Market Research With Physician Consultants: Available Methodologies

This is the second of two eTips! examining market research with physician consultants. Last month addressed the nature of the consultant target group and the advantages of this type of market research. This month's issue addresses the methodologies available within a variety of settings.

Market research with consultants can include both qualitative and quantitative methodologies within various settings, ranging from small dinner meetings to large meetings with 500 or more healthcare professionals. Some of the various medical education methodologies include:

Pre- and Post-Meeting Surveys: Paper, interactive voice response (IVR), or web/computer hosted surveys are distributed prior to the arrival of an audience to assess perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors that the audience brings to the program. After the meeting, these perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors are again measured to ascertain the impact of the program as well as to assess message retention. These initiatives often lead to year long tracking studies.

Meeting Evaluation Surveys: Immediate assessment of the program is key in building successful future programs. Thus, turnaround on these reports should be very quick. Surveys are conducted at the meetings, then followed-up with a survey several weeks after the meeting to help identify successful meeting elements as well as improve programs for future venues.

Small Group Discussions During Dinner Meetings: These work well if key target physicians or industry thought leaders are attending a meeting. The goal is to tap into their vision by holding a small group discussion. To maximize time with select groups of physicians, moderators are used to facilitate the interaction.

Real Time Polling: Using keypad technology with groups as large as 500, immediate feedback can be obtained from meeting participants on issues presented. These results can then be used to direct further discussion and/or identify potential areas of opportunity or concern.

Self-Directed Small Group Activities: Larger groups are broken out into smaller, more interactive circles, to assist in idea generation via use of audio/visual materials and workbooks. These groups typically include a case study, discussion, completion of an exercise, and reporting of the findings to the larger group.

Qualitative Research Moderation: More formal market research can be conducted with a large group via focus groups or in-depth interviews.

For more detailed information on these initiatives and how to maximize these investments, email info@gs-research.com.