WebMD is a provider of health information and they’re currently online health information leader. Their current customer base consists of physicians, consumers, employers and health plans. The company’s mission is to “Help consumers take an active role in managing their health by providing objective healthcare information and lifestyle information”. They achieve this through their two subsidiaries, WebMD.com and Medscape.com. The current situation of the online health information industry, is steady and growing. With healthcare prices rising, people are looking for alternatives to stay healthier. There are also two large population segments that are starting to look into online health information, Millennials and Baby Boomers. These two groups
…show more content…
They provide their service through their web service, whether it be the public or private option WebMD’s mission is to “Help consumers take an active role in managing their health by providing objective healthcare information and lifestyle information” (WebMD.com). WebMD differentiates itself from its competitors by promoting a more personalized healthcare. They tailor to a consumer specific needs, by using multiple approaches. They provide additional support to physicians and consumers by actively using technology to inform the consumer on their personal health and on other health trends. One of their missions is to “Empower and enable health decisions anytime and anywhere” (10k Edgar). WebMD achieves this by using mobile applications to provide their clients’ instant access to their information through their mobile devices. A large part of WebMD’s business is WebMD.com and Medscape.com, WebMD.com is largely for the public use, meanwhile Medscape.com is more for healthcare professionals, such as doctors. WebMD generates revenue from many streams one of the biggest is through advertising and sponsorships for their main website WebMD.com. another revenue stream is from their subscriptions to their premium services for employers and health plans. WebMD has been doing well through the last couple of years and net income shows steady growth. According to …show more content…
They finance most of their expansions with debt, which allows them to maintain financial flexibility for further projects. Also, by using the amount of debt that they use they don’t dilute shareholder’s equity. Their current financial status is great and have the financial flexibility to grow with the new demand. They have steady growth in revenue, and growth in profit margins. With their current strategy, they’re creating value by offering both the free and subscription service. They have low fixed cost, due to their nature of being an online business, and use the same resources for both segments of the business. WebMD isn’t currently facing a direct threat, their main rival is Mayo Clinic, a prestigious but not for profit organization. Their previous threat Google Health stopped operations in 2012. Although, Google Health is no longer around a similar company, that has existing advertisement deals, and a large parent company could be a serious threat. My recommendation for WebMD’s competitive strategy is to become more differentiated. They should continue to grow and capture as much market share as possible, but they should also try to become the standard for online healthcare information. By them becoming online health information standard, they create loyalty in their customers, this is one of the advantage that keeps their customers away from rivals. Another advantage of
They provide their service through their web service, whether it be the public or private option WebMD’s mission is to “Help consumers take an active role in managing their health by providing objective healthcare information and lifestyle information” (WebMD.com). WebMD differentiates itself from its competitors by promoting a more personalized healthcare. They tailor to a consumer specific needs, by using multiple approaches. They provide additional support to physicians and consumers by actively using technology to inform the consumer on their personal health and on other health trends. One of their missions is to “Empower and enable health decisions anytime and anywhere” (10k Edgar). WebMD achieves this by using mobile applications to provide their clients’ instant access to their information through their mobile devices. A large part of WebMD’s business is WebMD.com and Medscape.com, WebMD.com is largely for the public use, meanwhile Medscape.com is more for healthcare professionals, such as doctors. WebMD generates revenue from many streams one of the biggest is through advertising and sponsorships for their main website WebMD.com. another revenue stream is from their subscriptions to their premium services for employers and health plans. WebMD has been doing well through the last couple of years and net income shows steady growth. According to …show more content…
They finance most of their expansions with debt, which allows them to maintain financial flexibility for further projects. Also, by using the amount of debt that they use they don’t dilute shareholder’s equity. Their current financial status is great and have the financial flexibility to grow with the new demand. They have steady growth in revenue, and growth in profit margins. With their current strategy, they’re creating value by offering both the free and subscription service. They have low fixed cost, due to their nature of being an online business, and use the same resources for both segments of the business. WebMD isn’t currently facing a direct threat, their main rival is Mayo Clinic, a prestigious but not for profit organization. Their previous threat Google Health stopped operations in 2012. Although, Google Health is no longer around a similar company, that has existing advertisement deals, and a large parent company could be a serious threat. My recommendation for WebMD’s competitive strategy is to become more differentiated. They should continue to grow and capture as much market share as possible, but they should also try to become the standard for online healthcare information. By them becoming online health information standard, they create loyalty in their customers, this is one of the advantage that keeps their customers away from rivals. Another advantage of