Are You Playing Baseball Blindfolded?

If primary marketing research isn't in your regular play book, you are. And yes, you can afford it.

By Tracy Knight

Maybe you're the Derek Jeter of healthcare marketing. You've been promoting hospitals or medical products since you came out of the womb, and no one understands your world better. You're a recognized “expert.”

But if you are relying on your considerable expertise in lieu of conducting primary market research before launching a product or service line—or just promoting your brand—you are doing yourself a real disservice. You may be Derek Jeter, but you're playing baseball wearing a blindfold. You can't see what the competition is doing, nor can you be sure what your own teammates are doing. And the fans? They could be throwing rotten vegetables, for all you know. Sure, you're playing the same sport, day in and day out. But no two games are exactly the same, and without your full faculties you are at a distinct disadvantage.

You may be feeling slightly insulted, thinking “Of course I know the importance of research—I'm no rookie!” Indeed, as marketers we have all been schooled in the value of market research. Nevertheless, every day I talk to clients and colleagues who choose not to conduct primary research—the direct-from-the-horse's-mouth, painfully honest kind of research. The kind that also provides a level of insight that no Census Bureau data or demographic profile ever could.

A hospital client in Miami is a great example. About once a year, the “we need more open hearts” fire drill begins. The marketing department is called into administration and given its marching orders: “We need the greatest heart campaign of all time!” The marketing department calls us, its agency, and we ask what they currently know. What is hospital's reputation in heart care today? How do consumers feel about it, and how do they feel about the other seven competitors aggressively marketing their heart programs?

In answer to these questions, we are referred to a limited quantitative study conducted more than five years ago to determine general perceptions of the hospital's brand. We're told there is no money in the budget for specific research on heart care. But, by golly, we're doing full page ads in one of the country's most expensive newspapers—maybe even television—and phones had better ring.

This is not to say healthcare marketers never conduct primary research. What I am seeing, especially in hospitals, is that they leave it out of the plan for smaller campaigns, and occasionally—very occasionally--budget for research in campaigns they consider especially important. However, if they were to sum up the dollars spent and the results achieved for all of their lower-level campaigns or initiatives, there is little doubt that it would be enough to significantly impact their companies' bottom lines.

Here are the unable-to-do-research excuses I hear most commonly, even from the savviest healthcare marketers. Do any sound familiar?

1. We already know our market, or our target audience.

2. I don't have the time Ð my CEO wants this campaign out yesterday.

3. Administration doesn't believe in research.

4. It's too expensive.

The first excuse, “we already know our market or target,” assumes we are omnipotent—and of course, we aren't. Markets and targets change constantly. In fact, there has been a sea change in consumer behavior just in the last two years, thanks to the economic downturn. Consumers are prioritizing differently, shopping differently, and spending differently Ð and that includes their healthcare purchases. So, we can't possibly know what people are feeling or thinking today without asking them, today. I can't tell you how many times I have witnessed the surprise on clients' faces with the revelations that come from primary research, because they thought they already knew everything there was to know. Research reports often confirm assumptions, but at the same time they never fail to offer up some little surprise that provides valuable insight and shapes key messaging.

There has been a sea change in consumer behavior just in the last two years, thanks to the economic downturn.

The second excuse, “I don't have time,” is one I hear frequently. In today's virtual world, however, it just doesn't hold water. As our research partner Rick Sandler of the Insight Group points out, current technology allows for very fast turnarounds, typically at reasonable costs. Online surveys can be programmed, administered, tabulated and analyzed within a few days. We can also conduct online focus groups and “white boards” that allow us to test creative using the Internet. There is no loss of quality, either. In fact, online methodologies enable researchers to test a regional or national sample, and target their questionnaires to specific demographic and psychographic segments while achieving significant economies of scale. Researchers are also finding that responses may be more objective, since participants aren't as influenced by the others in the group as they are in live settings.

If you want to shorten the timeline even further, lay your foundation now and know what you need to know. Laying the foundation means developing a relationship with a research provider or marketing firm and establishing some up-front terms for various methodologies. That way, when the CEO starts yelling “faster, faster,” you don't have to start from scratch, wasting valuable time looking for a research partner and comparing bids. And, if you are able to tell your research partner exactly what it is you are trying to discover—in a concise list with clear objectives—you'll save more precious days.

Current technology allows for fast turnarounds, typically at very reasonable costs.

The “My boss doesn't believe in research” excuse always floors me. I would suggest you work to educate your higher-ups. You may wish to point to the high failure rate (95%) of new product introductions without proper research. Or you may wish to ask (diplomatically, of course) a few questions:

• If we are wrong, can we afford to lose money on an off-strategy program?

• Do we know if we are providing everything our customers or patients need to remain loyal?

• Do we know if our customers or patients are giving a greater percentage of their business to another organization? If so, why?

• Do we know with certainty why our prospects choose other providers or companies instead of us?

Unfortunately, if you can't find a way to educate management and get their buy-in on primary market research, you are setting yourself up for failure. If your product or service line campaign doesn't work and you have to explain why, you'll be hard-pressed to provide the answer and you probably can't get away with “I told you so.”

Not surprisingly, “It's too expensive” is probably the most common objection. My response would be what every market researcher says: it's an investment that reduces your risk. And, when considered in the context of your total marketing or campaign budget, it probably comprises just a fraction (just think of the Miami hospital willing to put tens of thousands of dollars into a single newspaper ad). If you are planning to spend $100,000 on a campaign, it's not unreasonable to put 10% of it toward a research study. But even if you can't swing that, you can probably use online methodologies to get what you need for less. Online research can be as much as 30% lower as traditional research, and you'll get the same results or better.

Online research can cost as much as 30% less than traditional research, and you'll get the same—if not better—results.

So if you find that your marketing vision is even partially obscured, take off that blindfold now. It's time to start playing baseball with the attitude of a winner.