Revolutionizing Healthcare: The Crucial Impact of Relational Marketing Strategies

Purpose: This article focuses on non-medical benefits for the patient, which may influence their choices. The authors intend to identify the directions and actions of the healthcare entity, ensuring improvement of the quality of services provided and, as a result, increased patient satisfaction and loyalty. The analyses aim to understand how patients make decisions regarding the choice of a medical facility and what their priorities and expectations are concerning the organization of work, communication and image of the medical centre. Design/Methodology/Approach: Authors apply methods of multivariate statistical analysis - the Mann-Whitney test was used to verify the significance of differences in respondents' evaluations. The following research hypotheses are formulated: (H1) recommendations positively impact the satisfaction related mainly to the organisation of the clinic’s activity and providing necessary information (availability of services, waiting times, registration, website); (H2) satisfaction with the treatment process is primarily related to positive experiences. Calculations were made in Statistica. Findings: The main conclusion of the research is the assumption that an effective marketing approach in health services should include a systematic study of patients' needs and expectations, the identification of latent preferences and the offering of new services in line with the expectations of potential as well as existing health consumers. Originality/Value: The results suggest that the elements related to the treatment process are more important than on the opinions of other people in this area.