There is no value in dusty decks of “customer research” that just sit on the shelf.

Insight should always be about helping you to make better, or more confident decisions. It’s about minimising risk; avoiding wasting money, targeting the wrong people, in the wrong place; or missing out key decision makers or influencers and talking about (or making!) things that just don’t matter to them.

Focus is everything

Speaking from the perspective of a healthcare marketing agency, it’s fair to say that in healthcare, marketing research is often more difficult and expensive than in other sectors:

  • HCPs are busy, cynical and expect to be remunerated for their time
  • You’re probably dealing with complex and varied decision making, especially if it’s multi-national
  • There are extra regulations to consider, such as adverse event reporting
  • You may be talking to frail patients or about sensitive or emotive subjects
  • The biggest challenge is likely to be with recruiting enough subjects – consider that the more your narrow your definition, the more expensive it will be.

However, it’s all about balance. There’s always more you could find out, refine further or test out with different audiences. The key is to be really clear on your objective; what is the vital information you need to make a good decision? Or what should really be in your “nice to know” list?

There are always “ways and means”

There’s a time and a place for surveys and focus groups and, being a healthcare marketing agency, we often conduct these for clients; but it’s worth exploring other avenues. These may include:

  • Publicly available information, such as news articles, research reports, competitor websites and web forums. Sometimes it’s worth paying the fee for “market intelligence”
  • You may be able to get enough info by holding a workshop with your sales team, or a few in-depth conversations with KOLs
  • You may be able to “sponsor” a question in an “omnibus” survey, rather than pay for your own research
  • Some of the answers might already be there in your data, so we often recommend combining research and data so you can see the trends and understand them
  • “Virtual’ focus groups can also provide an alternative approach to gaining insights from busy HCPs, especially on topics which are particularly sensitive.

We can help you to work out what it is you need to know, as well as helping you find the answers in the most efficient way. Contact us here.