FORMATION OF PRICE SATISFACTION OF MEDICAL SERVICES’S CONSUMERS

Abstract

The paper examines the issue of the formation of price satisfaction of medical institutions’ patients as a competitive advantage, which allows attracting and retaining patients in conditions of constantly growing competition. Based on the use of the "content analysis" method, the main approaches to the definition of the category "consumer satisfaction" are shown, which in turn allowed developing the meaning of the term and substantiating its components for the service sector. Thus, in the service sector, consumer satisfaction contains both rational and emotional components. In addition, given the nature and characteristics of services, the consumer makes a decision about their purchase based on the prices, because through them he can judge the quality of the services and form an idea of the value that will be provided to the consumer. Clarification regarding the role of price in the formation of consumer satisfaction, which can be characterized as decisive, was given. It is shown that the consumer's price satisfaction is a component of unique value, which, in turn, is a necessary condition for ensuring the competitiveness of a medical institution in the market of medical services. It was established that the consumer's price satisfaction is measured by such qualitative characteristics as transparency, dignity, favorability, safety, reliability and honesty, and the characteristics of each of these components are given. The three main phases of the emergence of price satisfaction of the consumer of medical services are considered: the formation of expectations, comparison, price satisfaction, their characteristics are given, and the main factors affecting the formation of price satisfaction are clarified. As a result, three main types of price satisfaction are highlighted, which can have different consequences, the worst of which can be a complete rejection of the company's services. Difficulties that services providers may encounter at different phases of price satisfaction are highlighted, which need to be worked out in order to avoid them and improve the efficiency of consumer satisfaction. Practical recommendations are provided for the formation of price satisfaction of medical institutions’ patient, taking into accounts the available modern technologies and channels of communication with the consumer. At the same time, further detailing is needed for price satisfaction formation tools, which will allow forming an effective marketing strategy of a medical institution.