The healthcare industry is a delicate area, so extensive medical market research has to be done to produce quality products that match the needs of the market. In the highly saturated healthcare industry any market research effort must be both efficient and effective in order to provide value to your company, it needs to be of the highest quality possible to give you the edge you need to stand out and succeed.
Thanks to the internet, it’s all now achievable. Traditional medical market research methods are important, but a lot of online techniques have since emerged and are very promising. A medical market research firm can assist you in conducting and analysing data from online sources but it is important that you know what is out there.
With so many potential sources of data, how do you choose where to go? What to do? Which techniques and methods get the best results? Below, we highlight 10 ways medical market research can be conducted online.
The best ways to collect high-quality medical market research:
- Online market surveys: Both fast and effective when you want to get public opinion of your products. It is done by sending a structured questionnaire to your mailing list. Answers get recorded in a spreadsheet, ready for you to sift through. It’s a great way to get quantitative as well as qualitative market research healthcare data. (Tip: To get fast and reliable feedback, make sure that your questions are specific, brief, simple and your questionnaire is focused and user-friendly.
- Focus Group Discussions: Whether online or offline, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) are great for collecting quality data. In an FGD respondents are already pre-selected. Participants communicate with each other and provide opinions on a product, while a facilitator takes note.
- Forums and online communities: Online communities are composed of people with background or interest in a specific field, and they share tips and updates. Tapping these feedback-rich communities is a highly regarded way to get quality market research data.
- Social Media Platforms: As powerful as it is, social media provide great insights as to real-time consumer feedbacks. Qualitative data gathered can then be analysed and studied. Utilising platforms as Facebook or Twitter is cost-efficient and timely. (Tip: Engage; don’t lead in the discussion. You may also focus on specific groups to get more reliable data.)
- Online panels: Online panels are pre-screened participants who’ve completed a profiling questionnaire. Researchers will be able to interact and learn with these participants over a period of time. Responses can also be tracked over time. (Tip: The process of selecting the participants and the data collected from their profiling questionnaire are very important, as these are basis for their future participation.)
- Keyword Search: Keyword research is a secondary research method used to find patterns from already existing data, by getting an estimate on the number of people already using the keyword or the mostly-used keyword phrases. (Tip: Keyword research is a way to also discover other niches which you have not noticed before.)
- Competitor links: Through this, your competitor’s publicity and reach can be checked. (Tip: Check your competitors’ products to know in what way your new or existing ones are more advantageous and get publicity.)
- Blogs: Monitoring blogs will get you quality market research, healthcare-related data. Blogs are more up to date than most websites, so consumer feedback is more real-time.
- Public and Government Records: By accessing public records online like census, a lot of data can be gathered especially when it comes to demographics; which is much more important for your market research. (Tip: Browse the internet and visit government agencies/websites.)
- Online phone surveys: Calling allows you to probe the participant with questions you cannot otherwise ask with other methods.
Each method has its advantages and downsides, so take these into account, together with product characteristics before choosing a research method and advising your market research firm. Utilising the web for market research in the healthcare industry is a cost-efficient, time-efficient method to learn the behaviour of the market. Take advantage of this, and take your business to the next level!
