Investigating strategies to develop and retain Thai healthcare providers’ brand loyalty for Thai dental x-ray devices

In addition to the increasing prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases in Thailand, which presently account for 74% (400,000 lives annually) of all deaths within the country, and the health challenges of Thailand’s ageing population, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a wake-up call highlighting the urgent need for a self-sufficient national medical care supply chain.In Thailand, the market for medical equipment was worth 4.47% of the country’s total gross domestic product in 2021 and is expected to increase 10.0% annually from 2022-2026. At present, only 3 out of 10 of the major medical device companies operating in Thailand are owned by Thai shareholders, and the country’s position as an Original Equipment Manufacturing country faces issues of low-profit margins, a lack of bargaining power, and higher labour costs, none of which encourage the growth of businesses in a sustainable long-term way.As part of the necessary actions to address these shortfalls, it is proposed that good branding and market awareness are imperative to help Thailand’s medical device industry successfully transition to Original Brand Manufacturing. In this work, the study of which X-ray devices brands are used in Thai dental clinics, and why, has been chosen due to their major role in public dental health, national wellbeing, wellbeing tourism, and the sizeable market potential of Thailand developing high quality X-ray devices of its own. Furthermore, this work investigates ways to add extra value, provide a higher quality of care and allow dentists to make safer, more informed treatments for their patients. The main objective of this study is to examine the facets of brand awareness and brand image which impact the purchasing behaviour of Thai dental practitioners. Through detailed secondary research, semi-structured qualitative interviews with dentists who have experience purchasing dental X-ray units and those that use them, and thematic analysis of the results, this study expects to provide insights into the current medical device ecosystem that can be used to increase market awareness and design new branding guidelines to lead Thai X-ray device brands towards a sustainable and resilient future for their business ecosystem stakeholders.