Adoption of Social Marketing Concept by Private Hospitals in Nairobi

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which hospitals have adopted social marketing concept and determine factors hindering social marketing among hospitals in Nairobi. The study used a descriptive research design. The population consisted of marketing and sales managers of the institution under study. 42 hospitals were issued with questionnaire. Primary data was used collected using structured questionnaires with closed and open ended questions. After retrieving the questionnaire the researcher edited coded and entered the data in statistical package software s (SPSS) for a better and efficient analysis. The finding of the study was that most of the institutions do practice social marketing. However, little emphasis is put on the use of concept as most of the institutions do not have marketing departments. The recommendations made for the institutions under study is to introduce marketing departments with employees who have the knowledge of all the principal and techniques of marketing to be able to improve the image of the institution. This is part of quality improvement which in the long run will make their policies on social marketing a reality. It will also act as a focal point for their implementation of social marketing policies and provide efficient feedback and reviews should be done on these policies. Management of these organizations should carry out training of staff on social marketing skills through seminars and events Innovative programs should be publicized and implemented to improve on the wellbeing of the customers of such institutions. These programs will create an avenue for them to sell their ideas. Advertisement as a tool for social marketing is quite important for creating awareness. The government should come up with policies that promote social marketing in their public hospitals since this will also put pressure on them to improve the quality of products and services they offer. The study suggests that a similar study could be done on the public hospitals to establish the extent to which social marketing is adopted. The study was limited to 42 private hospitals in Nairobi and not all the members of the institutions were involved.