By now, you have learned about the development of marketing in healthcare and some basic marketing con

 By now, you have learned about the development of marketing in healthcare and some basic marketing concepts, which make up the essence of marketing activities. Please respond to the following questions with complete short essay answers. Answers should be at least 3-4 sentences. Each accurate and complete answer is worth 10 points.  

1. Why is today's healthcare environment more hospitable to marketing and marketers than in the past?
2. How are healthcare consumers different or similar to consumers of other goods and services? How does the healthcare consumer decision-making process differ from decision-making in other industries.
3. In the process of developing the annual marketing plan, it is important to profile specific target markets. To achieve this, you must first divide up the larger population into smaller segments. Identify at least three variables by which healthcare consumers can be divided that you will use in your planning. Explain and justify your choices.
4. The marketing mix is comprised of the four Ps (product, distribution/place, promotion, and pricing decisions). Imagine that you are the director of marketing for a hospital that recently added a cardiac care center (the cardiac center is the product/service). Share 2-3 ideas about the distribution/place component for this new cardiac care to be successful.
5. What are some of the challenges in the development of pricing strategies in today's healthcare organizations