| Course | BUSI 528 Strategic Management and Marketing for Health Professionals (BUSI528) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 3 |
| Assignment | Market Segmentation Paper |
| Paper type | Market segmentation paper |
| Length | about 621 words, 2 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: a 500-word minimum paper in current APA format that segments a service's customer base for a provided scenario, citing 2 or more peer-reviewed references and integrating Scripture at least once |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| Points | 50 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | MS in Healthcare Administration |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 3 in Liberty's published BUSI 528 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUSI 528 Week 3
Empowered Evaluators, Passive Traditionalists and Disengaged Skeptics: Segmenting First-Time Hearing Aid Buyers for a Hospital Audiology Clinic
[Student Name]
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI 528: Strategic Management and Marketing for Health Professionals
Market Segmentation Paper
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The hospital, its audiology clinic and its service area are a composite scenario standing in for the one provided in the course; the textbook, Scripture and the peer-reviewed sources cited are real.
Empowered Evaluators, Passive Traditionalists and Disengaged Skeptics: Segmenting First-Time Hearing Aid Buyers for a Hospital Audiology Clinic
Introduction
Since federal rules took effect letting adults who believe their hearing loss is mild or moderate purchase devices with no exam or prescription, devices that once cost several thousand dollars through an audiologist are sold at pharmacies and online for a fraction of the price. A hospital audiology clinic in a mid-sized city plans a new service: fitting, adjusting and supporting over-the-counter devices for a flat fee, alongside its traditional prescription hearing aid services. The clinic cannot reach everyone with hearing loss at once, so it must segment the market. Berkowitz (2017) describes segmenting as sorting a market into groups whose members want similar things and react to offers in similar ways, so that an organization can choose targets and tailor its offer to each.
Segmentation Bases
Age and hearing loss are obvious starting points, since hearing loss rises steeply after 60, but they do not tell the clinic how people will buy. Two other bases matter more. Behavioral segmentation looks at where a person stands in seeking help and how comfortable they are buying products online. Psychographic segmentation looks at attitudes, such as trust in professionals versus confidence in managing technology. Singh and Dhar (2026) surveyed 1,013 U.S. adults aged 50 and older with no previous hearing aids and found that 39% were comfortable buying an over-the-counter device, yet 84% preferred a provider-driven model. Insurance coverage and how far a person had gone in seeking care predicted which path they chose. Clustering their answers produced three archetypes, which become the clinic's segments.
The Three Segments
Empowered Evaluators research options online, are comfortable buying devices themselves and want expert help only when something goes wrong. They are the most likely to buy over the counter and the most likely to buy a fitting session afterward if the device does not satisfy them. Passive Traditionalists are further along in seeking care but prefer a professional to guide them through every step, and they were more likely than Evaluators to choose a provider-led path. Disengaged Skeptics have not acted on their hearing loss, are uncomfortable with online purchases and doubt that hearing aids will help.
The clinical evidence shapes what the clinic offers each group. Albazee et al. (2026) pooled seven randomized trials with 1,092 participants and found no significant difference between self-fitting and professional fitting in patient-reported benefit, speech-in-noise performance or satisfaction, though the certainty of evidence was very low. Self-fitting is a reasonable choice for many people, which means the clinic should support it rather than compete with it.
Targeting and Positioning
The clinic will target Empowered Evaluators and Passive Traditionalists first. For Evaluators, the offer is a $95 fitting and adjustment session for devices bought anywhere, promoted online and through pharmacies. For Traditionalists, the offer is a guided package that includes device selection, fitting and two follow-up visits, promoted through primary care referrals. The goal for the first year is 400 fitting sessions and 150 guided packages. Disengaged Skeptics will be reached later through free hearing screenings at senior centers, since they first need a reason to act. Positioning differs by segment as well: for Evaluators, the clinic is the expert backup that makes a pharmacy purchase work, and for Traditionalists it is the trusted professional who handles everything, at a lower total price than prescription devices.
Biblical Integration
When a deaf man was brought to Jesus, he took him aside from the crowd privately before healing him (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, Mark 7:32-35). Segmentation is useful only if it helps a clinic treat people as persons, taking each aside on terms that fit them, rather than treating them as a crowd.
Conclusion
The clinic will test its segments by asking every new customer three survey questions that place them in an archetype and by tracking which offer each chooses.
