They needed to build a complete picture of how consumers are influenced, such as whether they are more influenced by HCP advice or online forums and social media. Furthermore, they needed to develop an understanding of other out-of-pocket (OOP) competitor vaccines and what the future healthcare initiatives mean for vaccination in general.
The solution
Given the need for both exploratory and forecasting information, a mixed methodology approach was adopted to ensure our findings could provide an overview of the current healthcare environment in China (with a focus on adults aged 50 and over), whilst also guiding our clients on the size of the opportunity including ‘where to play and how to win’.
Phase 1: Research was conducted to allow our client to understand who the target consumer is in China and key sources of influence. We used a combination of English and Mandarin resources in order to provide an accurate overview of the current market.
Phase 2: We partnered with an external statistician who was able to apply specific data filters to their existing database in order to tell us the proportion of patients who (and in which cities) could realistically afford the vaccine (based on estimated cost at the time of the research). This information would allow our clients to make ‘well-informed’ targeted decisions over the coming months to help accelerate the launch.