Every month, Dr. Combahee takes her staff to lunch and asks them to share patients’ comments and concerns. Dr. Combahee uses the lunches as an informal marketing research effort intended primarily to
A. provide a link between herself and her profession.
B. help her to understand the needs of her customers.
C. monitor her competitors.
D. decrease the uncertainty associated with decision making.
E. improve profitability.
The correct answer and explanation is :
The correct answer is:
B. Help her to understand the needs of her customers.
Explanation:
Dr. Combahee’s practice of taking her staff to lunch and encouraging discussions about patients’ comments and concerns is a form of informal marketing research. The primary objective of this approach is to gain insights into patients’ needs, preferences, and expectations regarding her services.
Understanding Customers’ Needs
Marketing research focuses on understanding customer behavior, identifying areas for improvement, and enhancing customer satisfaction. By discussing feedback from patients, Dr. Combahee is directly gathering qualitative insights into what patients appreciate or dislike about their experiences. These insights help in improving service quality, addressing patient concerns, and ensuring that the practice meets patients’ expectations.
Why Other Options Are Incorrect:
- A. Provide a link between herself and her profession.
While staying connected to her profession is important, the lunches are not about professional networking or maintaining industry ties. Instead, they focus on patient feedback. - C. Monitor her competitors.
The discussion is about internal patient feedback, not about competitors’ actions, services, or pricing. Competitive analysis would require researching other healthcare providers. - D. Decrease the uncertainty associated with decision-making.
Although gathering feedback may help reduce uncertainty, the primary goal is to understand patient needs, not necessarily to make business decisions. - E. Improve profitability.
While customer satisfaction can indirectly lead to higher patient retention and revenue, the main goal here is to understand and address patient concerns, rather than directly focusing on profitability.
Thus, the best answer is B: Help her to understand the needs of her customers.