The medical device market is constantly evolving.
With 32 million Americans relying on some form of medical device, it’s important these companies strive to put forth the best products patients can rely on.
To stay ahead of the game, businesses in this industry can turn to market research. In our experience, understanding market trends and audience changes can make or break a medical device company's success.
Knowing what tools and technologies are gaining traction helps businesses decide where to focus their efforts and investments.
Those in product development, market strategy, or investment in the medical device field will find valuable insights from doing market research.
In this article, we’ll discuss what these companies should keep in mind when doing market research for medical devices.
Know Your Target Audience
When conducting market research, especially in the medical device industry, there should be a focus on understanding who will use the products. Knowing your target audience is key to successful market research, no matter the industry.
It's crucial to identify demographics like age, gender, and location. This helps to design and market the device effectively.
What problems are customers/users facing? How can the device help?
Asking these questions can help shape product features and benefits.
Additionally, it’s important for medical device brands to ensure they’re aware of all audiences who interact with their product.
Some devices will be used for multiple purposes, procedures, or ailments.
That’s when knowing all of your audiences is critical. You’ll likely need to keep them all in mind and do research that can include all of them.
Another tool that can lend insight into the target audience is competitive analysis, which will reveal important data about products from rival companies in the medical device industry.
Products that already exist will likely have an audience or multiple that will be useful to examine. With this information, medical device brands can learn why audience members purchase certain products from competitors.
Write Questions For Your Audience
When conducting medical device market research, always start by asking the right questions after identifying the proper target audience.
Knowing what to ask helps get useful and clear information. In our experience, basic and direct questions are great core inspirations to start from.
Below are a few examples:
- What is your age range?
- Do you currently use any medical devices?
- What kind of medical conditions do you have?
- Which features do you prioritize in a medical device?
Your questions will likely look like variations of these. Since these are simple and can be applied to any audience, they can be tweaked or changed slightly to target specific audiences even better.
We find it crucial to include open-ended questions as well.
Using different question types will allow for more detailed responses that can give us valuable insights:
- How has your experience been with your current medical device?
- What changes would you like to see in future medical devices?
Lastly, it’s a good idea to ask questions about habits and preferences.
Questions like the following help to in understand the user better:
- How often do you use your medical device?
- Where do you prefer to buy your medical devices?
This information allows us to build a clear picture and helps companies get more specific data.
Consider All Data Collection Methods
Medical device companies can discover consumer insights through a number of different market research methods.
Online surveys, focus groups, and IDIs are all good options to discover valuable data on a desired target audience. While the needs of the medical device company will dictate which option they choose, each one will yield actionable feedback.
Online Surveys
Conducting online surveys is a quick and cost-effective method for gathering audience data.
A mix of closed and open-ended questions will help to ensure the collection of both quantitative data and detailed opinions.
As an expert survey company, we know what to expect and the best way to implement these surveys.
Online surveys allow us to reach a wide audience, from doctors to patients. We can also tailor questions and survey logic to get more in-depth insights on specific devices. These surveys are especially useful for companies that want to measure market trends and improve customer satisfaction levels.
Focus Groups
Providing medical device brands with deeper insights, focus groups are a reliable option for measuring audience behaviors. Participants usually include healthcare providers and/or patients.
This approach is a great way to view real-time reactions to medical devices. Another added benefit to focus groups is that they allow the observation of body language and group dynamics; a bonus many other research methods do not offer.
While focus groups are often more time-consuming than other methods, they provide rich, qualitative data. To get the most out of focus groups, it’s important to prepare a guide ahead of time with key topics and questions.
Recording these sessions helps in analyzing the discussions thoroughly later.
In-Depth Interviews (IDIs)
Designed to dive deep into consumer thoughts, in-depth interviews are one-on-one conversations between a participant and an interviewer that last around 30 minutes.
Recording these interviews is essential for accuracy and future reference.
These are ideal for detailed feedback from all types of audiences but are typically only applied if companies need specific information that IDIs can offer.
IDIs are one of the best methods for measuring opinions on medical devices due to their low-pressure design. A participant may feel more comfortable sharing opinions about a certain medical device without the pressure of a group setting.
The flexibility to ask follow-up questions provides a clearer understanding of specific needs and problems.
Include Employees In Your Research
In our experience, including employees in medical device market research can provide invaluable insights as well.
Even though not every company thinks of it, employees often have first-hand knowledge of the devices and the market. They see daily challenges and opportunities that outsiders might miss.
For example, technicians could identify usability issues that affect patient care. Sales teams can share why some devices sell better than others, and so on.
What we’ve seen in projects is that employees can sometimes offer practical feedback that would have otherwise been missed.
Understand Audience Pain Points
Understanding their pain points and what customers actually want to solve with a device is crucial in this market.
Based on our experience, knowing these pain points helps to create devices that truly meet the needs of patients, professionals, and/or consumers.
Below, we’ll briefly run through common pain points:
- Usability: Many devices are complicated and need extensive training. Simplifying the user interface (as much as possible) can make a big difference.
- Cost: Hospitals often have tight budgets and need affordable solutions. Offering cost-effective options can make your product more attractive.
- Reliability: Devices must work accurately and consistently to build trust. Faulty devices can lead to serious problems and a loss of confidence.
- Maintenance: Devices that require frequent servicing can be a burden. Low-maintenance designs can significantly ease this stress.
- Integration with existing systems: If a device can seamlessly work with current systems, it's much more appealing.
- Customer support: Quick, effective support can turn a frustrated user into a loyal customer.
Understand the Buyer's Journey
In our work with medical device market research, understanding the buyer's journey is key.
It’s best to track touchpoints with your buyers or target audience. Find out how they are finding you, how they discover you, where their most common point of contact with your company is, and so on.
Additionally, medical device companies should track buyer interactions. If they visit a specific page often, it may indicate interest.
Below, we’ll cover the main stages during the buyer’s journey.
Awareness
First, we look at the awareness stage. Here, potential buyers realize they have a problem. In this stage, the buyer may not know what the exact issue is or what the solution is; but they’re fully aware that a change is needed.
Consideration
After clearly identifying their problem, the buyer moves into the consideration stage. During this time, they compare different options. They look at product specs, prices, and user reviews to determine which device to purchase.
Decision
Finally, they enter the decision stage. Now, buyers are ready to make their choice. They might schedule demos or trials and begin to consider the pros and cons of each option before making a purchase.
In our experience, buyers ask many questions during the decision stage (as they should!).
Common questions like…
What are the key features? How reliable is the product? What's customer support like?
Knowing what potential customers are looking for and what they might ask is crucial knowledge for companies looking to get an edge over their competitors in the medical device market.
Contact Our Healthcare Market Research Company
We can provide the right information at the right time, allowing a medical device brand’s product to stand out against competitor offerings.
Our market research company will help your medical device brand meet customer needs throughout their entire shopping process, making the journey as smooth as possible.
For more information about our services, get in touch with us today.
- Message us on our website
- Email us at [email protected]
- Call us at 888-725-DATA
- Text us at 315-303-2040
Austin Parker
Austin has an extensive background in SEO as he's been blogging since 16 years old back when the internet was in its infancy. As fitting, he holds a Bachelor's degree in English with a concentration in creative writing.
Learn more about Austin, here.
