Conducting Marketing Research:
Know your Healthcare Market

Identifying your target market is necessary for a successful healthcare marketing campaign. We have covered every little detail you need to know about your healthcare market. And we ensure, it is worth your read!

In case, you are running short on time, jump to the sections directly.

Competition Analysis
Product Analysis
Target Audience
Trends

Introduction

The healthcare industry differs from other industries like that of finance, technology and so on. Customer preferences and the decision-making process of consumers in this industry are also very different. If you were to look at the consumers in most industries, they have a certain choice when it comes to buying a product/service.

This is not the case with the medical industry. A purchase here is not optional. A patient who requires medical assistance will need that help and pronto!

To assume that this individual will blindly purchase anything that you are selling as a Healthcare Service provider, is not correct. Understanding the ever-evolving dynamics and unique challenges of the medical industry is important.

Looking to generate leads
in the healthcare sector?

The medical industry is becoming a more value-based model.By the end of 2019, up to 15% of global healthcare spending will be in some form of ‘value/outcome-based care’ concept.

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As the focus is more on creating value, the key to better healthcare will be to establish long-term customer relationship. Your aim should be to strengthen the loyalty of customers while simultaneously building brand reputation.

However, to retain them for future Business Prospects, you need to know more about your market.

Why is it Important to conduct Healthcare Market Research?

Healthcare market trends are constantly changing. To keep up, businesses carry market research in the industry. Doing so helps them stay up-to-date with what is currently trending and further allow them to maintain a competitive edge.

As a medical marketer, market research will allow you to stay in-the-know on what is making your market tick.

Studying your market can have many advantages which include:

A better understanding of what drives the decision-making process for healthcare choices
Helps to determine the advantages and disadvantages when compared to competitors
Helps to make a realistic budget based on field insights into future trends
Cultural, structural or environmental influence on the health and healthcare sector’s decision-making process
Whether there is demand for the product or service that a provider wants to launch
Understanding the various health policies and other regulations in different countries
The business impact that key industries have on individual businesses

Bonus Tip:

Planning a healthcare budget is easier with a nudge in the right direction. Read how to Budget Your B2B healthcare marketing campaign, with FREE TEMPLATES.

How to know your Healthcare Market?

Before defining your market, you need to set objectives for your healthcare industry. Once your objectives are set, defining a market becomes easier. Why? Because you know exactly what you are aiming for, who you are aiming it towards.

1. Competition Analysis: Who are Your Healthcare Competitors?

Who are your competitors? Who are they targeting? Who are your current customers? Should you explore new markets? Are your competitors overlooking a niche market?

These are the important areas covered when talking about competitor analysis. To do this you will have to conduct detailed research on your competitors.

Analyze your competitor’s advertisements, visit their websites, and join their email subscription lists. It gives a better understanding of who they are targeting and what marketing strategies are they using.

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This will help you understand your competition’s grip on the target market. It will also help you decide if you should aim to penetrate the same market or look to cast your nets in different waters.

LOW COST COMPETENCY

UNIQUENESS COMPETENCY

BROAD MARKET SCOPE

Cost leadership

Sell to masses & Cost Sensitive

Differentiation

Sell to masses at premium cost

NARROW MARKET SCOPE

Cost leadership focus

Sell to niche with cost sensitivity

Differentiation focus

Sell to the niche at premium cost

Competition analysis will also help you realize if you want to sell to a niche segment or to the masses. And decide if your product will come with a premium price tag or a cost-sensitive one. Based on the level of competition, you can draw an outline of what brand image you want to portray.

2. Product Analysis: What new can you provide to the medical sector?

You need to find your product’s USP and compare it to that of your competitor’s. List out the features of your product or service along with the benefits it provides. Since the healthcare market deals with living beings, you need to be sure of the quality of your product/service.

You already know what works for your competitors and where they lack. It now becomes easier for you to compare your product’s USP. This will help you assess if the product solves an existing problem or provides a solution to a new one.

Evaluating your product will help you find out if there are any existing substitutes in the market. It is very rare that a company comes up with a new product or service altogether. Most products/services already have alternatives present in the market. For a good marketing strategy to work, you must know what that ‘it factor’ is, that your product brings to the table.

Connect with the Top decision makers of the Healthcare Industry

3. Target Audience: Who is your audience?

The medical industry consists of:

Pharmaceutical companies
Medical devices, equipment and supplies businesses
Primary and secondary care facilities (hospitals, nursing homes)
Healthcare providers (doctors, pharmacists, nurses)
Patients

For a clear picture of who your healthcare audience is, you must segment the market in 4 different categories:

Geographic Segmentation:

This segmentation defines ‘where’your target audience is. Country, state, city, metro, density are elements of geographic segmentation.

Firmographic Segmentation:

This segmentation defines ‘what’ your target audience does. Industry sector, revenue, market position, investors etc. are essential for audience differentiation.

Role Segmentation:

This category determines ‘who’ makes the decisions. Various factors like executives, sales, finance, marketing, research etc. determine who will make the purchase decision.

Behavioral Segmentation:

This segmentation determines ‘how’ the target audience processes a buying decision. Consider user status, usage rate, attitude towards the product etc. when analyzing their behavior.

Bonus Tip:

Identifying the right target audience forms the base of any business. Here’s How You Identify B2B Medical Target Audience

4. Trends: What are the latest trends in the Healthcare industry?

You already know the healthcare sector is leaning more towards a value-based care system. You need to understand the healthcare industry is changing. There is a lot of scope for improvement in this sector.

While the change is inevitable, understanding the direction of this change is very important. The healthcare industry is moving towards Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) based technological solutions.

By the end of 2019, the medical technology application market will cross $1.7 billion.

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This will be the best time to test A.I. based healthcare product/services. A.I. will particularly aid the imaging diagnostics, drug discovery, and risk analytics application.

The future prefers digital healthcare solutions over traditional solutions.

According to reports, there will be a 30% increase in growth or up to $25 billion in 2019 for digital health tech solutions in the global market.

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This means that the ‘out of hospital’ settings are going to gain popularity. The shifting inclination of the healthcare industry has a direct impact on the target market. With more companies on par with the latest trends, you should be aware of the same; Designing your Marketing Campaigns around them.

Top 8 healthcare predictions for 2019

Source:

Final Thoughts

2019 is going to be an exciting year for the healthcare industry. Healthcare marketers need to prepare for major transformations and new players in the market. The medical sector is a very tricky marketplace. Healthcare marketers need to have their market segmented to suit their business’ needs.

Marketing research will help you understand the competition, product, target audience and trends. A well-defined market will form the base of a good business.

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Evangeline is a content writer and strategist at ReachStream, who believes that words and expression complete a person. An enthusiastic reader, she loves to spend time learning more about different cultures.