Now, you might have seen the title of this post and thought to yourself, “what on earth has market research got to do with occupational therapy?” I promise I haven’t lost the plot, hear me out… What happens if you have an idea for a new service or perhaps a new assistive device, or maybe you’ve seen what you think is a ‘gap in the market’. How do you find out if your idea is unique or even if it’s viable? The answer to that question, is, market research.
Market research is used to gather data on the market. Simply put, market research gives you the information you need to make good business decisions. It is not however, a substitute for decision making but it is a way to tackle problems that you might come up against when setting up a new service or launching a new product (Hague, 2022).
In theory, anyone can start selling or providing any product or service they want, but that doesn’t mean it will be successful. To ensure the success of the venture, they must be sure there is a want and a need for the goods or services, the way to do this, is by researching the market (Hague, 2022). If you have a new idea for a service or product, it can be easy to get swept up in the excitement and think it is the most fantastic and unique idea anyone has ever had! However, if you don’t get opinions from the people you wish to sell or offer your idea to, your view of it is potentially skewed, and you may not end up providing the service or product you hoped you would. With this is mind, whilst it may be tempting to run headfirst into offering your shiny new thing, it is important to wait, take a step back and ask yourself two questions. First, is there a viable market for this service? Second, is this service viable? (Estay, 2021).
As occupational therapists, we already understand the importance of occupational therapy and the importance of it in all areas of life. We’re problem solvers and pride ourselves on thinking ‘outside the box’ and this is just another aspect of that. We should be able to bring our ideas of innovative products or services to the rest of the world and the best way to do that and be successful is by conducting market research to ensure the best chance of making our new ideas work.
Question 1 – How would you go about finding out if there a viable market for your new service/product?
Question 2 – How would you propose finding out if your new service/product is viable?
Question 3 – Do you think, as occupational therapists, market research is a skill that would be beneficial?
Question 4 – Although market research is commonly used in business/private practice. How feasible do you think it would be for you to carry out market research whilst working in a statutory setting such as the NHS or a local authority?
References
ESTAY, B., 2021. How to Evaluate Market Viability of Product Ideas (Updated for 2021) [online]. Big Commerce. [viewed 18 November 2022]. Available from: https://www.bigcommerce.co.uk/blog/evaluate-product-market-viability/#undefined
HAGUE, P., 2022. Market Research in Practice: An Introduction to Gaining Greater Market Insight. 4th ed. London: KoganPage.
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