Market research agency GfK is already 3 years permanent partner of the Institute of Brilliant Failures. We spoke to Edwin Bas, head of the Health Department, about the institute's philosophy in relation to market research and the importance of market research for creating impact with innovations. GfK Health has recently been acquired by market research firm Ipsos.
The motivation of GfK Health (not Ipsos) is to make healthcare more transparent and manageable by means of market research, with the aim of better and more accessible care. They do this by conducting market research among different target groups such as patients, healthcare providers and health insurers. Ipsos conducts market research on behalf of hospitals, among others, pharmaceuticals, medical technology companies, health insurers, patient organizations and the government.
According to Edwin Bas, you could see healthcare as a sandbox that the government has built into a large playground, to which healthcare professionals can give substance. Free market, but within strongly defined frameworks. This has resulted in a complex system of regulated market forces, in which field parties must continuously seek a balance between affordability and quality. That requires flexibility and continuous innovation to continue to meet the parameters. This renewal by definition involves trial and error and raises new business questions. Ipsos is committed to answering these by questioning stakeholders, so that the patient ultimately receives high-quality and affordable care. Innovation and quality are central.
“It is striking that companies often start a project or bring an 'innovation' to the market without having done thorough research beforehand.. This costs time and money. But if a good preparation is missing, projects often end in failure and the intended impact, better care, are not optimally realized. As a sponsor of the Institute for Brilliant Failures, we want to, would like to communicate the importance of thorough market research to prevent unnecessary suffering.”
The research agency GfK itself also had to deal with brilliant failures at the time, projects where the intended upscaling has not been successful. Such projects are jointly reflected on during frequent internal shared-learning sessions. An example of a failed project is the Hospital monitor off 2012. The reason for the development of this monitor was the endless number of ranking lists of preferred hospitals with a striking amount of variation in the number of hospitals. 1. The Hospital monitor is a national map showing the preferences of the Dutch (patients and general practitioners) for certain hospitals, categorized by factors such as specialty/department, accessibility, regio etc. The idea behind the instrument was that it would contribute to the quality of care because hospitals can improve their care in a targeted manner compared to competing hospitals in the area.. It was striking that patients made their choice for a hospital mainly on practical matters such as accessibility, parking options etc. base and GPs on (personal) contacts in the relevant hospital.
Completely against all expectations, the monitor on the implementation broke down. “We thought we had a showpiece in our hands, but hospitals did not purchase the monitor. We should of course have tested our positive expectations better among all stakeholders within the hospitals.”
The biggest obstacle turned out to be finding the right person. “You don't just come in to the board of directors of hospitals and we were sent from pillar to post.”
In all the enthusiasm, too little attention had been paid to the sales issue. Finally pulled the plug. Nowadays, much more importance is attached to the assessments of patients, the so-called PROMS: The patient-reported outcomes of care that reflect the patient's opinion and appreciation of his treatment outcomes and the PREMS: The 'patient-reported experiences', that measures how the patient experiences healthcare, such as communication with the care provider. This was even less the case during the introduction of the hospital monitor.
An important lesson from this project was the importance of properly testing the business case among the entire target group. So don't just test on the intended user, but also on the intended customer. Looking at the methodology of the Institute for Brilliant Failures, the archetype 'The empty place at the table' certainly applies here.; those who had to decide on the purchase are not involved in the project beforehand. In addition, 'The diver of Acapulco' also applies, the archetype about timing; the innovation was ahead of its time.
Such experiences are reason to endorse the mission of the institute. “As a sponsor of the Institute for Brilliant Failures, we would like to communicate the importance of thorough market research to prevent unnecessary suffering.” Research can provide insight into how different stakeholders think about it, what knowledge is or is missing, which interests play a role and most importantly what the needs of the target group(and) to be. It also contributes to getting to know and anticipating the complex environment in which you operate. This way we can work on a learning organization. It is also important to share the results structurally.”