Importance of Effective Communication for Promotion & Advertising Assignment
Instructions Each reply must be at least 450 words and contain at least 2 scholarly, peer-reviewed references, in
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addition to the course textbook, and 1 instance of biblical integration. The references must be cited within each reply and cannot be repeated from the thread or in any other reply. This is the course textbook citation – Berkowitz, E. (2017). Essentials of health care marketing (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Classmate #1Promotion and Advertising Effective communication is an important component of promotion and advertising. There are several factors that an organization must consider when ensuring effective communication in their promotion strategies. The major communication elements that must be considered include the sender, the receiver, the encoding process, the message, the channel, the decoding process, noise, and feedback (Berkowitz, 2017). Each of these elements plays a role in whether successful effective communication occurs (Berkowitz, 2017). Specifically, in health care marketing, a variety of communication mixes can be utilized in promotion to engage patient populations and connect with customers (Elrod & Fortenberry, 2018). Elements of the promotion mix include advertising, personal selling, publicity, and sales promotion (Berkowitz, 2017). It is important for organizations to develop integrated marketing communications to ensure effective promotional planning (Berkowitz, 2017). In this week’s thread, the administrator of a local hospital engaged in a television interview that discussed the hospital’s recent decision to downsize their nursing staff. The organization utilized public relations through mass media to communicate newly implemented downsizing of nursing staff. Public relations offers credibility and provides a more affordable approach to disseminating a message, but does not allow the organization to control how or when the message goes out resulting in the potential for negative publicity (Berkowitz, 2017). “Effective advertising, sales promotion and direct marketing are the core channels for delivering messages with accuracy and reliability” (Melewar, Foroudi, Gupta, Kitchen, & Foroudi, 2015, p. 573). An effective approach for the hospital would have been to initially utilize owned media to communicate the recent downsizing of nursing staff at the hospital. Owned media is “media that are controlled by an organization” and is a cost-effective approach for delivery of a message (Berkowitz, 2017, p. 425). Utilizing owned media to disseminate information regarding the downsizing of nursing staff would have allowed the hospital to utilize their own company website or social media account to have direct control over the message details. Once the initial information was provided to consumers in the local area, the hospital could then move on to a personal selling approach which would continue to allow them control over the content of the message, the target audience, and allow for two-way communication which would provide immediate feedback (Berkowitz, 2017). Personal selling is interpersonal and can assist in establishing a long-term relationship with the hospital (Berkowitz, 2017). The hospital would need to train staff and rely on them to deliver the message to the customers at this point. According to Olariu (2016), personal selling is considered the most effective marketing communication tool because it allows the sender to adapt the message to the receiver in order to ensure a sale. In this scenario, the sale is the hospital’s reputation and ability to deliver quality care to patient’s despite their decision to down-size nursing staff. Effective communication can be a challenge when developing successful promotional strategies. It is important to always consider the major elements of communication when developing a promotional mix. As Christians, we need to be sure we are effective communicators and reflect Christ in all that we say and do. The Bible states “may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14, New Living Translation). References Berkowitz, E. (2017). Essentials of healthcare marketing (4 ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. Elrod, J., & Fortenberry, J. (2018). Formulating productive marketing communications strategy: A major health system’s experience. BMC Health Services Research, 18(3), 926. doi: 10.1186/s12913-018-3676-7 Melewar, T., Foroudi, P., Gupta, S., Kitchen, P., & Foroudi, M. (2015). Integrating identity, strategy and communications for trust, loyalty, and commitment. European Journal of Marketing, 51(3), 572-606. doi:10.1108/EJM-08-2015-0616 Olariu, I. (2016). Personal selling in marketing. Studies and Scientific Research: Economics Edition, Economics Edition(Special Issue), 95-101. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.29358/sceco.v0i0.348 Classmate #2When a company wishes to downsize it is important that the purpose of the downsizing and the benefits to the company are projected to both the staff and the public. Oftentimes it’s not just the employees who are impacted by downsizing but the investors as well. The information should be delivered by a credible source. These elements include trustworthiness, experience, expertise, and even likability (Berkowitz, 2017). It is important that the message is delivered clear and concise. It should appear that the spokesperson for the impact is direct, open, and transparent when delivering the message. Typically downsizing occurs when companies are trying to cut cost, improve financial performance and the worst case plant closure (Chalos & Chen, 2002). Companies must ensure the information is reaching the desired audience and with the correct message. With the common use of the internet and social media companies must develop a plan on the most effective communication strategy. The communication should be real-time, dynamic, and continuous communication between the health care employees, patients and stakeholders (Berkowitz, 2017). Downsizing can be hard on employees as they don’t know what to expect. This can be a stressful time for employees waiting on the decision as to whether they will have a job, and after the downsizing is complete. Then the focus shifts to the adaptation of all the changes that the employers make resulting in stress for the employee (Burke & Greenglass, 2011). The uncertainty of the change can have a negative impact on the employee and therefore it is important to have resources that can assist the employees with the transition. Also the company should have a strong public relations team to promote the successes of the facility as well as handle the critical components or handle crisis situations (Berkowitz, 2017). The company must be prepared for the chance of negative press and know how to respond and handle it. In this situation the company should reassure the consumers that the quality of care will never be compromised although the number of staff has decreased. The message must be communicated to show the decision for the downsize, as well as how it will impact the consumer. Focusing on the care of the consumer is a key strategy in this circumstance. One of my favorite scriptures, Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds In Christ Jesus.” Change is inevitable however knowing and understanding how to persevere is the key to success. References Berkowitz, E. (2017). Essentials of health care marketing (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning Burke, R., & Greenglass, E. (2001). Hospital restructuring, work-family conflict and psychological burnout among nursing staff. Psychology & Health., 16(5), 585–594. Chalos, P., & Chen, C. J. (2002). Employee downsizing strategies: Market reaction and post announcement financial performance. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 29(5‐6), 847-870.
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