Abstract

The prime objective of the paper is to study 7Ps - Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Physical Evidence and Process - in selected corporate hospitals in India which is very pivotal in strengthening the effectiveness of a hospital. It is needless to say how important service sector is in the national economy. In India, more than 50% of the GDP is now accounted for by the service sector. Though this sector has gaining prominence in terms of its dominant role at the national level, much thought has not yet been given by academics in terms of introducing the marketing strategies towards improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the hospital. It is gratifying to note that there has been phenomenal growth in hospital services in India. There is multifold increase in the number of hospitals, doctors, nursing and paramedical staff. Recognizing the importance of this service, corporate sector is investing huge amount of money and so it has become vital to think in terms of effective utilization, with a view to provide effective service to the clientele and to give maximum returns on investment to the share holders. In this new environment, age old methods may not yield handsome returns. Application of service would pave avenues in rationalizing and standardizing the services. Marketing has become a buzz word to the service providers in present day hospitals. Hence, an attempt has been made in this article to study 7Ps in sample corporate hospitals. For this purpose, administrators’ perceptions were elicited and analyzed with the help of relevant statistical tools like Means, Standard Deviation and ANOVA to know variations in the perceptions of the respondents. At the end, certain suggestions were given to the policy makers of the hospital. It is sure that if they follow the given suggestions one can overcome the problems of these hospitals to a great extent.