Top 3 Market Research Tips

Understanding the Importance of Market Research in Healthcare

Although many industries go through change, healthcare specifically seems to be in a constant state of change and evolution, from an organizational perspective, as well as a cost and service standpoint. Due to the pace of change within the industry, many healthcare companies struggle to keep up. When launching a new program, deciding what new product to move forward with or even determining which direction to take your company, you can’t expect success if you’re working off of outdated or assumed information.

It’s not enough to know the ‘who,’ ‘what’ and ‘when;’ you must also know the ‘why.’ One rule of thumb most healthcare marketers can agree on as a necessity is RESEARCH. Conducting the appropriate market research is an essential strategic tool for healthcare companies to better understand the marketplace and their audience and to help answer the ‘why.’

Clearly, the importance of research can’t be denied and this tip sheet will ensure you’ve got your bases covered.

Tip #1 - Benefits of research
Market research enables you to identify and get to know your target audience—the people who have the most influence on the success of your organization, or a new program, product or service. From understanding what the customer really wants to gaging the size of the market and where you stand against the competition, research allows you to gain a well-rounded view of the marketplace. Then you can tailor your product, service or program to meet your target audience’s specific needs, instead of presuming you know without the research.

Tip #2 - Sustaining momentum
Brand awareness is key to sustaining momentum post-launch, so a key next step is measuring your awareness level. This allows you to determine if customers know about and are familiar with your company, product or service. At this point, you recognize that your customer knows or doesn’t know you exist. Next, you want to know how those same people feel about your brand and why—and what are their actual opinions, experiences and attitudes towards your company, product or service.

Also, it is important to conduct benchmarking. Benchmarking is a way to track movement and changes. For example, if you completed brand awareness and image research before, you would do that research again with an identical or similar approach to measure any changes in awareness and image that have occurred since the last study was performed. Typically, organizations conduct benchmarking studies annually to provide insight into marketing, communications and advertising efforts, as well as to identify areas of opportunity.

Tip #3 - Types of research to explore
Depending on the purpose of the research, you will need to consider either quantitative (numbers-based) or qualitative (conversation-based), which range from face-to-face surveys to postal or online questionnaires to telephone interviews or focus groups. Whichever approach you decide on depends greatly on what information, knowledge and insights you need to move forward.

It is important to remember that your research is never done. Make sure you continue to conduct research to refine your product, service, program and overall company. Work out any challenges and prove to your audience that you are continuing to make improvements/adjustments to meet their needs and expectations. And naturally, your audience’s motivations and behavior will change over time—especially in healthcare—so you will want to revisit and update research on a regular basis.

What is your success story where research put you one step ahead of the competition? Share in comments below. Thanks!