The following blog is a case study in for a medical billing healthcare client who partnered with Research & Marketing Strategies (RMS) last year to conduct market research.

Background: The healthcare client partnered with RMS to broaden and enhance its marketing strategies. In particular, the client wanted to engage in a B2B lead qualification survey to obtain actionable insights from its market and use some of the gathered data to assist in the development of a comprehensive marketing plan and blog. The B2B lead qualification survey provided the client with a first step in understanding how to promote its services and provide the company with credible leads to follow-up on if the respondent voluntarily opts to receive an introductory call from the client at the end of the survey. The survey provided the client with data on: (1) awareness of similar companies in the industry and sources used; (2) whether prospects do billing in-house or outsource (with identification of vendor if applicable); (3) factors considered when choosing a billing service company; (4) likelihood to use a service; (5) interest in being contacted by the client; and (6) other secondary objectives. The client was also interested in using the market research findings to launch and optimize a new website that was SEO-friendly.

Approach: RMS utilized its in-house call center, QualiSight, to conduct the five-minute telephone survey. Once engaged, the RMS team scheduled a kickoff meeting with the client to gain additional information incorporated into the survey draft. The call center conducted a soft-launch using a few test calls, which were recorded and passed to the client for review prior to full-scale implementation. Records of respondents who agreed to a follow-up phone call from the client were passed to the client within 24 hours of completion. At the end of the agreed upon 100 hours of telephone calling, RMS prepared a PowerPoint report, which detailed findings and recommendations for the client from the research.

Results: Here are a few key findings from the market research:

• It was determined due to the low-degree of likelihood to switch vendors, marketing billing services to new customers would be a difficult venture for the client. Amid the barriers that respondents face with regard to switching or using a third-party billing vendor, most commonly respondents stated they did not want to learn a whole new billing system or get used to a whole new billing vendor. In order to capitalize on this anxiety, it was recommended that the client promote the ease of use of its billing system and convey its ability to walk customers through this transition. The client should look to enhance its training tools and also train its marketing team on competitor systems so the staff can properly convey the benefits of using their services over other vendors.

• The three key drivers to overall satisfaction (and a low likelihood to switch) with billing vendors are customer service, responsiveness/turnaround and accessibility. These were the most common reasons users were satisfied with their vendor. These three key drivers should be included and highlighted in all marketing materials produced by the client. These key benefits to using the client’s services will resonate best with potential prospects.

• The decision-makers for billing services were not strongly interested in electronic venues. Results for usage and interest of websites, blogs, Facebook pages and LinkedIn pages were not strong. However, should the client pursue a social media strategy, it will most likely be viewed as an industry leader as many competitors do not offer those capabilities to customers. This could be viewed as a value-added service to using the client for medical billing. With 70 percent of respondents stating they learn about ambulance billing information through word of mouth, social media could further capitalize on this point by encouraging e-discussions through a blog, Facebook page or LinkedIn. Should the client pursue a blog, efforts should be focused on search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to make the company more easy to find online.

If you are interested in conducting a B2B lead qualification survey or would like to conduct a study about website usability, contact our Business Development Director, Sandy Baker, at SandyB@RMSresults.com or by calling (315) 635-9802.