Preference segmentation of health care services: the old-fashioneds, value conscious, affluents and professional want-it-alls.
The results of a national segmentation study are reported. The findings extend the empirical work of Finn and Lamb and the benefit-seeking conjectures by Kotler and Clarke that consumers with preferences toward specific hospitals can be segmented into a few distinct groups. The groups described in the findings are identified as the value conscious, the affluents, the old-fashioneds, and the professional want-it-alls. Each segment has a unique demographic profile. The substantial importance of doctors' recommendations in influencing hospital choice is supported for all four consumer segments. Suggestions for additional research and hospital marketing strategies are provided.
D002755:Choice Behavior; D003625:Data Collection; D003710:Demography; D006761:Hospitals / Q000145:classification*; D006801:Humans; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010819:Physician's Role; D012107:Research Design; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014481:United States