In health care’s traditionally price-inelastic market, products and prices are difficult to compare, full costs are not borne by the buyer, the buyer’s cost represents a small portion of the buyer’s budget, and customers are formally or informally attached to brands.
We've identified five characteristics of these markets in the graphic below:
All five of these market characteristics are changing, though, and creating a more price-sensitive market. Transparency pressures make products and prices easier to compare. Buyers’ costs comprise a larger portion of their budget as they bear a greater share of the total cost, and many customers are losing attachment to specific brands and shopping around for the best value.
As a result, planners and marketers, who typically invest their growth efforts on just growing volumes, must lend their market expertise to the other half of the revenue formula, price.