An Empirical Analysis of the Public's Attitudes Toward Advertising Hospital Services: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

This study investigates current opinions about hospital advertising and compares them to the attitudes expressed 25 years ago. It replicates a survey done in 1985, using the same questionnaire and population to compare responses longitudinally. The study indicates some changes in the public's opinions of hospital advertising. Although the image of hospitals remains positive, most of the 2010 respondents' opinions were rather mixed regarding whether it is proper for hospitals to advertise. The study also confirmed that the quality of service and reputation of hospitals remain more important to the public than price.

Marketing of Professional Counselors: A Q‐Sort Study of Best Practices

“…Marketing of counselors is grounded in the history of marketing by professionals, which has been regulated far more strictly than for nonprofessionals (Moser, 2008). For example, in the past, the commercial promotion of professional services was not permitted by professional associations or societies because it was thought to be harmful to the image of professionals (Moser, 2008; Moser & Freeman, 2014). Another key motivation was to protect the public from fraud (Moser, 2008) and manipulation (Moser & Freeman, 2014).…”

“…Because of the complexity of the training that is required, professionals devote substantial time and effort to achieve mastery of the specialized knowledge in their discipline (Buckley & Henning, 2015). In addition to indicating devotion to a profession, credentials allow professionals to distinguish themselves both from other professionals and from nonprofessionals (Moser & Freeman, 2014). Branding is the marketing term that refers to aligning a person or product with characteristics that distinguish him or her (or it) from the competition (Moser & Freeman, 2014).…”

“…In addition to indicating devotion to a profession, credentials allow professionals to distinguish themselves both from other professionals and from nonprofessionals (Moser & Freeman, 2014). Branding is the marketing term that refers to aligning a person or product with characteristics that distinguish him or her (or it) from the competition (Moser & Freeman, 2014). Credentials are considered very important in branding (Woody, 1997).…”

La promoción de la marca hospitalaria a través de la comunicación interpersonal que mantiene el profesional de la salud en las redes sociales

“…Los hospitales interactúan con un gran número de stakeholders, como por ejemplo las autoridades sanitarias, los medios de comunicación, los laboratorios farmacéuticos, las compañías de seguros y, sobre todo, los pacientes y sus familiares (Medina, 2011). Antes de implementar la estrategia de comunicación externa, el director de comunicación debe analizar los objetivos globales perseguidos por la organización, el comportamiento actual de la competencia, las tendencias existentes en el sector, así como los cambios de actitud en los distintos stakeholders (Moser y Greeman, 2014). Durante la implementación de la estrategia de comunicación externa, y sobre todo después de la misma, el director de comunicación recurre a los indicadores de evaluación previamente definidos para analizar el impacto de todas y cada una de las acciones en la reputación de la organización, la imagen de marca, las ventas e incluso la motivación de los empleados y de los stakeholders (Zerfass y Viertmann, 2017).…”

Nonprofit Versus For-Profit Health Care Competition: How Service Mix Makes Nonprofit Hospitals More Profitable

“…Insurers should consider that more competitive markets might require greater reimbursements for nonprofit medical services. The need to reach larger geographic target markets may explain nonprofit hospitals' advertising, suggesting an alternative to popular views that advertising is wasteful and self-serving (Moser and Freeman 2014). Although patients often visit hospitals for specific procedures, they might benefit from having broader nonprofit PSMS available in the event of possible unexpected diagnoses or complications.…”