Getting the most out of a target list with List Analyzer and ListMax

A full-service market research consultancy came to us about a twice-annual ATU tracking study they had been running with another sample provider for the past three years (five waves).

In the most recent wave of the study—a list project targeting gastroenterologists and NPPAs—their sample provider had not only fallen short of the target completes for both audiences,
but fewer and fewer completes were coming from the client’s target list with each successive wave. In Wave 5, only slightly over half of the target completes came from the list.

Understand the List

When dealing with target list projects, it’s crucial to understand what you’re up against before getting to field. We thoroughly analyze each list against our target audience with List Analyzer. List Analyzer works like a crystal ball for target list projects, helping to identify pitfalls and list inaccuracies before a project has gone to field.

For this study, we analyzed the list for NPPAs based on NPI data. List Analyzer uncovered 45% more NPPAs on the list. Over 2,000 NPPA records had been misclassified. This was a very different list than the client had been led to believe, which greatly impacted our strategy and feasibility.

Build a Deliberate Project Strategy

Using both the insights gained from List Analyzer and team’s deep experience and understanding of the target audience and their panel partners, we put together a detailed, realistic, and transparent strategy for completing the project. By sharing this data with the client, we were able to help the research agency set realistic expectations with the end client.

As part of our project strategy, a detailed partner plan was built by carefully selecting five panel partners based on each partner’s strengths and ability to maximize target completes, MedSurvey was able to explain to the agency exactly which partners they would bring on and what the process would look like, down to how many days MedSurvey would run their sample before bringing on the next partner.

Maximize the List

It is critical to fully maximize the potential of a target list, which is why we employ our ListMax recruiting approach. ListMax leads to as many as 30% more completes from the same list than the traditional approach, with zero risk of duplicate respondents.

Unlike the traditional approach of only sharing sample that doesn’t match your internal panel, MedSurvey provides the full target list to all panel partners to ensure that it is fully exhausted. By allowing all partners to recruit from the full list, this approach avoids missing potential respondents who would have responded to an invitation from a partner.

In this project, MedSurvey was able to recruit 35% more respondents than the previous vendor from the same target list. Further, MedSurvey was able to do it in 25% less time.

By using our custom-built tool List Analyzer, designing an in-depth list management strategy, and employing our ListMax recruiting approach, we were able to fully recruit this challenging study and deliver significantly more completes from the target list with less time in field. The client was thrilled and will continue to run future waves of this study with MedSurvey.