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Cosmetic surgerygoing market recession

In the last post, “Meeting the challenge of static demand and increasing competition in the private healthcare market”, I highlighted how organisations need to adapt their marketing approach in a recession. In particular, I made this comment about how patients and consumers buy services when money is tight: “They will just be more selective and more rigorous in making the choice, especially when it’s on a self pay basis. You need to convince them that choosing your hospital/clinic/service is 100% the right decision, the safe decision, that you are the provider they can trust. There’s some support for this in what has been happening in the cosmetic surgery sector in the UK. In a recession, you might expect people to buy less and to move downmarket to cheaper providers. So within the cosmetic surgery market, the companies that you might expect to benefit would be Transform, The Hospital Group and Harley Medical Group who offer lower cost surgery. And you would expect the major private hospital providers such as BMI Healthcare, Spire Healthcare and Nuffield Health to suffer as prospective buyers go for the cheaper option.