Recruiting for Ideas: Finding Respondents Who Can Talk Brand Positioning
A medical device business wanted to test its brand position: what it could credibly own in the minds of physicians and hospital buyers. That called for respondents who could step back from individual products and discuss companies, markets, and marketing ideas.
So the recruit was deliberately selective. Physicians were drawn from surgeons we had interviewed before who had shown they were good at discussing ideas at a market level. Buyers and provider representatives were added to bring in the procurement view.
The final sample was 45, each interviewed by web-assisted telephone for 45 minutes to an hour:
20 vascular specialists
6 interventional cardiologists
5 interventional radiologists
5 physicians from other specialties
9 buyers and providers
Respondents were based in the US (24), Germany (6), Italy (6) and the UK (5), with one each from Switzerland, Spain, Poland and Sweden.
The sponsor was not revealed until the stimulus was shown, keeping early conversation spontaneous. Four problem-and-solution statements were tested, and a summary statement was refined as interviews progressed. A short survey of 16 internal stakeholders added the company's own view.
The feedback was clear. Recruiting for articulacy, not just eligibility, made the marketing depth of discussion possible.
