"Running head: SLP 1Health Care Organisation - MarketingName of the Student:Name of the University:Author’s Note: Module- SLP 1 1Introduction to Marketing and Non-Profit MarketingThe objective of this essay is to discuss the main challenges faced while marketing ofa health care organisation. Further, the discussion is about the segmentation and targetmarketing of the health care organisation and answering some of the questions that arises inthe marketing process of the organisation.The healthcare organisation chosen for this study is “The Agency for Toxic Substanceand Disease Registry (ATSDR)”, situated in Atlanta, Georgia. This federal public healthagency is the division which is working independently within the United States Departmentof Health and Human Services. The Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry wasth formed by the end of December, 1980 and was formally organised on the 11 of June, 1985(Atsdr.cdc.gov, 2016). Till now, it has worked in more than 600 communities across thecountry and assessed more than a million people whether they were at risk due to thechemical exposures from around 168 health assessments and consultations (Atsdr.cdc.gov,2016). The primary work of ATSDR is to minimize the health risk caused by the harmfuleffects of hazardous substance when it gets exposed. It assesses the presence of the healthhazards at the superfund sites. By figuring out the health hazard’s nature, the healthorganization helps in preventing and reducing the further effects and exposure of thematerials.ATSDR works for preventing the illness caused by these exposures (Atsdr.cdc.gov2016).The goals of ATSDR summarises their motive and helps in preserving theenvironment. The goals of ATSDR are: Module- SLP 1 2? Protecting the public from all the toxic exposures and hazards promoting healthyenvironment.?Supporting public health and making scientific advancements.? Creating awareness among the partners, communities and policy makers byeducating them about the risks and measures of the environmental hazards. ? Providing technical expertise and scientific expertise for advancing the healthscience and practice of the public.? Reducing health related disparities and promoting environmental due to such toxicexposures (Atsdr.cdc.gov 2016). However, the organisation faces various challenges while marketing that reduces theeffectiveness of the health care organisations. Some of the challenges are discussedhereunder:? Competition – As the economy is sluggish and uncertain, the health care agenciesface intensified competitions in the communities. ATSDR is facing the competitionbecause of the diminishing resources and their struggle continues for marketing(Pomirleanu et al., 2013).? Frequent changes in healthcare marketing and the Internet’s role – People arebeing informed in a better way with the help of internet, but the changes in healthcaremarketing is affecting the marketability of ATSDR. Although the internet helps inreaching out to the concerned parties, the evolution to reach out to the customers isinfluenced when the choices are being made. ? Industry’s uncertainty – Due to the recent changes in healthcare market, themarketers are struggling due to the uncertain movement of the industry. The adoption Module- SLP 1 3of online marketing and replacing the old traditional practice is not so easilyadaptable by the agency.? Less participation of targeted people – The marketing strategies are framed by thehelp of all the feedbacks received from patients and people involved in the issue. Thisis getting harder for the marketers to analyse because people resist participating insurveys and sometimes health agency need to depend on the social media platformsto get the feedback.? Improper funding for marketing – Marketing’s importance is undervalued in thisindustry and the funds provided for it is not sufficient. This is the reason because ofwhich the marketers have to choose among the limited available options for coveringthe market. Healthcare agencies spend smaller part of their budgets in the areaswhere the consumers are available these days, that is, social media, search enginesand healthcare websites (Pomirleanu et al., 2013).Hence, these challenges are critical for the success in while marketing the healthcareagencies and they need to be resolved quickly to increase their consumer base.Market segmentation is a strategy of dividing or categorising the target market on thebasis of certain factors such as age group, gender, geographical area, interests, needs andmany others. This is done for identifying and defining the target market/customers so as toframe the marketing strategies according to the segments which are the target market of theorganisation. Although there are several types of market segmentation like geographical,demographic, behavioural, cultural, attitudinal, needs based segmentation and many othersbut ATSDR mostly uses the geographical, demographic and occasional segmentation.ATSDR uses the segmentation information to:Module- SLP 1 4a. Estimate the size and characteristics of the population based on the demographicsegmentation which were exposed to toxic substance.b. Next, they identify the affected population in the area who needs more attentionlike the old age people, children and women. c. Finally the social context of the area’s insight is provided (Gopichandran &Chetlapalli 2013).ATSDR uses the three segmentations which are discussed below:Geographical segmentation – The segments are divided on the basis of the geographiccriteria like states, cities, regions, neighbourhoods and many more. ASTDR segments peopleon the basis of rural, semi-urban and urban populations. This helps in covering an area at atime with the help of segmentation and finding the target market. ATSDR uses GeographicalInformation System (GIS) technology to link the housing and population data to the locationof a hazardous waste site. This helps in improving the estimation of current population. Thewaste site’s demographics are more accurately characterised within a shorter period of time.Demographic Segmentation – ASTDR segments people of all ages, income levels andeducation level. This segmentation divides the population on the basis of gender, religion,occupation and many other criteria. This segmentation of a population near a waste site or ahazardous site provides ATSDR all the information to assess and address the health issues inthe communities. One of the most important segments is the employed people working athazardous sites.Occasional segmentation – This segmentation is useful in case of an occurrence of acrisis. The occasion decides the segmentation of the population and target market. It works onthe basis of an individual’s or group’s need when required.Module- SLP 1 5The target market of ATSDR is decided on the basis of the demographic, occasionaland geographic segmentation. ATSDR mainly chooses children, people employed athazardous sites living in both urban and rural areas. ASTDR approaches the most sensitivecategory of segment in case of an emergency. For example – In case of a calamity, theagency would look to save the children, women and the elderly. The segment moves theattention towards the most sensitive group of people that need care.This organisation’s services are positioned in way that the needs of the people whorequire instant attention and they are the sensitive segment of population. The focus of TheAgency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry is on analysis and prevention of effects ofhazardous toxic waste site on the target market. They are focussed on the needy segments ofpopulation.ATSDR works to provide environmental health education products which increasesthe health related literacy to the members of the community, health care providers and healtheducators and professionals of this field. These information and products help in generatingawareness about the hazardous effects of the toxic substances and their exposures. It alsoprovides information about the patterns of these exposures, remedies and treatment options,prevention and minimization of exposures. ATSDR has worked in creating awareness amongthe potential citizens prone to exposure by its scientific researches and health products amongthe targeted markets such as children, women and their employees working in the hazardoussites, meeting the demand with the help of the segmentations and framing strategiesaccording to the requirements of these segments (Atsdr.cdc.gov 2016). "