Q.

1 Identify the service marketing elements from the case

Element Comment
Product 1. Providing multi-specialty eyecare such as treatment of retinal disorders, cornea
disorders etc.
2. Services went beyond curing blindness and provided rehabilitation services to
incurable blindness
Specialization 1. Improved surgical techniques- Perfected own version of manual sutures which
speeded the procedure.
2. Efficiency of doctors was increased.
3. Efficient work delegation among the doctors and paramedics- Preliminary tests
etc. are done by paramedical staff, resident doctors recorded diagnosis and
medical officers examined the patient
4. Technology was used to enhance performance- For example communication
technology, Aurolab to produced Intra-ocular lens, refraction van.

Problem Problem 1 – Substantial cases of blindness and eye problems specially among rural
Solving people, high cost of treatment
Approach – Provides free eyecare to two third of patients by using the revenue
generated from one third of patients

Problem 2 – Lack of awareness

Approach – Strong word of mouth which brought in 70% of patients

Problem 3 – Patients from camps reluctant to visit hospitals

Approach – Facilitated by Arvind by hired bus and other means
Relationships 1. Field worker at vision centers were mad responsible for creating awareness
within the community regarding the eye problems.
2. Interacted with local leaders to improve participation in rural areas
Value over 1. It treats rich and poor alike -value provided at affordable price.
Price 2. 67% of cataract patient received service free of cost
3. Consultation fee was quite low
4. At vision centers, visit to the hospital cost Rs 120 as compared to Rs 350 at other
hospitals
5. Economic incentives – Partial incentives including free surgery and free
eyeglasses; full incentive including free transportation and meals.
6. Despite of the free services being provided by the Aravind Eye Care, 4 out of 5 of
its vision centers were running in profit. For example, the center at Alanganallur
had recorded an annual profit of INR 20220 as per exhibit 5.
Knowledge 1. Recruitment of paramedics was based on value fit. Young women were hired.
2. Selection process identified those who empathized with the patients.
3. Surgeons productivity was 6 times better than those elsewhere
People vs 1. Community outreach program created awareness among the locals
Branding 2. Intervention strategies for increasing awareness like house to house visit by
patients, house to house visit by health worker, screening camps at a central
location, campaigns by field worker
3. The branding strategy resulted in positive outcome in its vision center. For
example, Tirunilveli has a outpatient coverage of 45% and that in Theni is 37%
as per exhibit 6.
2. Comment on the non-traditional form of communication, that Aravind Hospital
used.
Forms of communications that were used –

The community outreach program that includes

1) Awareness campaigns on the importance of eyecare

2) Distribution of handbills and posters
3) Shops and bus stop hoardings
4) Loudspeaker announcements (Most effective)
5) Announcements on local tv
6) Referrals through local doctors and teachers other NGOs and village leaders
7) Health education approaches – majorly four
o House visits of already served patients
o House visits for basic eye health checker
o Screening camps – distribution of handbills
o Marketplace visits with loudspeaker announcements

Public health care include some core ingredients to be successful -

Reaching
the
people

Public Providing
Efficient
service Health sustained
value
care

Financial
value
addition

All the communication strategies were focused to provide all these values to the end customers.

PROS
  Communication from their known ones like teachers and leaders ensured that they trusted
on the Arvind brand. Word of mouth played a very crucial role at this point, specially since
these are rural populations.
 The employees those were chosen to work in the hospital were from the similar background
and they extended their care with a sense of connection with the patients which once again
added value to the Arvind brand.
 The trust eliminated the fear associated with eye operations.

CONS

 Ads on the tv may bring more apprehension in rural areas. Arvind should take care about the
content of these ads and the message they were portraying.
 Handbills and posters may associate the brand with Cheaper value, affecting the ultimate
value proposition of the company. This can impact the paid customers of Arvind hospital.
 Critical eye care services were carried out through mobile vans – this can add to the
apprehension.