| Course | HA 630 Marketing and Strategic Growth in Healthcare |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 3 |
| Paper type | Segmentation and targeting study |
| Length | About 840 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | MS in Healthcare Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HA 630 Unit 3
Where They Were Treated and How Far They Live: A Segmentation and Targeting Study for Cardiac Rehabilitation That Declines One Attractive Segment
Student Name
Health Care Administration, Herzing University
HA 630: Marketing and Strategic Growth in Healthcare
Instructor Name
January 29, 2026
Where They Were Treated and How Far They Live: A Segmentation and Targeting Study for Cardiac Rehabilitation That Declines One Attractive Segment
Choosing Segmentation Variables
Unit 2 estimated about 766 patients a year in the five-county area eligible for cardiac rehabilitation after a heart attack, stent, bypass or valve procedure, of whom the program enrolls 164. The question now is which groups within that population to pursue. Demographics describe patients but do not predict whether they will attend. Two variables do. The first is where the patient was treated, because that decides who makes the referral and whether the program learns the patient exists; in one prospective study, referral strategy alone moved enrollment from 29% with usual care to 73.5% with automatic referral plus a bedside discussion (Grace et al., 2011). The second is how far the patient lives from the program, which Unit 2 showed is closely tied to participation. A third group, patients with stable heart failure, is defined by condition, because it enters through the outpatient clinic rather than a hospital stay and was not counted in the Unit 2 estimate.
Age, sex and race are not used to define segments, but they are checked within each one. Nationally, participation is lower among women, older patients, and Black and Hispanic patients (Ritchey et al., 2020), and any segment plan should be reviewed to see whether it widens or narrows those gaps.
The Segments
Four segments result. Sizes for the first three sum to the Unit 2 estimate; the heart failure segment comes from the hospital's cardiology clinic registry.
| Segment | Definition | Eligible a year | Enrolled now | Main barrier | Channel into it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Near, treated here | Heart attack or stent at this hospital, living in counties A or B | 240 | 110 | Schedule conflicts for working patients | Our discharge process and cardiologists |
| 2. Far, treated here | Heart attack or stent at this hospital, living in counties C, D or E | 170 | 26 | Driving 40 to 55 minutes three times a week | Our discharge process and cardiologists |
| 3. Treated at the regional center | Bypass, valve or complex stent procedures at the regional heart center, living in any of the five counties | 356 | 28 | Referral goes to a distant program or none | Regional center surgeons and discharge planners; local primary care |
| 4. Stable heart failure | Ejection fraction of 35% or less, stable six weeks, followed in our cardiology clinic | about 180 | 0 | Rarely referred; fatigue and frequent hospital stays | Our cardiology clinic |
Growth Assumptions
Segment 1 is expected to stay stable in size. Segment 2 grows only as the hospital's interventional volume grows, about 2% a year. Segment 3 is expected to grow faster, perhaps 4% a year, because the regional center reports rising valve replacement volume among older patients. Segment 4 grows with an aging population and with more patients surviving heart attacks with weakened hearts. These are planning assumptions and will be checked against actual referrals each quarter.
Selection Criteria and Scores
The criteria and weights were set by the program director, the cardiology section chief and the finance partner before any segment was scored. Size is measured as eligible patients not currently enrolled. Competitive intensity is scored so that less competition earns a higher score. Reachability measures whether the program has a practical channel to the segment.
| Criterion (weight) | Segment 1 | Segment 2 | Segment 3 | Segment 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unenrolled size (20%) | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Growth (10%) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Fit with clinical capability (20%) | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Competitive intensity (10%) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Margin under payer mix (15%) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Reachability (25%) | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Weighted score | 4.00 | 3.25 | 3.45 | 3.15 |
Selection
Segment 1: keep and protect. It scores highest because it is easy to reach and well served, but its headroom is limited; the aim is to hold it near 50% participation by adding early-morning sessions for working patients.
Segment 3: primary growth target. It is the largest pool of unenrolled patients, 328 a year, and nearly all of it lies outside the program's current referral channel. Its low reachability score is the reason to invest, not the reason to avoid it: the channel can be built with the regional center's surgeons and discharge planners.
Segment 2: secondary growth target. These patients are already known to the program at discharge. The barrier is distance, which a hybrid model combining a few center-based sessions with monitored home sessions could reduce; professional societies have endorsed home-based rehabilitation for selected patients (Thomas et al., 2019).
Segment 4: declined for this year. Stable heart failure patients are a real and growing need, and the segment scored close to Segment 2. It is declined because the program's staff have little heart failure experience, the ten monitored stations are nearly full at peak hours, and these patients typically need longer sessions and more frequent contact. Pursuing them now would stretch capacity needed for Segments 2 and 3. The decision will be revisited in a year, after staff training and the capacity decision in Unit 7.
Sensitivity of the Selection
The difference between Segments 2 and 4 is 0.10 points. If the fit score for heart failure rose from 2 to 3, for example after staff training, Segment 4 would score 3.35 and move ahead of Segment 2. That is why the decision is framed as a one-year deferral rather than a rejection. Segment 3's position depends mainly on its size; even if its unenrolled size were scored 4 instead of 5, it would score 3.25 and still tie for second.
Positioning Statement
For heart patients in the five-county area who had their surgery or procedure at the regional heart center, or who live 40 minutes or more away, the hospital's cardiac rehabilitation program is the monitored program close to home, chosen over traveling to the regional center's program or skipping rehabilitation, because it is the only monitored cardiac rehabilitation program within 30 minutes of counties B and C and it sends the referring surgeon or cardiologist a progress report after the first and final sessions.
