This was my presentation of my MBA thesis

1. Marketing practices in private medical
practice: a case of Hôpital la Croix du Sud
of Kigali
By Alex Hakuzimana
July 2013

2. Presentation outline
─Introduction
─Literature review
─Research design and methods
─Findings
─Conclusion and recommendations

3. Introduction
Overview
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Health care systems: clients’ needs and preferences
Customer-driven philosophy: efficiency and effectiveness improved
Strategy: health care marketing
Philosophy: serving and satisfying customers’ needs.
Tool for understanding the market environment and customer
needs
• Goal: building profitable customer relationships
• Rwanda health sector: customer care norms

4. Introduction
Rwanda health care system
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Vision 2020
Services-based economy and free market
Universal healthcare coverage
Health indicators improved
Decentralization
Health insurances for all
Customer care norms
Private health sector as a pillar

5. Introduction
Research questions
Two questions guided our study:
– What are the current marketing practices in use at
the Hôpital la Croix du Sud?
– What are the challenges and problems faced in
marketing practices at the Hôpital la Croix du Sud
and how to overcome them for improvement of
its marketing programs?

6. Literature review
Marketing defined
• Identifying and meeting human and social needs
• Create value for customers and build strong
customer relationships in order to capture value
from them in return
• Focus: satisfying customer needs
• Goal: maximizing the value delivered to the
customer and extracting the optimal price or the
cost to the their perspective.

7. Literature review
Marketing is a process
Create value for customers and build customer relationship
Understand the
marketplace and
customer needs
and wants
Design a
customer-driven
marketing
strategy
Research consumers
and the marketplace
Select customers to
serve: market
segmentation and
targeting
Manage marketing
information and
customer data
Decide on value
proposition:
differentiation and
positioning
Construct a
marketing
program that
delivers superior
value
Product and service
design: build strong
brands
Pricing: create real
value
Distribution: manage
demand and supply
chains
Build profitable
relationships and
create customer
delight
Cutomer
relationship
management: build
strong relationships
with choosen
customers
Partner relatsionship
management: build
strong relationships
with marekting
partners
Manage global
markets
Capture value
from customers
to create profits
and cutomer
equity
Create satisfied, loyal
customers
Capture customer
lifetime value
Increase share of
market and share of
customer
Promotion:
communicate the
value proposition
Harness marketing
technology
Capture value
from customers
in return
Ensure ethical and
social responsibility

8. Literature review
Health care marketing
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Advanced in pharmaceutical industries
Pervasive, unknown, even prohibited in clinical settings
Embryonic in developing countries: Rwanda
However, marketing principles applicable
Challenges:
 Health care systems operations and processes intricate;
 Consumer’s needs as health requirements;
 Health services not understood by consumers;
 Always ready to serve patients under death threats
 Uniqueness of health care services pricing
 Varied and diversified health care needs and wants

9. Literature review
Successful Healthcare marketing: strategies
• Thorough situation (marketing) analysis
• Know and differentiate the consumers and payers of
services
• Understand the organization and structure of the
health care system
“Customer analysis, trade-offs on access, cost, quality, dimensions of
political, technological, economic, social, demographic, regulatory changes
and determinants of the utilization of health services lead to an informed
strategic marketing planning” (Kotler, Shalowitz & Stevens, 2008)
• Marketing mix: products, promotion, place and price.

10. Research design & methods
Type of the study
• Qualitative and case study
• Why a single case of the Hôpital la Croix du Sud:
─Is the unique largest modern private hospital in
Rwanda
─Has a wide range of services offered
─Operations and management systems including
marketing

11. Research design & methods
Data collection
─ Official request for authorization.
─ Guided semi-structured interviews
─ Key staff recognizable for their knowledge of
marketing issues: Director general, managers, and
heads of departments;
─ Face to face interviews
─ Administered questionnaires
─ Consultation of internal and external documents
related to the topic: government policies,
newspapers, experts, etc.

12. Research design & methods
Data analysis
─ “Ground theory” approach
─ Guided by the research questions
─ Identification, drawing, conceptualization of each
information towards answering the research
question
─ Phenomena of similarity grouped into conceptual
labels
─ And then in turn categorized accordingly

13. Findings
Current marketing practices in use at the Hôpital la Croix du Sud
– Word-of-mouth marketing
– Public relations and partnership
– Customer care services
– Advertising
Challenges
– High cost media channels with limited reach and
audience
– Local cultural conceptions: marketing medical services
is unethical and inappropriate, against the morale
– Code of law on publicity and information of health care
services unclear on what is legal and illegal

14. Findings
• Hospital management is aware that marketing is
instrumental in creating value for its customers and
building strong customer relationships
• Adopted some comprehensive marketing initiatives
and activities:
– Strengthening its public relations
– Customer care services with the company’s motto
“Excellence in Health Care”
– Adopted the implementation of the Ministry of Health
customer care norms

15. Conclusion and recommendations
Conclusion
• Health care marketing at embryonic stage
• Customer-driven and oriented business strategy
focusing on two main marketing strategies: public
relations and customer care services
• Challenges and problems in a market dominated by
the public health facilities
• Regulation and legislation on health care marketing
not yet established.

16. Conclusion and recommendations
Recommendations
In light of marketing practices and challenges above, we recommend:
• Design a legal and regulative framework on health care marketing
in Rwanda
• Establish a marketing department with staff trained in formal
marketing management
• The hospital to implement a market-oriented strategy
• Further research on marketing for better understanding of the
perception and acceptability of marketing practices from the
consumers and providers’ perspectives;

17. Thank you for your kind
attention