{"id":636,"date":"2023-08-30T15:52:31","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T15:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agilecatdev.com\/MEDSURVEY\/?p=636"},"modified":"2023-10-04T14:16:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T14:16:00","slug":"how-to-improve-the-marketing-research-process-for-todays-health-care-practitioners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test01.medsurvey.com\/business\/insights\/how-to-improve-the-marketing-research-process-for-todays-health-care-practitioners\/","title":{"rendered":"How to improve the marketing research process for today\u2019s health care practitioners"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post first appeared on Quirks<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Seeking a better outcome<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Today, there are more advances than ever in the therapies, medicines, equipment, technology and approaches that provide new hope for better patient outcomes. Understanding how health care professionals view these changes and uncovering their patient treatment needs are at the heart of medical marketing research.<\/p>\n

In recent years, I\u2019ve seen a number of trends that are changing the research industry itself. Understanding the impact of these trends will improve the survey experience of participants and clients alike.<\/p>\n

New challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A primary reality of today\u2019s medical marketing research process is that curating and maintaining a high-quality pool of engaged experts has become more challenging.
\nOf the finite number of health care professionals in the world or a particular country, a relatively small percentage of them are willing and\/or interested in participating in market research.<\/p>\n

Also, the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years has impacted health care professionals\u2019 availability. Critical-care pulmonologists, ER doctors and nurses have been slower to respond \u2013 for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n

There are certain health care professionals (HCPs) who are more heavily called upon for research, oncologists being a prime example. While a primary care physician (PCP) may receive a handful of invitations for research, oncologists may frequently open their in-boxes to a dozen or more e-mails \u2013 and that\u2019s just from one panel provider. The truth is, it\u2019s quite common for HCPs interested in market research to sit on multiple panels.<\/p>\n

The demand for cancer research, for very good reasons, is ever-increasing. The trouble is that the supply of oncologists is beginning to decline, as the number of physicians going into this specialty is not keeping up with the number who are heading toward retirement. This fact, coupled with the overwhelming number of research invitations at all times, causes this to be a never-ending frustration shared by both health care fieldwork suppliers and their clients.<\/p>\n

The way our firm has solved this problem is rather simple: by getting along with our competitors. The vast majority of health care market research projects will require more than one panel. We embrace this idea and not only involve our trusted recruiting partners when scoping out a new study but we are transparent with our clients about which partners we plan on utilizing.<\/p>\n

As a client, if you aren\u2019t told who the potential partners are, be sure to ask. That way, you\u2019ll be able to rule out those who are on your blacklist, request a favored partner you\u2019ve had good experiences with or avoid involving a partner you\u2019re requesting a proposal from for the same survey.<\/p>\n

Compensation has fallen behind<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the biggest trends doesn\u2019t get talked about much these days, but it should be. In many instances, survey compensation for HCPs has fallen behind the true fair market value for their time. It\u2019s been a gradual process. Many multi-year studies haven\u2019t updated their budgets annually. When that happens several years in a row, you end up with the same incentive amounts for a study that started years ago. That also can skew the current market rate lower than the actual advance in health care professionals\u2019 prorated income.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that participants who were satisfied with $50 for a 10-minute survey two or three years ago, for example, no longer are. They might be more willing to participate for $60 or $70. That\u2019s not a very large price to pay for ensuring quality survey insights. However, the budget can become a deal-breaker for longer surveys, which may not be attractive to panelists if they don\u2019t reflect a higher rate.<\/p>\n

To address this trend, take a look at the project budget. Is it the same as three years ago? If so, recalibrate the compensation levels based on the target health care professionals\u2019 current market value.<\/p>\n

Yes, this can be a hard sell to the holders of the purse strings. But the benefits are numerous. Raising incentives encourages more high-quality panelists to participate. People will be engaged faster, which promises speedier data delivery. And, respondents will feel that their time is being more appreciated and valued and so they will be willing to participate in the future.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to manage up and push back. Address the elephant in the room that things have changed. It\u2019s important to keep up with the times. Sure, finding a survey company to do the work for the current budget is possible, but how will that affect the outcome? Saving the equivalent of the bump up may not deliver the same quality recipients or the target number of responses.<\/p>\n

Ignored, banned or blacklisted<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Another trend is casting too wide a net for participants, when you actually want to attract people with very specific qualifications and qualities. Some companies will work from a huge target list, hammering away with constant streams of e-mails until they get ignored, banned or blacklisted.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where a well-vetted panel can help. It\u2019s a specific universe of participants that you already know a lot about. Then, a well-structured screening process can rule out participants early in the process rather than making them go through a long session only to be rejected.<\/p>\n

For example, a screener can take a doctor through a short qualifying survey to see how many patients are being treated for certain conditions or with particular approaches and how far along in the treatment process they have gone. More in-depth online surveys can further refine the participants list.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a lot better than screening a broader group and only finding 15-25 percent who qualify and the others just feel frustrated. No one wants to waste a professional\u2019s time, particularly when they have bigger-picture responsibilities to their patients and their practices.<\/p>\n

No longer realistic<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s also been a trend toward shorter time commitments. A 60-minute online survey is no longer a realistic expectation. While a small percentage of people may do them, it\u2019s unlikely that you\u2019ll engage enough to extract meaningful insights.<\/p>\n

However, whittling the survey down to 15 or even just 20 minutes makes it easier to digest. Panelists can justify the time, maybe as part of their lunch break.<\/p>\n

Remember that survey fatigue usually happens around the 15-to-20-minute mark. Anything longer than that and people start to be a little more robotic in their responses, particularly with open-ended questions. Instead, shorten the survey and put the open-ended questions earlier to encourage a more thoughtful response.<\/p>\n

Breaking down surveys into multiple parts is also a good approach. That makes it easier for physicians to go through an online survey in shorter bits of time. If they do 15 minutes here and 15 minutes there, the overall time can really add up without a lot of stress.<\/p>\n

This works well with anonymous patient chart audits. Many deeper insights can be gleaned, such as time between diagnosis and treatment, what treatment they have received and where the patient is on the treatment journey. And it may take the respondent only five or 10 minutes to fill out an online form.<\/p>\n

Another even faster trend is to invite a small group of vetted physicians \u2013 say 20 to 30 \u2013 to log into a secure online portal to provide feedback to two or three questions a day over a three- or four-day period. Each participant is anonymous and the approach allows confidential replies. Or, answers can be seen by other panelists who can weigh in on the responses or their own experiences. This can give more nuanced feedback about different methodologies to be mined by the researchers.<\/p>\n

Creating better experiences<\/strong><\/h2>\n

These various trends offer opportunities for creating better \u2013 and even exemplary \u2013 survey experiences for panelists and clients alike.<\/p>\n

Treat panelists well and you\u2019ll encourage repeat engagement and thoughtful feedback.<\/p>\n