Attracting the medical-focused tourists in Thailand through value creation in practice

Medical tourism refers to "travelling across international borders to seek healthcare while also taking a holiday in a foreign country" (Wang, 2012). The results of a study on "Motivation and Decision on Medical Tourism Service in Thailand" showed that medical tourists could be classified into two groups: medical-focused tourists and tourism-focused tourists (Kanittinsuttitong, 2002). This article shows how to create value by focusing on medical-focused tourists through the lens of a marketing strategist, which can be applied to businesses related to medical tourism.

The medical-focused tourists intend to “visit the country for the purpose of receiving medical treatment, undergoing cosmetic surgery, or learning disease prevention” (Kanittinsuttitong, 2002). Thailand is well known as a top travel journey and medical tourism destination. It provides affordable, high-quality healthcare services that are easily accessible (Cohen, 2014). However, not only does Thailand offer the perfect place as the destination for medical tourism, but there are also some competitors in Asia, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and India. Through the lens of a marketing strategist, it is necessary to combine Thailand's national competitive advantages, such as locations, history, and expertise, with business value creation to compete at the global level.

The stakeholders must understand the consumer needs and see the business through customers' eyes to create meaningful value that can be delivered to customers. Based on the value equation, value equals benefits divided by cost. Some fundamental principles for sources of value creation are suggested. The first is to increase the relative benefits such as product, service, and relationship management. The second is to decrease the relative life cycle costs, such as consumer search, acquisition, and set-up costs. It is always debatable what elements the company should provide to its customers, either through increasing the relative benefits or decreasing the relative consumer cost.

In business practice, the company should focus on what consumers need and want first rather than investing in being good in everything that might not matter to consumers, as those might always come with a company cost. The myth of excellence is the false belief that a company should try to be good at everything it does. From time to time, the strategy needs to be revisited. To provide a more practical perspective, using the strategy canvas is one of the excellent tools for crafting a marketing strategy. The strategists can develop a new value curve through the “Reduce, Create, Eliminate, and Raise”.

However, customers sometimes do not know their need and want until the market offers and educate them. Hence, businesses can also find those needs and wants to drive the market and move the company towards the alternative blue ocean strategy if there is intense competition in the red ocean market. Also, to go beyond the consumer strategy, exceptional marketing strategists also need to know how reasoning and emotions influence customer satisfaction, i.e., learning how to use both the "logic" and "magic" parts of marketing to win the logical mind and emotional heart of consumers.

References:

Erik Cohen, E. C. (2014). Medical Tourism in Thailand. AU-GSB E-JOURNAL, 1(1). Retrieved from http://www.assumptionjournal.au.edu/index.php/AU-GSB/article/view/381

Kanittinsuttitong, Nutworadee. (2015). Motivation and Decision on Medical Tourism Service in Thailand. 10.14456/ajmi.2015.10.

Wang, H. (2012), "Value as a medical tourism driver", Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 22 No. 5, pp. 465-491. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604521211281387