The reason to believe is verifiable: the drive times can be checked on any map, and the progress reports can be shown to a skeptical surgeon. The statement avoids claims about outcomes that the program cannot support with its own data.
References
Grace, S. L., Russell, K. L., Reid, R. D., Oh, P., Anand, S., Rush, J., Williamson, K., Gupta, M., Alter, D. A., & Stewart, D. E. (2011). Effect of cardiac rehabilitation referral strategies on utilization rates: A prospective, controlled study. Archives of Internal Medicine, 171(3), 235-241. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2010.501
Ritchey, M. D., Maresh, S., McNeely, J., Shaffer, T., Jackson, S. L., Keteyian, S. J., Brawner, C. A., Whooley, M. A., Chang, T., Stolp, H., Schieb, L., & Wright, J. (2020). Tracking cardiac rehabilitation participation and completion among Medicare beneficiaries to inform the efforts of a national initiative. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 13(1), Article e005902. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.119.005902
Thomas, R. J., Beatty, A. L., Beckie, T. M., Brewer, L. C., Brown, T. M., Forman, D. E., Franklin, B. A., Keteyian, S. J., Kitzman, D. W., Regensteiner, J. G., Sanderson, B. K., & Whooley, M. A. (2019). Home-based cardiac rehabilitation: A scientific statement from the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Cardiology. Circulation, 140(1), e69-e89. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000663
The Herzing HA 630 Unit 3 instructions
Unit 3 asks you to segment a health care market and select target segments. Expect to choose segmentation variables, define and size the segments, state growth assumptions, score segments against weighted criteria, select targets with reasons, test the selection and write a positioning statement. Students often ask which variables to use. Choose variables that predict whether people will use the service, such as where they received care or travel distance, rather than age bands alone. Make sure segment sizes add up to the total market. Fix the weights first and name the people who set them. Declining an attractive segment is acceptable if you explain why. Write positioning for the chosen segments, naming the alternative they would otherwise pick.
Inside the HA 630 Unit 3 example
The study opens by restating the Unit 2 market and explaining why treatment site and drive time predict enrollment. A table defines four segments with eligible patients, current enrollment and penetration. The growth section projects each segment, such as faster growth among older valve patients. The criteria table lists weights and scores, with a note that the weights were fixed first. The selection section explains each decision: protect the strong local segment with early sessions, target regional center patients, add outer counties and defer heart failure until staff are trained. The sensitivity section shows that a one-point change in fit would reorder two segments. The positioning statement names the monitored program close to home as the reason to choose.
Where the points sit in the HA 630 Unit 3 rubric
Herzing's rubric for a segmentation and targeting study usually covers variables, segment definition, growth, selection criteria, the targeting decision, sensitivity and positioning. Choosing variables that predict behavior and justifying the targets get the closest reading, because a segmentation that does not change what the program does adds nothing. Variable points reward a reason tied to evidence. Segment criteria look for sizes that reconcile with the market total. Selection credit goes to weights set before scoring. Targeting points reward clear decisions, including one segment declined or deferred. Sensitivity should show which ranks could move. Positioning should name the competing alternative. Grace's referral study, Ritchey's participation data and the AHA scientific statement on cardiac rehabilitation support the study.
HA 630 Unit 3 help before you submit
Segmentation studies in HA 630 Unit 3 often go wrong when segments are drawn by age and gender with no link to whether patients attend. Another frequent problem is segment sizes that do not add to the market estimate. Students often pursue every segment, which is not targeting. Weights appear after the scores. Growth assumptions are missing. Sensitivity is skipped, though close scores invite challenge. A deferred segment is rejected without a path back. The positioning statement is a slogan with no alternative named. Reachability is ignored. Finally, show what the program will do differently for each chosen group, because graders reward targeting that leads straight into a marketing plan.
Get a HA 630 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 3 instructions and the rubric from your HA 630 classroom, plus the service line and any market data your section provided. We write a custom example with behavior-based segments, sized profiles, written selection criteria and a position built on verifiable support, returned in 24 to 48 hours. The first custom sample is free.
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HA 630 Unit 3 questions, answered
What makes a good segmentation variable in healthcare?
Anything that predicts whether someone will use the service and how they can be reached. Condition prevalence, comorbidity burden, coverage type, life stage, distance from the site and referral pathway all qualify because each changes behavior. Income and age can matter, but only when you can explain the mechanism connecting them to utilization rather than including them because the data was available.
How many segments should the study identify?
Enough to reveal real differences and few enough to act on, which usually means three to five profiled groups and one or two targets. Very fine segmentation looks rigorous and then collapses at execution, because no organization can run distinct approaches for nine audiences. Say what your resources support, and let the selection section carry that reasoning openly.
How do I test whether a positioning statement is any good?
Put a competitor's name in it. If the sentence remains true and they could publish it tomorrow, it is not a position, it is a platitude. A usable statement rests on something specific and checkable: a capability, a credential, an access advantage, a published outcome. It should also be something the organization can actually deliver every time it is claimed.
Where can I find a free HA 630 Unit 3 sample paper?
The full HA 630 Unit 3 segmentation and targeting study is free on this page, four cardiac rehabilitation segments scored on weighted criteria with a positioning statement. A study for another market can be prepared on request.
How do you choose target segments in healthcare marketing?
Segment on variables that predict use, such as where patients were treated and travel distance, then score each segment on weighted criteria like size, growth, competition and reach. This sample selects targets that way.