Hospital Positioning and Integrated Hospital Marketing Communications: State-of-the-Art Review, Conceptual Framework, and Research Agenda

In the light of patient empowerment and channel fragmentation, hospitals struggle to target patients in their new role as active, knowledgeable consumers. As market differentiation via traditional marketing mix variables such as price is hardly achievable in healthcare, superior communication grounded on sound positioning is a more promising lever for competitive advantage. Yet, research on marketing-driven communication from provider to patient...