Positioning and Differentiation Review: Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic In an increasingly competitive business environment, organizations must carefully differentiate and position themselves to remain ahead of the competition. Differentiation basically entails incorporating unique features into a product with the aim of portraying it to the intended market as different from what competitors offer (Berkowitz, 2016). For consumers to perceive a product or brand as different from the competition, an organization must strategically position the product or brand addressing the consumer using a well-crafted positioning strategy (Berkowitz, 2016). Positioning and differentiation are particularly crucial in the healthcare industry. Even as healthcare consumers become ever more proactive, healthcare organizations must aggressively differentiate themselves with a robust and consistent brand position (Berkowitz, 2016). Two healthcare organizations whose success in the ever-changing marketplace can largely be attributed to effective differentiation and positioning are Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, two of the top hospitals in the U.S. This paper compares the positioning and differentiation strategies of the two hospitals.

Organizational Background

Over the years, Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic have earned their reputation as some of the best hospitals in the U.S. in terms of patient care as well as healthcare education and research. Both the hospitals that operate as nonprofit organizations, offer quality and highly specialized patient care covering multiple disciplines including oncology, cardiology, pediatrics, dermatology, endocrinology, emergency medicine, neurology, orthopedics, urology, and gynecology. Commitment to quality and safe care has been a vital ingredient of success for the two hospitals.

Mayo Clinic

With its headquarters in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic operates over 60 hospitals and clinics in various parts of the U.S. including Florida, Phoenix, Georgia, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The hospital was founded in the 1860s and has grown to be one of the largest health care organizations in the U.S. The organization has also made significant contributions to medicine, especially with respect to multidisciplinary care, surgery, organ transplant,

With its flagship hospital located in Cleveland, Ohio, the organization has operations in various locations of the country including Nevada and Florida. In addition, the organization has operations in Canada as well as in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The organization has particularly excelled in cardiology and heart surgery, nephrology, urology, rheumatology, endocrinology, orthopedics, pulmonology, as well as in ophthalmology.
Contrasting Positioning and Differentiation Strategies

Both Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic have unique positioning and differentiation strategies. With their excellence in patient care, research and education, the two hospitals serve over one and a half million patients annually from not only the U.S., but also other parts of the world. The two organizations are distinctively positioned to advance primary and preventive care as well as make healthcare practice more effective and efficient. In particular, through their focus on multidisciplinary medicine, the organizations position themselves as the answer to virtually every healthcare problem. This positioning is effectively captured in their vision, which generally espouses the provision of hope and cure.

A significant source of competitive advantage for Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic is their employee base, especially in terms of physicians. Having the best physicians is actually an important element of the hospitals' positioning and differentiation strategies. Three aspects that make Mayo Clinic's and Cleveland Clinic's physicians distinctive are availability, affability, and ability (Beckham, 2014). These principles of healthcare practice were originally suggested by William Osler, who is regarded by many as the father of American medicine (Beckham, 2014).

The element of availability essentially denotes the degree to which physicians make themselves accessible to patients, especially in terms of swiftness in providing an appointment, the length of time they keep patients waiting in the office, quickness in referring patients to primary care specialists, as well as patient follow-up (Beckham, 2014). Physician availability can be an important driver of patient satisfaction and loyalty since patients generally want quick and responsive consultation. The element of affability relates to the interpersonal skills of the physician (Beckham, 2014). This includes aspects such as friendliness, responsiveness, empathy, as well effective communication with not only patients, but also colleagues. Physicians with such abilities are more likely to endear to patients more easily compared to those without them. Ability relates to the physician's training, experience, results, and reputation…