How we uncovered unmet needs using social media listening

The challenge

Our client wanted to further its understanding of the impacts a long-term rare skin condition can have on patients by exploring the patient journey. Market research was required to identify opportunities for improving the patient experience and inform the brand strategy for their product.

The solution

We began by conducting exploratory research using social media listening to review the online commentary and get an uncontaminated view of the thoughts and concerns of patients. We harvested over 100,000 mentions of the condition over the previous 12 months. By taking a sample of this data, coding and filtering it into different topics, subtopics and then examining the mentions, we were able to analyse the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the journey stages, emotions and impact of the disease. From the social media stage alone, we were able to find insights on the following:

• Conversation trends: Trending volume of mentions and key stories, key channels and data sources, mainstream campaigns, top hashtags
• Patient demographics: Age, gender, verbatims from each age group, patient vs. caregiver posts
• Disease condition: Body part coverage, time of diagnosis
• Patient journey: Conversation across patient journey stages, emotions, key discussion areas, causes, treatment (types, brands and products, support, disease management), interaction with hcps
• Disease impact: Emotional, physical

The findings from this exploratory research informed the design of a primary market research phase conducted among a range of key stakeholders. We conducted TDIs with patients, caregivers and physicians from across the US in order to validate the findings from the social listening phase, uncover further insights on emotions, perceptions and behaviors and gain a more detailed understanding of the patient journey.

The outputs

By combining the data from both phases we were able to map the patient journey and identify key leverage points for improving it. We identified specific knowledge gaps, information needs and potential solutions. As a result, we were able to provide our client with in-depth & rich insight that informed the positioning and brand development for their product.

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