CRITERIA FOR SELECTING NEW GEOGRAPHICAL MARKETS

Abstract

This article is devoted to the selection of criteria for the selection of new geographic markets. The article analyzes various algorithms for selecting markets for geographic expansion, which were presented in the scientific works of various authors. However, given the specifics of the field of providing medical services, namely their limitation in transportation, the need for the presence of the consumer and his readiness for the service, the demand for significant resources, such as human, material, and technical potential, dependence on the professionalism and experience of medical personnel, as well as from access to modern equipment and the latest technologies, the need to develop an algorithm that takes into account all aspects of this field was substantiated. Therefore, a six-stage scheme for selecting regions for geographic expansion in the medical services market was developed. The specified stages include the analysis of the company's internal potential, the determination of criteria for the selection of promising markets, the study of the regional environment at the macro level, the study of the regional environment at the micro level, the analysis of economic feasibility and prioritization of markets. The application of this scheme made it possible to study and analyze the western regions of Ukraine (Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Lviv, Volyn, Khmelnytsky and Rivne) using the described methodology, and to identify promising regions for opening a new medical center there. Such criteria as the size of the market, the level of demand for medical services, economic development, the ability of the population to pay, the saturation of the market with competitors, the availability of medical personnel and the state of the region's infrastructure were selected for analysis. The considered six-step scheme for choosing regions for geographic expansion in the market of private medical services is an important tool for companies in this field. It allows for an objective and effective analysis of geographic regions, taking into account the specifics of the medical field. The application of this scheme helps enterprises to avoid certain risks associated with the selection of markets for market expansion and contributes to the justified selection of the most promising regions.