This study aimed to demonstrate the effect of implementing factors of relationship marketing with which hospitals hope to create loyal customers and to retain continuous relationship with customers on construction factors and performance of relationship.
Today service companies try to build customer loyalty using various methods and want to raise their images and create new customers through customer loyalty. Thus, this study tries to conduct fundamental research and experimental analysis on customer strategies which are generally performed within hospitals from the viewpoint of relationship marketing. Reviewing preceding research, this study suggests theoretical framework, application model, and validity for applying relationship marketing to hospitals' customer strategies in application methods, strategies establishment, and target segmentation.
This study conducts a survey of 500 in-patients and visiting patients among total 19 hospitals located in Pusan and Ulsan which consist of 1 medical center, 4 university hospitals, 9 general hospitals, 4 hospitals, and 1 oriental hospital and then implements experimental analysis.
Summarizing the major results of this study is as follows;
First, it is reveal that customer orientation, professionalism, communication, and image which are five factors of relationship marketing has an effect on customer trust and satisfaction. In addition, professionalism, image, communication, and customer orientation influences customer trust in order and customer satisfaction is influences by image, professionalism, communication, and customer orientation in order. It shows customer satisfaction has more impacts on customer loyalty than trust do.
Second, it is analyze that among five factors of relationship marketing which patients perceive as customers, medical facility factor has no impact on customer trust and satisfaction. Third, customer trust influence customer loyalty as it appear higher, which verify that customer trust is a variable of customer loyalty.
Forth, the higher customer satisfaction is, the more impacts it has on customer loyalty, which demonstrate that customer satisfaction is a variable of customer loyalty, too. Finally, customers' school career, their frequency of visit, and hospital size are variables which differently influence customer trust according to respondent's group. And income level and hospital size are variables which has different impact on customer satisfaction according to respondent's group.
In summary, it shows that factors of relationship marketing has an effect on customer trust and satisfaction, and these customer trust and satisfaction influence customer loyalty. Therefore, hospitals are relationship-oriented organizations where relationship marketing can be effective for customer strategies.