How we assessed potential opportunity and buying process to optimize the market share for a contraceptive implant

The challenge

With a recent rise in demand for Product X, our client wanted to understand the buying process for contraceptive implants to feed into strategic planning in order to maximize the potential for Product X.

The solution

We proposed a 3-phase approach to address all of the client’s research objectives:

• Quantitative phase: We conducted 30 online surveys with contraceptive implant users and non-users. This allowed us to obtain an understanding of the stakeholders involved in the buying process and the influencers/gatekeepers involved in the decision-making process. The quantitative phase not only explored the drivers and barriers for the choice of contraception, but it also investigated the key profiles of consumers.
• Qualitative phase: We conducted 5 IDIs with current contraceptive implant users and non-users. This phase was critical for the research as it helped us to deep-dive into underlying beliefs and attitudes that drive behavior and the resulting leakage points in the buying process for Product X.
• Social media listening: We crafted an appropriate consumer profile as a key first step in order to perform the information search. This allowed us to mimic the process target consumers go through in real life. Additionally, we reviewed all the available social media conversations around contraceptive implants. This facilitated a holistic understanding of the information on the topic, including identifying the key influencers on various channels.

In the qualitative and quantitative phases, we had a screening criteria in place which ensured that our respondents were of three distinct categories: non-users, lapsed users, and current users. In order to get the best insights, our respondents were diverse from a mix of age, ethnicities, religions, geographies, and socio-economic status.

The outcomes

We provided our client with an integrated report, combining the findings from both the quantitative and qualitative phases. We provided strategic recommendations and opportunities in the contraceptive implant space for our client to succeed in Malaysia.

• Through our research, we were able to map out stakeholders and identify their roles in the buying process
• We uncovered social issues, cultural stigma, and challenges in contraception access in Malaysia
• We provided recommendations on unmet needs and leakage points in the buying process and uncovered the importance of nuances in communication
• Key profiles of consumers were identified, and our client obtained a clear picture of the main drivers and barriers for the different contraception methods chosen by their target audience