Food-Service-Manual-for-Health-Care-Institutions

Food Service Manual for Health Care Institutions
54
Types of Markets
If a buyer is the one who will use the product to satisfy personal needs, the buyer is part of the
consumer market. When a product is purchased for business purposes, the buyer is part of
the organizational market. Different marketing strategies must be used when dealing with consumer
versus organizational markets. Clearly, many health care food service operations market
not only to individual consumers but also to organizations. Marketing nutrition counseling services
to an individual on an outpatient basis, then, probably would require a different approach
from that used to market the same services on a contract basis to a nearby nursing home.
Segmentation
Most managers find it necessary to further divide consumer and organizational markets into
smaller, more homogeneous “submarkets” that are likely to purchase a specific product. This
process, referred to as market segmentation, recognizes that buyers are not all alike. Appropriately
implemented, market segmentation can be one of the health care food service manager’s most powerful
marketing tools.
Basis for Segmentation
Almost any buyer characteristic may be used as a basis for segmenting markets into submarkets.
Common characteristics used to define segments of consumer markets include geographical,
demographical, psychographical, and behavioral dimensions of buyers.
Geographical Dimension
Geographical segmentation is a logical segmentation characteristic because it is based on the
assumption that consumers’ wants and needs vary depending on where they live. Most health
care operations provide services in a specific geographical area, called a service area. Basic statistics
about a service area’s population and health care needs should be analyzed by an operation’s
management staff, including food service. This could prove beneficial when reviewing
existing services and when considering new ventures. For instance, when menus are developed
or revised, the menu planner must consider the regional food and beverage preferences of
potential customers.
Demographical Dimension
Most health care operations segment their markets according to the diagnosis of a patient.
Other demographical characteristics, such as age, sex, family size, income, stage in the family
life cycle, ethnicity, religion, and nationality, are segmentation variables that have long been
popular bases for determining market segments in the health care industry. The health care
services, including food and nutrition services, used by an individual are highly associated with
demographical variables. These variables have a major effect on most of the functional units of
a food service operation. When a health care operation serves certain diagnostic segments, patient
menus must be developed for those segments (for example, fat-controlled menus for patients with
heart disease and diabetic menus for patients with diabetes). Likewise, the age of the patients
served must be considered. The specific effects of selected demographical variables on menu
planning and meal service are described in chapters 15 and 20, respectively.
Psychographical Dimension
Because individuals within the same demographical group do not always exhibit the same buying
behaviors, other dimensions must be considered. One of these, psychographical segmentation,
divides buyers into groups based on social class, lifestyle, or personality characteristics. Lifestyle
is an important factor because it is a strong predictor of future health care consumption. Likewise,
it has an effect on the types of food and beverages desired by a food service operation’s customers,
both patients and nonpatients. In the lifestyle category, health-conscious consumer segments typically
select menu choices with lower fat, sugar, and sodium than regular menu items.