to introduce another sub-segment, which is rising fast. Evidence-based practices of
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Medicine industry also promotes a culture of "symptomatic treatments." Based on the facility
many organizations are running their websites where you can share your symptoms and get a
prescription from the expert talking on the website. In most of the cases, they prescribe some
generic medicines as a remedy a person can get home delivery of the solutions. In the current
study, we are discussing the marketing mix plans of one such company under the name of
Ontario Telehealth Services.
The transformation of the 4P’s of marketing worked like magic for the
company
At the turn of the century, Marketing Guru Philip Kotler very rightly said that four P’s of the
marketing will become redundant and the concept of the product life cycle will take a new
beating. Companies will skim the markets and run away from the scene to launch new products.
Standardization of the services will take a backseat and exclusive nature of the business will
attract more eyeballs (Hoggard, 2010).
Right now we are talking about the conversion of 4P’s into the 4C’s the diagram mentioned in
the picture is showing this transformation quite effectively. In the past, the visit to a doctor was
dependent on the place, now after the arrival of the internet and related technologies it is
dependent on the convenience. You were required to pay a price to a doctor, now you are
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thinking in the terms of the cost where consultancy is free and you are paying only for the
medicine and delivery charges. The efforts of promotion have converted themselves into
communication and product per say has no meaning because most of the products are already in
the “state of factory” status and even indirect competition is providing some solutions (Wolper,
2004).
“Telehealth Ontario” is a startup where they provide free consultancy to the patients and sell
medicine related solutions. They can also counsel you and suggest you so that you can move to
the right places in the case of bigger problems. When you will earn a consumer loyalty with them
then they can also maintain a medical profile for you as well. Now traditionally speaking a
general practitioner also does the same thing. We can also safely say that Ontario is a digital
avatar of a general practitioner clinic in a digital format.
Above the line integration is the need of the hour for Ontario
At the turn of this century, many thinkers in the fraternity of business academia expressed the
concern that regular business models will not survive for more than ten years in a succession. It
is true because in the case of health care sector entry barriers are decreasing. In the past the
business model for a healthcare provider was simple, they were capitalizing on the factor of the
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“natural increase” of the population. Things were centralized, expert hands were in short supply,
and things have changed now. Though the concept of "Natural Increases in the population" has
reached the levels of "natural multiplication" in the society, still the competition is stiff because
the number of trained professionals and service providers has increased drastically. The mantra is
loud and clear, if you are not going upward then you are inviting the threat of becoming obsolete
(Blythe, 2013).
In a condition like this, companies like Ontario are always in a need to make a move above the
line otherwise, within a span of five years many more competitors will move into the same
market and spoil the things completely for them.
The “Internet of the things” can be the next frontier for Ontario
The low-end versions of the latest smartphones carry a universal remote in them. You can
connect them to your doors and other electronic devices and use the remote functions (Ross,
2016). The same internet of the things can be connected to a central monitoring system where
they can connect where medical devices to it, for instance, imagine a booth inside your house
fitted with BP devices, ECG devices, and other equipment. Ontario is planning to develop a
portable system like this and install it in various places. In theoretical terms, we can also say that
currently, they are providing some solutions based on the symptomatic treatments but in the near
future, they want to take it to a new level where they will be able to monitor their patients with
the help of basic diagnostic devices and provide them a solution. They can also connect this
system with a futuristic surveillance system, which will be able to generate SOS and first
response alerts for the concerning healthcare personals (Rick, 2015).
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Marketing mix for the proposed Telehealth Services
We have moved from P’s to C’s, the marketing mix of the current set of services should be
designed on the lines of C’s. Here we are presenting a SWOT analysis of the marketing mix of a
Telehealth services proposed by Ontario.
Strength Weaknesses
The number of gadget-friendly people in the
world is increasing.
You cannot expect all the patients to have good
IQ levels and affinity with medical devices.
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The number of elderly people is increasing
across the world.
It is a cost effective method where human
intervention is less.
Exact "evidence-based practices" are missing,
devices may deceive sometimes.
The government sector is promoting this
particular segment in developing countries.
Individual setups are expensive and in a state
of art of status.
Opportunities Threats
The concept of the internet of the things is
moving in.
It can become too complicated like PC and lose
its sheen.
Success Ratio is very high in the terms of first
response facilities.
Many patients find it difficult to adapt to this
particular system.
The system can be monitored easily from a
remote place.
The absence of human touch and feel makes it
an incomplete solution at times.