References
Albazee, E., Alismail, H., Albannai, N., Alenezi, Y. Y., Alharran, A. M., Ibrahim, M. Y. H., Aljishi, D. A., & Abu-Zaid, A. (2026). Self-fitting versus professional-fitting hearing aids: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Audiology Research, 16(5), 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/audiolres16050139
Berkowitz, E. N. (2017). Essentials of health care marketing (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)
Singh, J., & Dhar, S. (2026). Understanding hearing health care choices and customer archetypes in an era of over-the-counter hearing aids. American Journal of Audiology, 35(3), 1102-1112. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_AJA-26-00032
What the BUSI 528 Week 3 instructions ask
Module/Week 3 of BUSI 528 covers Berkowitz's chapters 5 and 6, a presentation, Discussion Board Forum 3 and the Market Segmentation Paper. The paper focuses on segmenting a customer base for a service, using a scenario provided in the course, and must meet a 500-word minimum in current APA style with two or more peer-reviewed references and an instance of biblical integration. Students should segment the market described in the provided scenario. A useful paper names the bases it uses to divide the market, describes each segment clearly enough that a manager could find those people and recommends which segments to target first, with reasons.
How this BUSI 528 Week 3 example is built
The sample paper begins with the scenario: a hospital audiology clinic adding a service to fit and adjust over-the-counter hearing aids. It explains the segmentation bases from Berkowitz and why behavioral and psychographic bases matter more than age alone for this service. Three segments follow, drawn from a national survey of adults over 50 who had never used hearing aids, each described by what they want, how they buy and what would bring them to the clinic. A meta-analysis comparing self-fitting with professional fitting shapes what the clinic offers each segment. The paper recommends targeting two segments first, sets a measurable goal for each and describes the message each should hear. Mark 7:33 frames the personal approach, and a short conclusion explains how the clinic will check whether the segments hold.
BUSI 528 Week 3 grading rubric: where the points go
Market segmentation papers in BUSI 528 are usually graded on the correct use of segmentation bases from the course text, segments that are distinct, measurable and reachable, a clear targeting recommendation and two peer-reviewed sources that inform how the segments are drawn. Faculty notice whether the segments come from evidence about the actual customers rather than from assumptions. A paper that ends with targeting and positioning decisions shows more managerial judgment than one that stops at description. The biblical integration should relate to how the organization treats the people in each segment. Concise writing within the length requirement, clear headings and correct APA format remain part of the grade.
BUSI 528 Week 3 help: mistakes that cost points
Begin by restating the provided scenario in two sentences and identifying the service. Choose two or three segmentation bases, such as age, location, need, buying behavior or attitudes, and explain why they fit this service. Find peer-reviewed research about the people who use or avoid the service, ideally a study that groups them, and build your segments from it. Describe each segment so that a manager could picture and reach its members. Recommend which segment to target first and why, with a measurable goal. Add Scripture that speaks to serving people as individuals rather than as categories, and connect it to a decision. Keep the paper within the length range and use clear headings.
Related BUSI 528 sample papers
Other BUSI 528 weeks
- BUSI 528 Week 1: Marketing Strategy Paper
- BUSI 528 Week 2: Marketing Application Paper
- BUSI 528 Week 4: Product Strategy Paper
- BUSI 528 Week 5: Vertical Integration Paper
- BUSI 528 Week 6: Case Study
- BUSI 528 Week 7: Sales Presentation
- BUSI 528 Week 8: Group Case Study Analysis
More MS in Healthcare Administration sample papers
- BUSI 505 Week 3: Case Study Forum 2
- BUSI 506 Week 3: Annotated Bibliography
- BUSI 511 Week 3: Discussion Board Forum 3
- BUSI 523 Week 1: Discussion Board Forum 1 Thread
BUSI 528 Week 3 questions, answered
What is the BUSI 528 Market Segmentation Paper?
A short Module/Week 3 assignment, worth 50 points and running 500 words or longer, that segments the customer base for a service in a provided scenario, with two peer-reviewed references and a biblical integration.
Where can I find a free BUSI 528 Week 3 sample paper?
On this page, a finished BUSI 528 Week 3 sample segments first-time buyers of over-the-counter hearing aids for a hospital audiology clinic, with APA references.
What are the bases of market segmentation in health care?
Common bases are demographic, geographic, behavioral and psychographic: who the customers are, where they live, how they use or buy the service and what they value or believe.
Do people prefer over-the-counter hearing aids?
In a 2026 survey of 1,013 adults over 50 without prior hearing aids, 39% were comfortable buying over the counter, but 84% preferred a provider-led route.
What else is due in BUSI 528 Module/Week 3?
Forum 3 runs the same week; its thread needs at least 500 words and its two replies at least 450, and every post brings in two journal sources plus Scripture.
Use it as a model, or ask for your own
This paper is an original model written by our desk for study. It is not a submitted student paper and not an official Liberty University document. Read it for structure and reasoning, then write your own to the instructions in your Canvas course. If you want a version built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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