The Client & Business Challenge:

A global leader in patient monitoring, healthcare technology and information systems was investigating customer response to a managed service solution for health system wide healthcare informatics.

They had recently launched a managed service solution which was undergoing pilot testing with a limited number of IDNs in the US. In the meantime, they wanted to explore how the solution could evolve in the mid-term for general release. They had developed preliminary elements of a new value proposition that would expand the current offering, and wanted to validate these with key customer stakeholders in 4 countries.  A secondary objective of the research was to measure potential uptake and price sensitivity around 3 potential commercial models.

Our Approach:

The project commenced with a kick-off meeting with the core project team, to align on the objectives and approach of the research.  This was followed by a series of one on one interviews with personnel involved in marketing, product management, research and development and commercialisation of the solution.  These interviews provided our project team with a deeper understanding of the market, the potential scope and elements of the solution, and the decision making process in each country.  Insights from this phase were used to refine the methodology and develop research materials that addressed the objectives of the engagement and the key business decisions that needed to be made.

The second phase of the project involved a program of 1 hour, in depth qualitative interviews with with C-Suite executives and healthcare IT personnel in major hospitals and hospital networks across 4 countries.  The research targeted respondents working in specific types of organisations that represented the target market for the solution, and considered the size of the organisation, it’s level of IT sophistication and stage in the buying cycle for the in-scope products and services.  A series of initial interviews were conducted to refine the discussion guide and stimuli material that described the potential solutions.

The interviews were structured over 3 sections.  The 1st of which explored the incumbent technology, the various contracts and vendors the hospitals were working with, their stage in the buying cycle and general attitudes toward innovative business models and professional services.

The moderators then presented the value proposition of the managed service solutions under review, explored the respondent’s overall perception, the clinical and operational benefits it could deliver, and the potential barriers to and concerns regarding adoption.

They were then presented them with a purchasing scenario, tailored to the specifics of their organisation and a potential “real world,” contract.  The final part of the interview utilised an adapted Gabor Granger pricing methodology to determine the maximum price point at which each respondent would consider purchasing the solution.  Prices presented were referenced to a traditional cap-ex purchasing model, to provide transparency of costs over a 7-year period. The objective was to quantify the extent to which the new solution could command a price premium in the market.

Following completion of the fieldwork, IDR Medical analysed the data and delivered a global report and individual country reports for each of the 4 markets.  The reports included actionable recommendations of how our client could best succeed with the new offering.  Follow up presentations and workshops were organised with the sales and marketing teams in each in-scope country to review the data and align on the country specific recommendations going forward.

The Results and Impact:

Project outputs provided our client with the necessary insights to align on a launch strategy for each of the 4 markets and determine the optimal product and service packages / price corridors to ensure success.  The project also provided input to refine the value proposition (that was initially developed for the US market) to make it more relevant to customers in publicly funded healthcare systems.