Examination of Consumer Motivation and Expectation in the Case of Addiction Prevention Services

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the consumer expectations and marketing communications related to the services of addiction prevention. The research questions of the study are the following: 1. What are the front- and back-office components to addiction prevention services and what key attributes should the front office staff have? 2. What types of service gaps occur, and what are the most critical factors highlighted by these gaps? 3. How do consumers perceive addiction prevention campaigns and what are their expectations? In order to answer the research questions, secondary and primary research were conducted, where the Servuction; GAP; and AIDA models were applied. As primary research, in-depth interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals in Hungary. Based on expert opinion we assessed the possible GAPs related to the campaign, placing the greatest emphasis on the communication gap (GAP4). To examine the consumer response, we analysed the attitude and opinion of consumers with an online questionnaire survey in connection with the communication GAP of the service, following the structure of the AIDA model. This paper presents the factors affecting the environment, implementation and the consumers of addiction prevention services. Our results highlight the importance of positive messages, family therapy and continuous training of patients; moreover, they show that friends and general practitioners have more influence on the behaviour of people than celebrities and social trends. The results presented in our study can help healthcare managers or marketers to develop their communication programmes/campaigns.