By Katie Kennedy 
The way we do things in market research is changing.
Traditional market research still has a very important part to play but alternative market research methods are offering a new level of insight to healthcare professional (HCP) customers. Here are some of the ways new social media HCP market research, as offered by CREATION, compares to traditional market research.
1. Social media market research provides both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the conversations healthcare professionals (HCPs) are having online. In a study of UK HCPs’ conversation around prediabetes out of 229 HCPs contributing to the discussion, 150 were doctors. Breaking this down by role type, we saw primary care physicians contributed the largest volume of conversation. We can go deeper into the discussion to find out what the hot topics are and what exactly is being said.
2. Social media market research gives you faster access to insights, allowing you to make strategic decisions quicker potentially saving time, money and resources. For example we can track the sentiment of HCP conversation to alert you when we see an unusual increase in negative discussion.
3. Traditional focus groups allow you to engage with a small number of healthcare professionals in a specific role type. Social media market research allows you to hear the opinions of hundreds, even thousands of HCPs, often revealing the conversation from a wide range of specialities. A recent study into HCP social media conversations about type 2 diabetes in the UK in 2016 found that over 6,000 HCPs were part of the discussion.
4. Traditional market research asks questions of participants. Social media market research allows you to learn from unprompted conversations HCPs are having among themselves which can provide additional insights. For example we found fifteen uses for botox you never knew doctors talked about.
If you are considering healthcare professional social media market research then sign up to our free educational webinar to learn more.
Social media market research with CREATION Pinpoint now comprises of both open and closed networks. Read more to find out the differences between open and closed networks.