Patients feel more secured because they are
connected to 24x7 help mechanism.
Patients feel that they have become a prisoner
of a cage; they are in a hospital even when they
are at home.
The impact of the Internet on the spread of Telehealth services
The Internet forms the backbone of these industries, we are already moving in the world where
fourth industrial revolution is all poised to change many things in the market and marketing. The
5G beams of the internet are going make it faster and more accurate. The technological
advancements are supporting the industry, many good works are already happening in the field
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of electrical sensors, these sensors can also add a magic into the game in the coming future. Sony
had it with the walkman when they proposed the culture of personal music, now Telehealth
services are also waiting for any magic product to come. Right now we can say that many big
players in the field of electronics are working in this direction where they will connect the
findings of a sensor with the internet of things to create a reporting culture. At a lower level or
less sophisticated level, these sensors are already working in the segment of industry automation
and has a great future in store for medical services (Wilson, 2005)
Let us keep aside the functionality and think about it from the perspective of the marketing mix
all over again, we are aware that the days of promotion are over and we are heading in the world
of communication. Ontario has an advantage in the regard they are already interacting with the
people and standing on a platform where people will listen to them. It will also help them in the
terms of the branding of the new age Teleservices that they are launching.
Launching of a service on an action research model
In the year 1934, Henry Ford was aware of the fact that in absence of obsolescence his car
business will lose its sheen in New York, in order to beat the permanency he came up with the
concept of "Limited edition cars." Medicine companies are also doing the same thing, instead of
endlessly waiting for the perfect recipe they are also launching early versions of the medicines
and improving them in the future course in order to boost their product life cycles. Ontario can
launch their service with the help of a similar marketing strategy, they can come up simple and
basic machines with fewer devices and then finally they can add more features into their systems
(Langdrum, 2004).
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This mode is also known as action research model where a company gets this opportunity to
improve their own product line based on the feedback of the customers. Here we would like to
add one more thing, which is connected to the internet as well as Telehealth services solutions.
Telehealth services and the presence of the high-end internet connections provides a lean and
mean feedback chain. The primary business of Ontario follows a lean and mean nature they are
well adapted to it and they can get the complete advantage of this scenario and continue with
their action research while making money out of their systems.
Here we would also like to add that most of the product launches in the future economies are
going to act like a potential action research, companies will collect their notes in the form of
feedback, improve the goods and try to sell an old wine in a new bottle. This practice was always
there, however, now it has taken a new twist as the world is heading towards capitalistic
marketing ideologies (Appel, 2004)
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The Bottom line moves on the sword of the Razor
One of the conditions for the survival of the industries of the future lies in the fact that they
conduct their business based on a Razor blade pricing model when we were discussing the
weaknesses of Telehealth services in the SWOT analysis, a point came in that suggested that
these equipment are costly for individuals. Razorblade model can act like an ideal metrics to
overcome this shortcoming. Simple devices for the heart like pacemakers and others follow this
model, in this model, they sell base component on cheaper prices and later on receive money on
a regular basis from the customers by keeping the other assisting components at a higher price.
Consumers do not mind this high price because they do not need to pay it at once. Razor blade
method is an old, tried and tested technique for cutting down the entry barriers to sizeable levels.
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Ontario can introduce the concept of annual maintenance cost in the deal and create sustainable
business models where revenue will keep on coming and create a secure base for the services.
For a new branch like Telehealth services, it is very important, it also ensures a kind of consumer
and company engagement on a regular basis and fulfills the conditions of the communication
quite effectively.
Customer relationship and database management
The heading for this particular section looks a little odd, how can we connect database
management with customer relationship. As a marketer, one has to understand the fact that data
is the new driver of the economy. For a better understanding, we are sharing an example, which
has a negative connotation against this statement. During the last decade all the automobile
makers in the USA collected consumer behavior data from all the possible sources, it started in
the year 2003 and reached its peak in 2014 when social media platforms were roaring with full
blast.
In the year 2015, when they try to derive some information from the data in order to fix the
future course of the automobile industry then they find that they are in the whirlpool of
contrasting opinions and findings. Consumers were behaving differently on different social
media platforms; it created a question mark on the validity of the data. In the absence of any
substantial data, US automobile makers were in a fix and ultimately they took the resort of the
traditional methods in order to run the show.
It can be a failure in the case of automobile sector but the same aggressive data collection
mechanism can do wonders in the case of the Telehealth services and related solutions.
Telehealth systems correspond to a systematic branch of science, which is medicine, and this
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