Integrated Marketing Communications – Burjeel Hospital

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The promotion mix
Communications process
Communication effectiveness
Promotion mix strategy
References

Introduction

Burjeel hospital is the largest private hospital in Abu Dhabi situated in Al Najda Street. The hospital has advanced treatment equipment and many US and European hopitals. Burjeel hospital is a 202 bed facility offering comprehensive services in more than thirty different specialties (Burjeel Hospital Offers Free Heart Surgeries, 2013).

Integrated marketing communication is an approach to achieving the goals of the marketing campaigns by using the multiple marketing strategies in a coordinated manner. Such marketing strategies include; paid advertisements, social media, public relations and many others.

Since commencing services in the year 2012, Burjeel hospital has used effective marketing communication strategies to reach its customers. Some of the well-used strategies by the hospital in marketing communications are involving social media, public relations and advertisements.

The promotion mix

According to Kotler & Armstrong (2010), the organization’s promotion mix is a well-coordinated integration of paid advertisements, public relations, direct marketing and sales promotions to communicate and build relationship with the customers. The promotion mix strategies used by Burjeel hospital are:

Service promotion

The hospital consistently uses service promotion to reach new markets globally. It has launched a compassionate initiative called “100 free heart surgeries” and persuaded heart patients from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Middle East and other countries across the world to register for free heart surgery. The event was a big success and attracted applications from various countries across the world.

Patients from Yemen, India, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were among the beneficiaries of the initiative. The initiative used advertisements over the screen and print media to reach many heart patients globally. Although “100 free heart surgeries” was a compassionate campaign, the hospital used it as a marketing strategy to reach new customers across the world (Burjeel Hospital Offers Free Heart Surgeries, 2013).

Public relations

The hospital has distinguished its services from its competitors in the industry by offering quality services, therefore building its reputation in the corporate world. The hospital entered into alliances with various reputable organizations to grow its reputation further.

According to the hospital’s website, the partnership between the hospital and Brussels University enabled the establishment of an In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) test clinic within the hospital which was the first such clinic in UAE (Burjeel Hospital Offers Free Heart Surgeries, 2013)

According to the hospital’s website, it builds partnerships with various insurance service providers to serve its customers better (Burjeel Hospital Offers Free Heart Surgeries, 2013). Partnerships with insurance service providers offer customers diversity in medical bill payment hence increasing the hospital’s efficiency.

The hospital has effectively used the social media, online newsletters and press releases to communicate with its customers creating awareness of its services. It has active Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts which it uses to communicate and share information through advertisements. Burjeel Hospital Offers Free Heart Surgeries (2013) reported that the most effective advertisement method used to market the free heart surgery by the hospital was the social media.

Communications process

According to Kotler & Armstrong (2010), for marketers to effectively communicate with their clients, they need to clearly understand the communication process. The communication process starts by identifying the target market. For example, the hospital targets middle-class and high-class patients with special medical problems and its marketing communication strategists should exploit available avenues to reach these people.

The hospital’s marketing department main aim is to reach new customers to increase its market share. Burjeel hospital is a new entrant in the industry and most of its customers are at awareness phase, therefore it uses several methods to effectively reach them. For example, the hospital used the media and its website to broadcast its press releases informing the public about the opening of the hospital (Burjeel Hospital Offers Free Heart Surgeries 2013).

The hospital’s marketing communication goal is to move as many customers as possible from awareness to preference and liking phase. The hospital uses its excellent public relations, quality service delivery and corporate reputation to motivate clients to develop a preference and liking of its services (Burjeel Hospital Offers Free Heart Surgeries, 2013).

After the first step of identifying the target audience, the marketer must compose a clear marketing message. The marketing strategist can add emotional, moral or rational appeals to attract attention and provoke action from the targeted clients. Burjeel hospital effectively used emotional appeal to reach its clients in the”100 free heart surgeries” initiative advertisements (About Us. n.d).

The hospital employs personal and non-personal communication methods to reach its customers. It retains the communication contacts of its patients and their families and communicates with them from time to time about changes and new services in the medical facility. The intention of this is to develop relationships with their patients who in turn refer other patients to the hospital. The hospital also uses advertisements over the broadcast and print media to reach its customers.

For example, the hospital used advertisements over the print and screen media to create awareness among the residents of Abu Dhabi and the UAE about its expansion plans (About Us. n.d). The hospital ensures that high credible sources deliver its marketing messages to increase persuasion. The press releases from the hospital are always delivered by the hospital’s managing director making them authoritative and credible.

To set up an effective feedback system, the hospital offers its customers an opportunity to express their opinion through its website. The hospital’s website has a “contact us” page which allows customers to leave their feedbacks. It further uses the social media and call centers to collect feedback from its customers (Burjeel Hospital Offers Free Heart Surgeries, 2013).

Communication effectiveness

The communication process used by the hospital has been effective because the hospital has significantly increased its market share since its inception. The hospital has experienced growth in the last one year and is a famous brand in the UAE and the entire Middle East.

Currently, the hospital attends more than a hundred thousand patients from different countries annually (About Us. n.d). According Burjeel Hospital Offers Free Heart Surgeries article (2013), the hospital is planning infrastructural expansion which will accommodate more than three hundred beds and fifteen medical specialties upon completion.

Promotion mix strategy

Burjeel hospital uses push and pull strategy to reach its customers. The hospital markets its services via its good public relations, corporate reputation and other forms of advertisements to create a demand vacuum that motivates patients to seek services at the hospital, therefore its advertisements directly target the customers.

The hospital also uses push and pull strategy to market its services through several third-party agencies. The hospital uses alliances with other medical organizations like the Brussels university medical department to market its medical services. Although the hospital’s main advertisements and marketing promotions target its customers directly, it also uses strategic alliances to push its market position.

References

About Us. (n.d). Retrieved from Burjeel hospital website.

Burjeel Hospital Offers Free Heart Surgeries. (2013). Saudi Gazette. Web.

Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2010) Principles of Marketing (13^th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education.

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