Dear Dr. Jay: The Internet of Things and The Connected Cow

Posted by Dr. Jay Weiner

Thu, Nov 19, 2015

Hello Dr. Jay, 

What is the internet of things, and how will it change market research?

-Hugo 


DrJay_Thinking-withGoatee_cow.png

Hi Hugo,

The internet of things is all of the connected devices that exist. Traditionally, it was limited to PCs, tablets, and smartphones. Now, we’re seeing wearables, connected buildings and homes. . .and even connected cows. (Just when I thought I’d seen it all.) Connected cows, surfing the internet looking for the next greenest pasture. Actually, a number of companies offer connected cow solutions for farmers. Some are geared toward beef cattle, others toward dairy cows. Some devices are worn on the leg or around the neck, others are swallowed (I don’t want to know how you change the battery). You can track the location of the herd, monitor milk production, and model the best field for grass to increase milk output. The solutions offer alerts to the farmer when the cow is sick or in heat, which means that the farmer can get by with fewer hands and doesn’t need to be with each cow 24/7. Not only can the device predict when a cow is in heat, it can also bias the gender of the calf based on the window of opportunity. Early artificial insemination increases the probability of getting a female calf. So, not only can the farmer increase his number of successful inseminations, he/she can also decide if more bulls or milk cows are needed in the herd. 

How did this happen? A bunch of farmers put the devices on the herd and began collecting data. Then, the additional data is appended to the data set (e.g., the time the cow was inseminated, whether it resulted in pregnancy, and the gender of the calf). If enough farmers do this, we can begin to build a robust data set for analysis.

So, what does this mean for humans? Well, many of you already own some sort of fitness band or watch, right? What if a company began to collect all of the data generated by these devices? Think of all the things the company could do with those data! It could predict the locations of more active people. If it appended some key health measures (BMI, diabetes, stroke, death, etc.) to the dataset, the company could try to build a model that predicts a person’s probability of getting diabetes, having a stroke, or even dying. Granted, that’s probably not a message you want from your smart watch: “Good afternoon, Jay. You will be dead in 3 hours 27 minutes and 41 seconds.” Here’s another possible (and less grim) message: “Good afternoon, Jay. You can increase your time on this planet if you walk just another 1,500 steps per day.” Healthcare providers would also be interested in this information. If healthcare providers had enough fitness tracking data, they might be able to compute new lifetime age expectations and offer discounts to customers who maintain a healthy lifestyle (which is tracked on the fitness band/watch).  

Based on connected cows, the possibility of this seems all too real. The question is: will we be willing to share the personal information needed to make this happen? Remember: nobody asked the cow if it wanted to share its rumination information with the boss.

Dr. Jay Weiner is CMB’s senior methodologist and VP of Advanced Analytics. He is completely fascinated and paranoid about the internet of things. Big brother may be watching, and that may not be a good thing.

Topics: Technology, Healthcare Research, Data Collection, Dear Dr. Jay, Internet of Things (IoT), Data Integration

WEBINAR: Using Discrete Choice to Better Position your Brand in a Complex Market

Posted by Amy Modini

Thu, Feb 20, 2014

CMB webinarsPlease join CMB's Amy Modini and UPMC's Jim Villella today at 12:30pm ET for our latest webinar: Using discrete choice to better position your brand in a complex changing market

Is your industry evolving?  In this webinar you'll learn how UPMC and CMB applied a discrete choice methodology, accounting for various factors to estimate shifting consumer preferences, make key product development and marketing strategy decisions, and ultimately position UPMC for success.

The health insurance industry faces an urgent need to prepare for a new competitive market introduced by healthcare reform. UPMC recognized the opportunity to gain competitive strength in the market through innovation and new product development. However, the research supporting these decisions would need to account for a wide range of market changes and influences. To apply a trade-off exercise UPMC needed to address many challenges, including:

  • New shopping and purchase channels

  • Controlling the effect of discounts and subsidies on price

  • Introduction of entirely new consumer segments for whom purchase behavior is unknown

  • Product optimization for multi-tier offerings

Register here

Did you miss one? All of our webinars are available here

Topics: Healthcare Research, Webinar, Brand Health & Positioning

South Street Strategy Guest Blog: Healthcare Reform: Who's Looking out for the Small Guy?

Posted by Rachel Corn

Tue, Jul 30, 2013

 

stethoscopeIn early 2012 we did some research on healthcare reform predictions. At the time, there was a pretty strong consensus that large groups, most of which were already insured, would experience little impact. The uncertainty lay around small businesses (<100 employees) offer rates: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation predicted pretty much neutral effect, but RAND predicted an overall increase in offerings. So where do we stand now?We have found most analysts are pretty shy when it comes to forecasting new numbers. For the overall market (all sizes) the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) reports that 94% of employers are definitely or very likely to continue employer-sponsored health care. That’s a pretty good indication of no major drop outs compared to 2012, when only 46% were certain that they would continue sponsorship.

But expanded health insurance coverage will come at a cost, and small employers particularly are vulnerable. As a result, they are implementing cost control tactics: encouraging healthy behaviors and wise usage that reduces costs, entering private health exchanges, offering self-insurance for small groups, and reducing the number of full timers.

For insurance companies, reform opens up new opportunities to serve the small business market. Small businesses today are treated as a uniform group with similar needs. As reform unfolds, the market will fragment into: those who truly believe in providing insurance to their employees and will continue to do so, those who cannot afford to pay increased premiums but are still interested, and those who simply opt to exit the market. Smart and creative insurers will look for ways to serve the middle segment with unique offerings, whether those are self-insurance, stripped down plans, voluntary products, or others. The insurers that will move first by matching deep customer knowledge with creativity and innovation will have a leg up in this rapidly evolving market.

