A home health care provider came to us with an interesting dilemma that is faced by many companies. When a company has operated successfully in the marketplace for several years they typically find that they have become masters at providing their services. They gather several satisfied clients along the way. People start to form opinions and the company gains a reputation. If the company is successful, then the reputation is generally positive.

However, while the customers are coming in and services are being performed, something else is happening. The marketplace is changing. It typically isn't noticed right away because the change is subtle. However, one day, the company realizes that it must make a change to better align itself, either with the current market, or the market that is evolving.

That is what happened with our client. They realized that the market was changing and that they realized that the old way of doing business, receiving 80% or more of their revenue from insurance, was in jeopardy. The insurance market was reducing compensation making it increasingly difficult for the client to remain profitable. At the same time, the market for private-pay services was believed to have been growing.

The first question became, "could the client change its product offerings to better take advantage of the private pay market?" At the same time, other questions needed to be answered such as: Who would be willing to pay for these services? How much would they be willing to pay? What services were they looking for? How big would the market be? Would they trust our client to provide these services? Who else would they be looking to buy from?

To answer these and other questions, IQS Research developed a three-part research program. The first part of the research program established the baseline information for the project. This included the current market share, current attitudes, current credibility, etc. This part of the research also told them who specifically would be willing to purchase services. For instance, they learned that men are twice as likely as women to purchase services for aging parents. Men were willing to purchase almost all services for their mothers while they were only willing to purchase the more intensive services for their fathers. Furthermore, they learned that men would purchase these services to make their parents feel comfortable, "because that is what a good son does." However, many females expressed a sense of "guilt" when they had to hire a caregiver for their parents because "a good daughter should take care of her parents herself." We also found that physical distance between adult children and parents and the presence of grandchildren were significant factors in willingness to purchase.

This first phase of research also included a market study utilizing market demographic and health care databases. This information allowed us to assess the potential market for our client as well as the market penetration, share of wallet, and growth opportunities.

When we combined the two sections of the first phase of the research, we were able to make statements such as: There are 34,000 adults over 62 years of age with a debilitating illness in the market with adult aged sons living more that 50 miles from their parents.

Moving to the second phase of the research we looked at the specific price points and specific service bundling options. We were able to find that services that were bundled, such as shopping, light cleaning and cooking, were more successful when grouped than when they were sold separately. Furthermore, we found that there was a perception that many of these services were out of the affordability of the typical respondent in the market.

By taking the information in the first and second phases of the study, the marketers were able to design a marketing campaign that focused on the affordability of the products as well as the peace of mind that they provide. Furthermore, talking points were developed that were unique to each gender to address the specific issues brought out by men and women.

The final phase of the research was the ongoing assessment to ensure that the new products are selling as desired. This program has been in the market for the past 2 years and sales for private pay services have gone from totaling less than 10% of company revenues to a current level of 28% of company revenues. It is anticipated that private pay services will be at 45% of total company sales in the next 4 years.

The final result for the research is that it met all of its goals. Phase one answers the question? What don't we know and how much of what we think is actually true? Phase two tests the market for receptivity to new ideas. Then after the products are being sold to the client, phase three ensures that the market is delivering as expected.

The above combination provides a program that is based on facts and ensures results.