ARAVIND EYE CARE SYSTEM

CAUSE RELATED MARKETING IN ARAVIND EYE CARE SYSTEM

SUBMITTED BY: EMMAIAMI LITTING MBA 3RD SEMESTER D.M.S 2011

SERVICE MARKETING

Aravind Eye Care Hospital is an ophthalmological hospital with several locations in India. It was founded by Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy. Aravind Eye Hospitals began in 1976 with just 11 beds in Madurai, a small town in Southern India. The hospital is named after Sri Aurobindo, one of the 20th centurys most revered spiritual leader Today, Aravind is more than an eye hospital. It is a social organisation committed to the goal of elimination of needless blindness through comprehensive eye care services. It is also an international training centre for ophthalmic professionals and trainees who come from within India and around the world. Aravind keeps its surgical equipment in operation 24 hours a day, which reduces the cost-per-surgery. Also, doctors focus only on performing surgery, and nurses handle pre-op and post-op care, which increases doctor productivity. These actions allow the company to give away free surgeries to the poor while still earning a profit. The hospital performs high-volume and high-quality eye surgeries inexpensively to address the needs of the 12 million blind people in India. In the year ending March 2010, over 2.5 million outpatients were treated and over 300,000 surgeries were performed.

CAUSE RELATED MARKETING BY ARAWIND EYE CARE

Aravind Eye care is not just an ordinary hospital but is a cause driven, Cause oriented marketing Company. When the operating phenomena of Aravind Eye Care and any of its competitors (Corporate Hospitals in the eye division) are juxtaposed, Corporate Hospitals treat only those customers who are able to pay. They look at the customers wallet before starting the treatment, because their orientation is not the cause. On the contrary, Aravind treats 65% of its patients free of cost, i.e., the poor and rural people who have neither money nor access for treatment. Its services are par excellence and only 35% of the patients are charged, i.e., those who are able to pay. Cause Related Marketing is basically when companies are taking a more strategic approach to their community-involvement efforts, seeking ways of benefiting community organizations while also furthering companies business goal Another reason for CRMs growth is that public-opinion research has become that effective cause programs can enhance a companys reputation and brand image and increase the credibility of its marketing effort while giving customers a convenient way to contribute to nonprofit organizations through their purchasing decisions. The Noteworthy Benefits of Cause Related Marketing in the Case of Aravind Eye Care are: Brand Differentiation: Aravind Hospital is unique for its innovative system of operation, and is a perfect example of a role model for the world to emulate. Enhanced Employee Recruitment and Retention: A Surgeon of Aravind performs on average 2,000 surgeries a year, significantly exceeding the national average of about 400. This conveys the motivational level of employees. It is matter of pride for the employees to be working at Aravind.

Building New and Deeper Community Networks: Local entrepreneurs sponsor Aravind eye camps; local volunteers and community members support other activities. Fostering Talent and Teaching New skills to Employees: Government pays Rs.500 for each surgery in the eye camp and offers continuous support whenever necessary. Enhanced Credibility and Education Information: School Programs, diabetes programs, rehabilitation programs, etc., are developed to educate rural people. Access to knowledge and Experience to Aid in Research and Development: Aravind offers consultancy services to visitors who wish to learn and understand the Aravind system for application in their hospitals. Its auxiliary units Aravind Medical Research Foundation and Aurolab support research programs. Aravind Eye care is the best example for Pull CRM Promotional strategy. For the success of cause marketing, credibility of cause is crucial if a company as a whole like Aravind Eye Care hospital is involved in cause marketing, the credibility is very high. Aravind hospital is organically connected with the cause the cause of serving the poor is integrated with the marketing strategy of the organization. The promotion of the customer satisfaction and delight is accomplished without any effort from the hospital customers spread the message through word of mouth. AECS have shown the world the soft side of marketing strategies a shift from hard factors to soft factors is evident in their marketing strategies. Company should contribute truly for the sake of cause without expecting in return