Marketing Mix: Product and Price

       3-5 pages excluding cover, abstract, and reference pages

Steven Jones recently returned from a week-long hiking trip out West. During the last leg of the journey, Steven’s hiking boot became lodged in an old branch, and he fell. The mishap caused a tear in the meniscus of his right knee. The emergency room physician told him he would need to see an orthopedic physician to get the meniscus repaired.

Steven has high-deductible insurance. When he got home, he searched the Internet to find orthopedic physicians in his community. The first one he found was a 35-physician group with a banner reading, “Your bones knit best with us.” Searching the site, Steven found information on the partners, their research, and some educational materials—but little else.

The second group he found was called Macomb Orthopedic Group; it was made up of 10 physicians. The Web site contained a profile about each physician as well as price estimates for various procedures. The Web page instructed him how to register and complete the paperwork by downloading it from the site. It also explained how to submit his insurance information so they could supply a written estimate of costs for the procedure.

Write a paper to address the following:

• Describe in detail the positioning strategy for each of these physician groups.
• Based on what you see here, what are the strengths and weaknesses of each of these groups? Explain your reasoning.
• The second group also discusses a concept called “package pricing.” Explain how this works, and include its advantages and disadvantages.
• What recommendations would you make for these groups as far as their Web presence?