The other day, a form fill from our website hit my inbox.  In the message body, it said:

“We are looking to connect with CFOs / VPs of Revenue Cycle at mid-sized health systems (250 – 1,000 beds) to discuss a product/service we are bringing to market to help improve clinical documentation (which generally leads to an improvement in profitability and reputation). We have successfully used this offering inside our own company and have a very strong proof point of the success we've achieved thus far.”

After a quick email exchange, I was on the phone with this great prospect.  We were discussing the campaign in detail.  It seems the market was right – healthcare.  And the contact we were prospecting was good too – CFO or VP RCM.  What struck me as a bit odd was the bed sizes mentioned – from 250 to 1000.

I asked the question: “Why such a large range of bed sizes in your target market?”  His answer: “Ed, we really don’t quite know where our sweet spot is.  We believe it is medium sized hospitals, but we are not sure because we haven’t marketed to anyone outside of our company yet.”

We discussed the ability of using targeted prospecting to conduct market research.  I explained the results:

• 15-20 teleconference or in-person meetings with prospects interested and motivated to hear more about your solution
• Appointments can be staggered across the bed range, so you are able to find your sweet spot
• Our direct conversations with prospects and decision-makers will provide prospect insights and data points to help shape marketing direction and sales roadmap
• We can do this quickly, in about 60-90 days

The prospect was sold.  How else could he get so much great market intelligence so quickly?  “Yes, I said.  Using targeted prospecting to conduct market research is a great idea indeed.”