Primary and Secondary Market Research for Healthcare Start-ups: How to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead

Nov 13

Innovation alone does not guarantee success in the dynamic healthcare market.

You might have a breakthrough healthtech solution or a product that redefines women’s health, but if you don’t understand the market, your start-up may never get off the ground.

So how do you ensure your product stands out and connects with the right people?

The answer lies in market research.

This isn’t just about data collection—it’s about getting inside your customers’ heads, spotting trends before your competitors, and positioning your product to solve the right problem at the right time.

Here’s how you can clarify your product offering, create effective messaging, and hit the market with an approach that propels your start-up to success.

The Importance of Primary and Secondary Research

Primary research involves the collection of firsthand data from your target audience. Think customer interviews, surveys, and direct observations.

For instance, a healthtech start-up may conduct interviews with users of a wearable device to identify specific pain points or unmet needs.

Secondary research, on the other hand, uses existing data from sources like industry reports, competitor analysis, and public health records.

One industry report, for instance, predicts that the femtech market will exceed $60 billion by 2027. This data informs start-ups where to focus product development and how to position themselves for growth.

Customer Interviews: The Power of Listening

Customer interviews offer direct access to the thoughts, concerns, and desires of your users. Ultimately, interview data helps you build products customers want.

For a telehealth platform, talking to healthcare providers and patients could reveal concerns about data privacy or the need for seamless integration with electronic medical records (EMRs).

In women’s health, conversations with potential users could expose demand for more holistic care options. Take a hypothetical menstrual tracking app, for example, where women express interest in a feature that tracks their mental health as well as their physical health.

Expanding Your Reach With Surveys

While interviews yield deep insights, surveys enable you to collect broader data and validate your findings at scale.

Let’s say your healthtech start-up focuses on AI-driven diagnostics. A survey could help gauge how comfortable different demographics are with using AI in their healthcare decisions.

The results could then help clarify where to focus marketing efforts or which groups might need more education on your product’s benefits.

Surveys can also confirm patterns identified in interviews. If interviews indicate that users are skeptical about sharing personal health data, surveys can measure how widespread this concern is.

Industry Reports: Seeing the Bigger Picture

Industry reports are valuable for understanding broader market trends and predicting future developments.

Consider a start-up that wants to develop a remote patient monitoring (RPM) solution. One industry report may alert the start-up to a key shift in reimbursement policies—such as Medicare's expanded coverage for RPM services—which could indicate a future surge in demand.

The start-up may read another report on the subject which states that while the use of RPM increased 600% between 2018-2021, much of this increase was driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. What’s more, widespread adoption may be hindered by billing and documentation-related obstacles.

Understanding broader trends helps you anticipate current and future market needs before the competition.

Based on the example above, a start-up could obtain a first mover advantage by developing a generative AI solution to manage vast amounts of RPM-related data.

Refining Your Product: Data-Driven Decisions

When you combine primary and secondary research with customer feedback and market trends, you can refine your solution to meet user needs and profit from industry shifts.

This ensures that your product is based on real-world data instead of assumptions.

If interviews show that users feel overwhelmed by the amount of information collected by wearables, you could adjust the product to offer simpler, more actionable tips.

If research shows a user's need for mental health support in the postpartum phase, your start-up could focus on filling that gap.

Crafting Messages That Connect

In healthcare, your messaging is just as important as your product.

Research helps you understand how your audience thinks and talks about their needs and allows you to craft messages that resonate. This is especially important in women’s health where 66% of women feel misunderstood by marketing campaigns.

Consumers prioritize empowerment and personalization. As a result, messaging should encourage women to take control of their health and target specific health issues, life stages, or age groups.

In the B2B space, if research shows that users are hesitant about AI, your marketing campaign could focus on how your technology does not replace human expertise but complements it.

Research as the Foundation of Success

For healthcare start-ups, primary and secondary research can be the difference between resounding success and abject failure.

Whether you’re developing a telehealth platform or a femtech product, research allows you to refine your product, craft messaging that resonates, and strategically position your offer in the market.

By partnering with ABIG Health, you can ensure that your research is translated into an effective roadmap to outpace competitors.

References

https://www.emergenresearch.com/industry-report/femtech-market

https://bipartisanpolicy.org/download/?file=/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/BPC_Health_FutureOfRemoteMonitoring.pdf

https://healthcaresuccess.com/blog/healthcare-marketing/womens-health-marketing-how-to-reach-women-healthcare-consumers.html

Adam Brown