Aetna Marketing Strategy & Marketing Mix (4Ps)

Marketing Strategy of Aetna analyzes the brand with the marketing mix framework which covers the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). These business strategies, based on Aetna marketing mix, help the brand succeed in the market. Let us start the Aetna Marketing Strategy & Mix to understand its product, pricing, advertising & distribution strategies:

Aetna Product Strategy:

The product strategy and mix in Aetna marketing strategy can be explained as follows:

Aetna is in this business for more than 160 years now and always strives to direct their business and the industry as a whole to more simple and honest way of offering the services. Aetna has 3 business segments i.e. Health Care which accounts for 95% of the company’s revenue. This is followed by Group Insurance and the Large Case Pensions segments which together forms around 5%. The health care segment provides services such as medical, dental, behavioural health, vision and pharmacy insurance mainly for employer-sponsored. The Aetna major product range in its marketing mix includes the following:

• Individual/Family Health Insurance Plan - It offers 3 types of plans namely bronze, silver and Gold based on the monthly premium and costs paid out of the pocket.

• Dental Coverage - All Federal employees and annuitants in the US can opt for dental insurance and treatment

• Student Insurance - Aetna collaborates with various universities in U.S.A.

and offers a student medical insurance plan for the students undergoing courses in those universities and also for their spouse and children (maximum age limit of 26 years). Each university has different plans to offer that have been agreed with Aetna.

• International Insurance - Aetna offers International medical insurance cover. It has employees in 10 countries which can handle the medical needs of globally mobile members of Aetna.

The above plans can also be bought by Organisations for their employees and the premiums can be paid wholly by the companies or shared with the employees as per the agreement. Group medical policies offer benefit to all the parties involved.

Image: flickr.com/photos/751217@N5/

Aetna Price/Pricing Strategy:

Below is the pricing strategy in Aetna marketing strategy:

The pricing policies offered by Aetna are in line with the market forces. Due to stiff competition in the market, Aetna has very aggressive pricing.

The other players such as Humana, Cigna, UnitedHealth Group are also very active in the market to get the share. The company is reengineering its business model so that it can earn more profits by saving people money. It has introduced performance based pricing. This means that it will pay doctors and hospitals on positive health performance for patients, rather than the number of tests and procedures performed on the patients. It is replacing the fee-for-service reimbursement model because it is inefficient and expensive, with a value-based care model. This means that the service providers are rewarded pay based on performance. Example A doctor will get the fees based on his ability to keep patient’s cholesterol level in limits.

Aetna Place & Distribution Strategy:

Following is the distribution strategy in the Aetna marketing mix:

Aetna has its customer base mainly in the western US, followed by the Southeast US, the Northeast US, mid-US and also in some countries of Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. Aetna sells the health insurance products through the sales personnel, independent agents and consultants.

The company provides its health plans to about 24 million people in 19 states in the US.

Aetna Promotion & Advertising Strategy:

The promotional and advertising strategy in the Aetna marketing strategy is as follows:

Aetna is using mobile apps, print ads and its website for promotion of its products. Recent communication strategy of Aetna are more focussed on trumpeting the availability of low-cost or no-cost insurance and Aetna Better Health’s ability to match the needs of the people who find it difficult to bear the high cost of critical illness and medical costs.

Since this is a service marketing brand, here are the other three Ps to make it the 7Ps marketing mix of Aetna.

People:

Aetna inspires its present and future employees to work for the organization to improve health care quality, lower costs and connect people to the health information they need. They ask them to be part of their mission to help people live their lives healthier. Apart from this they offer enhanced medical benefit program to the employees. They help employees to avoid unnecessarily long commutation because they have more than 100 office locations and also offer work from home facility. Around 43% of their employees work from home. They give the freedom to work and also give opportunity to the employees to contribute new and creative ideas to improve business. Employees are able to earn health plan discounts for doing things – such as exercising and eating well.

Process:

Aetna has approved service providers such as hospitals, doctors, pharmacies etc. The policy holder when approaches the provider for treatment, they are charged at the contracted rates of Aetna with the service provider. The plan purchased by the policy holder will decide the amount/% of cost that has to be borne by the policy holder.

Physical Evidence:

Aetna is NCQA accredited. NCQA is the most widely-recognized accreditation program in the United States for quality of the service. The various offices, pamphlets, books, reports etc of the company are a part of its physical presence. Hence this concludes the marketing mix of Aetna.

About Aetna:

Aetna is an American company presently involved in the business of offering medical insurance plans of various types. This company was founded in the year 1853 in Hartford, Connecticut in USA. Its first President was Eliphalet A. Bulkeley. The name was inspired by an volcano of Sicily, Mt.

Etna, which was the most active volcano in Europe. The present headquarter in Connecticut will be moved to New York City by late 2018.At present Aetna has a market capitalisation of $ 35.1 billion and is one of the largest insurance providers in the US.

This article has been researched & authored by the Content & Research Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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