The Possibilities of Using Digital Marketing as a Marketing Communication Tool. A Case Study of Promotion of Paid Services of Health Care Institutions in Riga (Latvia)

The study reflects the trend in the influence of digital tools on consumers regarding the choice of paid services in healthcare institutions. The topicality of the research topic is related to the growing advantages of using digital marketing as well as its wide range of uses, which allows to reach consumers more conveniently and quickly, including regarding paid healthcare services. Despite the fact that the promotion of health care and paid services is complicated, it depends on factors such as ethics, law etc., so it is essential to identify the current digital marketing tools for use in promoting healthcare services. The goal of the study is to identify which digital marketing tools positively influence consumer choice and promote the purchase of paid healthcare services, based on the theoretical findings as to the role of digitalization in service provision and empirical research - consumer survey by random sampling method in healthcare institutions in Riga (Latvia). Limitation of the study is the age of the respondents, respondents aged only 18 years or older took part in the study, when they have the opportunity to independently make decisions related to their health. The study used monographic method, secondary data analysis method, quantitative analysis method by surveying respondents online. The research data were analyzed in four cross-sections - by age, gender, education and income level. The study is still being implemented. Based on the opinion given by the respondents so far (sample set n=793) it is possible to determine a trend and formulate a hypothesis for further research. Mainly, the trend shows that the use of digital tools does not negatively affect the choice of paid services offered by the hospital - usage of digital tools improve the choice of paid healthcare services, so use of various digital tools in the digital marketing activities of healthcare institutions is evaluated positively. It can be concluded that the influence of digital tools on the choice of paid healthcare services for men and women differs in different age groups, which should be taken into account when promoting a particular paid healthcare service using digital marketing tools. The consumption of digital tools changes as the respondents' level of education increases, respondents with a higher education choose more tools than respondents with a lower level of education. Regardless of gender, income and education, respondents in the 18-27 age group are more influenced by digital tools than other age groups.