A Guide To Medical Device Voice Of The Customer Analysis
The voice of the customer data analysis is one of the key services offered by medical device consulting firms. A good medical device voice of the customer analysis involves questions and observations that will direct medical device development, regulatory strategy and medical device commercialization strategy. This analysis provides answers to critical questions like:
● Shall the medical device under consideration for development enter the market?
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● What sort of medical device should the company develop?
● How should the company price the device?
● What should be the regulatory strategy?
● What should be the sales and marketing strategy?
Every medical device company knows that it has to conduct the voice of the customer data analysis. However, the developer has to determine the voice of the customer analysis scope and research depth. The voice of the customer analysis helps the innovator understand what the target market expects.
Here are some insights for running the medical device voice of the customer analysis.
Get A Team
A medical device developer requires a team that already understands the target market. Medical device consulting firms already have a significant target market understanding, experience and tools for the voice of the customer data analysis. The firm can provide the innovator with one step head start. This allows the innovator to ask the right question to uncover target market expectations. Experienced researchers not only ask respondents about the features they want. They also ask about the real expectation from the device under consideration for development.
A good team has researchers familiar with physicians, technicians and other stakeholders. They are also familiar with regulatory and reimbursement implications. Therefore, working with a consulting firm that already understands the market and medical device usability gives a competitive advantage.
Clinicians are interested in patient outcomes they expect. The administrators are interested in workflow improvements and cost savings.
It is critical to understand the physician’s workflow and the problems they face.
Identify and fill out the knowledge gaps
A good voice of the customer data analysis team identifies gaps in its existing target market understanding. These gaps are the areas to be included in the voice of the customer data research and analysis. In this analysis, the firm captures market size and trends, competitive landscape, existing medical technologies, regulatory considerations etc. The consulting firm should identify and prioritize knowledge gaps.
Voice of the customer analysis objectives
Clearly articulate the voice of the customer research and data analysis. This gives the consulting firm a good starting point to achieve the desired result. It clearly understands the areas the voice of the customer data analysis will address. For this, the developer is required to write down the specific objectives.
The medical device company should not have more than five or six high-level objectives. It is easier to talk to physicians and administrators about limited, critical areas. The following are the areas the voice of the customer analysis addresses:
- Customers the medical device company wants to target
- The current workflow of the target physicians
- The impact of the new device on the workflow
- The expected functionalities or feature sets
- Pricing
- Sales and marketing strategy
- The reimbursement system
- The regulatory implications
Voice of the customer analysis methods and tools
The objective determines the methodology for the voice of the customer data analysis. Medical device consulting firms use options like one-on-one interviews, focus groups or online surveys. These firms use a range of voice of the customer analysis tools. For example, pricing requires cost versus feature set evaluation. The firm also considers the environment in which the device will be used.
Voice of the customer analysis data
Producing a summary for every interview allows to include the voice of the customer study related key takeaways. A medical device consulting firm understands the challenges the respondents face and the patient outcomes they are attempting to achieve. The firm gathers and analyzes the data to determine the features that will help the respondents. The voice of the customer analysis report should include key findings and specific recommendations to achieve the objective.
