New product market research for a new-to-market healthcare product is a core speciality at Accelerate. In this example, we researched the market for a product to aid the symptoms of diplopia.
Diplopia, more often referred to as double vision, is a common complaint with an estimated 850,000 people suffering from the condition in the U.S.A in 2017.
The symptoms of the disease vary as do its causes but one of the main treatments for the condition is to occlude the vision in one eye. Patching allows for greater visual acuity resulting in less strain on the affected eye making tasks such as reading and watching television easier.
The challenge
An inventor of a novel occlusion product, wished to commission a piece of research to verify the market potential for the innovation. In addition, the research needed to focus on the identification of a suitable brand name which could be trademarked and where the website domain was still available.
The Staffordshire-based company was also interested in commissioning a piece of new product market research to guide their marketing strategy including; route to market information, the identification of appropriate advertising channels, packaging design and recommended suppliers for packaging and website development.
The approach
Accelerate undertook primary research in the form of an online survey to determine how and where members of the general public would search for eye-patches, terminology used by customers wishing to occlude the vision in one eye, product features and benefits rated most highly by potential customers and a reaction to test a selection of potential brand names.
The results of the online survey were used to direct a keyword analysis, the outcome of which was used to plan content for an ecommerce website, direct search engine optimisation and form the basis of a digital marketing plan.
Results
The information supplied by respondents of the online survey as to which words they would use to search for a product to occlude the vision in one eye, together with the test selection of potential brand names, was used to formulate a selection of brand names. The names were designed to reflect the nature of the product and have the potential to become a registered trademark and website domain.
From the selection of potential brand names, the inventor selected the one which was most popular with survey respondents and is now in the process of registering it as a trademark and website domain.
Accelerate also recommended providers of packaging, design and web development and delivered an appraisal of relevant shelf pack designs and pricing.
Philippa Bevan has over 25 years commercial and public sector experience in marketing, market research and product management spanning the education, laboratory, medical device, technology transfer and packaging industries. Philippa has a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology and Virology and is a Chartered Marketer.