Marketing as a way of promoting sales in any given field is faced with great challenges in the health care sector. This is attributable to so many factors some which are direct and some indirect. Prue and Daniel (2006) argue that because of the biting inflation, most of the health care facilities are finding it difficult each day to afford the costs that come with marketing. Almost all forms of marketing from billboards to advertisement is presently very expensive Hence, most of them have resorted to  doing away with marketing and the little resources available diverted to other primary needs of such facilities.

             According to Thomas (2002), most citizens are now aging and are entitled to all the insurance premiums. As a result, most marketing concepts can not penetrate the present society as very few individuals are willing to change their minds with regard to their health care provisions and especially financing. In addition, most persons are now eating and living healthy to avoid the health implications of not doing so (Prue &Daniel 2006). Marketing for health services to such persons is proving challenging because the results are usually not satisfactory. As a result, most health facilities are giving up the practice all together.

            Continued improvements in the medical field also pose a challenge in health care marketing. There are so many options on the market from which the consumer has to choose from (Thomson, 2007). Some of the options have scanty information in so far as the effects on the patients are concerned. This leaves the patients who are the targeted clients for such services confused about what package to choose from. Thomson (2007) further adds that marketers that adopt traditional methods of marketing for their health care services and products, seemingly perceived as a cheaper option, also face various challenges with regard to their market expectations. According to him many physicians are going an extra mile to educate their clients about the negative effects of just taking up the offers from such sources without further consultation. This move gives the marketers an extra task of instilling trust about their products in the target market.

The structural and institutional requirements associated with health care advertising are also challenges to the marketers in this field (Thomas 2002). These people have to adhere to the standards set by the concerned authorities and this implies more resources in terms of finances and time.

However, marketing for services and products associated with healthcare is very important and should be a necessity for all the facilities offering these services. It is because there are so many facilities offering such services on the market today and competition therefore is inevitable. Prue and Daniel (2006) argue that in order to attract the customers and come out as the best, thereby reaping more profits from the services offered, and marketing is a necessity. Health care marketing should therefore be a priority for all the health care providers who wish to thrive in the market.

REFERENCE

Prue, C.E., & Daniel, K.L. (2006). Social Marketing: Planning Before Conceiving Preconception Care. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 10, S79-S84. Retrieved from Proquest

Thomson, A. (2007, Jun.). The role of marketing in transplantation. Progress in Transplantation. 17(2), 85-88. Retrieved from Proquest

Thomas, R. K. (2002). How far have we come? Marketing Health Services, 22(4), 36. Retrieved from Proquest