Methodological approach to assessing the brand management performance of a private medical clinic[Методический Подход К Оценке Эффективности Управления Брендом Частных Медицинских Клиник]

Relevance of the study. Assessment of the brand management performance is an important business task. It allows a manager to identify the tools which can be most effectively used to increase the company’s competitiveness. There is no integrated methodology currently available to managers that could be used for a comprehensive assessment of the overall effectiveness of the branding activities. In this regard, there remains a relevant objective of designing and forming a system of metrics aimed at assessment of the impact the branding activities have on the financial and market performance of a company. The market of the fee-based healthcare services has demonstrated rapid development with increasing competition as new clinics, laboratories, medical stations and brands appear in the market. This requires private medical clinics to pay much attention to brand management and analysis of the market, behavioral and financial results of the business activities. The aim of the study is to develop and test a methodology for brand management performance assessment in the market of the private healthcare services. The proposed model has an advantage of its applicability to forecast the dynamics of the company’s revenues and market share. Methods and methodology. The methodology proposed for brand management performance assessment is based on the system of indicators in the theoretical framework established by J. Aaker. The sales revenues and market share were selected as indicators of the branding performance, while the level of market dominance was chosen as an indicator of the most important results of the company’s activities. The following indicators of the brand awareness were selected as factors influencing the brand management performance: top-of-mind, spontaneous and induced awareness. The Statistical Package for the Social Science software was used to build a correlation-regression model of the dependence of revenue/market share on the brand awareness level among the consumers. Results. The methodology was tested on 24 private medical clinics operating in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The study used the results of a survey conducted among the citizens of Yekaterinburg and the SPARK reference information database. The research has proven that brand awareness has a significant impact on the revenues as well as on the market share of a clinic in the private healthcare services market. The regression model can be used to forecast the dynamics of the revenues and changes in the market share of a company. Based on the results of the study, recommendations have been formulated aiming at increasing the brand awareness of a private medical clinic. Future research is planned to analyze the influence of brand loyalty and perceived quality of service indicators on the financial results of the business activities of private medical clinics.