Rachel is a Director at  South Street Strategy Group, she specializes in finding growth opportunities in new market segments, new products and businesses and innovative business models.

South Street Strategy Group, an independent sister company of Chadwick Martin South Street Strategy GroupBailey, integrates the best of strategy consulting and marketing science to develop better growth and value delivery strategies. 

 

Topics: South Street Strategy Group, Strategic Consulting, Healthcare Research, Health Insurance Research

Myth-Busting Customer Centricity In Healthcare

Posted by Jennifer von Briesen

Tue, Jul 16, 2013

Target consumer or accountHealthcare in the US has been a hot media topic, and the Affordable Care Act’s next key provision that goes into effect on October 1 will bring about profound change in the health insurance industry. Consumers looking to buy individual health insurance will be able to enroll in subsidized plans offered through state-based exchanges with coverage beginning in January 2014.Regardless of the politics and adoption hurdles surrounding the subject, it’s crystal clear that health insurers will need to change the way they approach the market in the coming years. Challenging as it may be, this change represents opportunity as well. Not only will this regulation open up channels to sell direct to new customer segments that have previously been underserved or never served, but the shift to a more retail-oriented business model will push customer-centricity to the forefront of health insurers’ strategy.

So, what does customer centricity actually mean for insurers? It’s not something I have hard and fast answers to yet, but we’re collaborating with our clients to help define a path forward. Here are my top-level thoughts on some of the myths that need to be put to rest in order to build a successful customer strategy in the space:

MYTH: The consumer matters more than the ecosystem.
FACT: Up to now, consumers have generally been “extended stakeholders” in the health insurance ecosystem, and they are definitely an audience that insurers should be learning about and listening to more given the change on the horizon. However, serving the consumer well means also understanding how other players—employers, brokers and providers—are preparing for change. Be careful not to develop blind spots toward traditional stakeholders.

MYTH: If you build technology, the customers will come.
FACT: No doubt today’s consumers are open to social tools, apps and other tech solutions that will help them learn about and interact with companies. But in order for a new technology to really matter to consumers, it has to solve a pain point.  Without a deep understanding of what customers need, and a willingness to address root-level issues (such as consumer trust), a new technology is just a shiny object.

MYTH: You’ve got the right data…and it’s Big.
FACT: Insurers have a lot of data. But it’s primarily based on claims and transactional data, with very little gleaned directly from healthcare consumers themselves about wants, needs, and interaction pain points. The industry’s legacy of being claim-oriented continues to drive consumer dissatisfaction and distrust, so it’s not the ideal source for data that will build customer intimacy.

What other myths need to be busted in order for insurers to be truly customer centric? We’d love to hear from you and promise to share our thinking as it evolves.

Jennifer is a Director at  South Street Strategy Group. She recently received the 2013 “Member of the Year” award by the Association for Strategic Planning (ASP), the preeminent professional association for those engaged in strategic thinking, planning and action.

South Street Strategy Group, an independent sister company of Chadwick Martin Bailey, integrates the best of strategy consulting and marketing science to develop better growth and value delivery strategies. 

Topics: South Street Strategy Group, Strategic Consulting, Healthcare Research, Health Insurance Research, Big Data, Customer Experience & Loyalty

Medical Devices: Innovation for Less Is More

Posted by Rachel Corn

Tue, Jun 18, 2013

medical device innovationIn the world of medical technology, the historical driver of value has been feature-driven. Hospitals, insurance companies and other payor audiences have been willing to pay a premium for new features—up to a point.

Today, though, in a climate of increased scrutiny over costs, more competition, and stricter reimbursement rules, payors are no longer eager to pay for minor features. This is especially true when looking to “leaner” markets outside of the US. Furthermore, consumers are becoming more empowered in their healthcare and as a result are increasingly looking for solutions that fit their lifestyles, rather than technical feature sets.It’s time for medical technology companies to think about step-change innovation as a driver of value for them and their customers. And this innovation needs to begin and end with focus:

  • …on the customer segment: What are the current and potential markets for this product? Are there under-penetrated segments where a gap exists? Traditionally, companies have not focused on the end-user (the patient); yet this is an opportunity for innovation. We have also seen quite a few products “de-featured” for emerging markets and then brought back to the developed world for a unique segment. Is there a viable market segment that would be served with a “light” version of your product?

  • …on the customer goal: What are customers trying to accomplish with your products? How can you make their jobs easier? This requires communicating solutions—rather that discrete features—that directly solve a pain point. This could involve software, services, etc.

  • …on regulation: Between healthcare reform, re-admission rules and electronic records, healthcare is a prime field to view regulatory changes as an opportunity to make the customer’s life easier. In what ways will regulations change your customer’s business and how can you help?

Looking for innovation in your existing portfolio can be highly lucrative. An example of a “de-featured” product is from GE India: it stripped the bells, whistles and 423 pounds from GE’s $100,000 Logiq 9 ultrasound machine and introduced a handheld device at about a tenth of the price. While this monitor was less advanced than its predecessor, it was a great fit for India due to small size and portability.

What hidden gems lie in your portfolio? Have you uncovered and exhausted opportunities for innovation?

Rachel Corn is a Director at  South Street Strategy Group, she specializes in finding growth opportunities in new market segments, new products and businesses and innovative business models.

South Street Strategy Group, an independent sister company of Chadwick Martin South Street Strategy GroupBailey, integrates the best of strategy consulting and marketing science to develop better growth and value delivery strategies. 


Earlier this year CMB’s MedTech team partnered with the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC) to survey members for their perspectives on the past, present, and future expectations for innovation and growth in the medical device industry. Click here to download: The 2013 MedTech Industry and Innovation Study.

Topics: Technology, South Street Strategy Group, Strategic Consulting, Healthcare Research, Product Development, Growth & Innovation