Building Relationship through Pricing Case Study of GNRC Hospitals in India

Pricing,especially service pricing, is among the under researched areas, the fuller potential of pricing is yet to be seen in services marketing and in relationship building. As marketing converts to relationship marketing, pricing too should follow suit and become relationship pricing. It is widely believed that the ways to the heart of the customer are through customisation,communication and emotions. Charging customers for any of the services is certainly not among the favored ways to charm the customers.The paper critiques the existing pricing strategies from the goal of relations building. It follows up the same through a case study of a major corporate hospitals that adapted and strategised relationship pricing. Set in the backdrop of a new order of healthcare in India, GNRC hospital- a tertiary hospital in the private sector, is conciously creating a relationship with its customers through a web of creative pricing policy, price bundling and payment systems.The conceptual and the case-based analysis in the paper reflect the fact that pricing is among the more relevant indices to a price sensitive Indian market. It is more so in the northeast of India that is coming out of years of economic exploitation and social neglect. The distinctly poor northeast merits down to earth routs of relationship building. GNRC case offers the same to its customers and probably, a few inputs to its fellow healthcare provides and to the global customer managers affiliated to the health care services.