Line managers as marketers

Many hospital administrators and boards of directors, having overcome their initial opposition to advertising and hired a marketing professional, are wondering why their marketing programs have not accomplished all that they had hoped. The answer lies in their perception of who is responsible for marketing. Marketing is not a specialty separate from the disciplines of management--it is a basic management skill. Its goal is to satisfy the customer by providing products and services that meet the customer's needs, wants, and preferences. Line managers must understand the hospital's customers and make the critical day-to-day differences in satisfying them. They are the hospital's front-line marketers, and the marketing department's role is to support them in this function. The marketing department should develop the line managers' marketing skills by furnishing them with the appropriate tools: formats, models, examples, and instructions. In addition, the marketing staff should provide such specialized services as marketing research, ad agency management, and development of communications.