Proposed Marketing Strategy to Increase a Positive Brand Image of RSUD Subang

Abstract

Health is a mandatory responsibility of the regional government regarding essential services, as stated in Article 12, Paragraph (1), Letter b of Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning regional government, which has undergone several amendments, most recently by Law Number 11 of 2020, known as the Cipta Kerja Law. According to research conducted by the Badan Pusat Statistik (Central Statistics Agency) in 2022, out of a total of 2,514 public hospitals, 329 of them are situated in West Java, accounting for 13% of the total. This finding reaffirms that West Java continues to have the highest number of public hospitals in Indonesia. One of these hospitals is the Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah (Regional General Hospital) in Subang, owned by the Regional Government of Subang Regency as a Special Organizational Unit, in accordance with Subang Regent Regulation Number 102 of 2021. However, in early March, there was a negative perception among the public about RSUD Subang, potentially stemming from instances of patient rejection leading to death. The objective of this research is to propose a marketing strategy to improve the healthcare industry’s brand perception in Subang. The research will employ a quantitative methodology, utilizing questionnaires distributed to both patients treated at Subang Hospital and residents of Subang to gather precise data. Once the data is collected, it will be processed using SMART PLS (Partial Least Squares) analysis. The research findings indicate that companies can implement marketing activities that positively influence electronic word of mouth, thereby enhancing the brand image. Consequently, this approach can help rectify the negative perception of RSUD Subang prevalent in society. Based on these findings, the author provides several recommendations derived from internal and external analyses, including a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and TOWS (Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Strengths) analysis for RSUD Subang. The suggestions involve implementing a social media plan, conducting marketing campaigns, and maximizing customer testimonials to foster a positive brand image.