1. Internet Hospital Industry Overview

Internet hospitals refer to medical institutions that use Internet technology and platforms to provide patients with services such as remote diagnosis and treatment, health management, and drug distribution. Internet hospitals can be divided into two modes: one is the Internetization of physical medical institutions, that is, on the basis of the original physical hospitals, Internet medical services are carried out, such as Ping An Good Doctor, Ali Health, etc.; the other is relying on physical medical institutions The Internet hospital established by the institution establishes a virtual medical service platform through cooperation with physical medical institutions, such as Weiyi and Doctor Dingxiang.

The development of Internet hospitals in China has been driven by policy support, technological progress, market demand and other aspects, showing a rapid growth trend. In 2022, the market size of China's Internet hospitals will reach 90 billion billion yuan, up 50% year on year. As of June 2022, the country has approved the establishment of more than 1700 Internet hospitals, the initial formation of online and offline integrated medical services. Among them, Shandong, Guangdong and Jiangsu are the most distributed, and more and more public hospitals and private enterprises have joined the army of Internet hospitals.

The development of Internet hospitals has brought many benefits, such:

It provides patients with more convenient, more efficient, and lower-cost medical services, alleviates the problems of difficult and expensive medical treatment, and improves the patient's medical experience and health level.

It provides doctors with a broader, more flexible and more diverse working platform, expands their business scope and income sources, and improves their career development and satisfaction.

It provides more diversified, more innovative and more efficient operation mode for medical institutions, expands the service content and market coverage of medical institutions, and improves the competitiveness and profitability of medical institutions.

It provides richer, deeper and more accurate data resources for the medical industry, promotes the digitization, intelligence, standardization and standardization of the medical industry, and improves the management level and service quality of the medical industry.

Challenges of 2. Internet Hospital Industry

However, Internet hospitals are also facing challenges such as fierce competition, insufficient consumer awareness, inconsistent service quality, and imperfect supervision. They need continuous innovation and optimization to improve user experience and satisfaction and enhance market competitiveness. Specifically, the main challenges facing the Internet hospital industry are:

Market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. With the increasing number and scale of Internet hospitals, the market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Internet hospitals need to be differentiated and optimized in terms of user acquisition, service quality, price strategy, brand image, etc., in order to gain more market share and user loyalty. At the same time, Internet hospitals also need to cooperate or compete with traditional medical institutions, other Internet platforms, drug retailers, etc., in order to build a better medical ecosystem and enhance their core competitiveness.

Lack of consumer awareness. Although the popularity and utilization rate of Internet hospitals are gradually increasing, consumers' awareness of Internet hospitals is still insufficient. On the one hand, consumers lack a clear and accurate understanding of the service content, process, standards, and costs of Internet hospitals, which leads to low consumer trust and satisfaction with Internet hospitals. On the other hand, consumers have limited scope and effect on Internet hospitals. Although Internet hospitals can provide convenient and efficient medical services, they also have certain limitations. On the one hand, Internet hospitals are mainly suitable for common diseases, chronic diseases, health consultation and other mild medical needs. For severe, emergency, complex diseases, surgery and other high medical needs, Internet hospitals cannot replace the face-to-face consultation and treatment of traditional medical institutions. On the other hand, the service effect of Internet hospitals is affected by Internet technology, medical equipment, doctors' level, user cooperation and other aspects, which may lead to network delay, blurred picture, sound distortion, diagnosis errors, improper treatment and other problems. affect the user's experience and medical effect.

The regulatory policy is imperfect. As a new medical service mode, Internet hospital has not formed a perfect regulatory policy and standard. At present, there are still some unclear and inconsistent aspects in the establishment, operation, service, charging and supervision of Internet hospitals, which leads to certain risks in the legality, standardization and safety of Internet hospitals. For example, whether the electronic prescriptions, electronic medical records and electronic signatures of Internet hospitals have legal effect, how to guarantee and define the service quality and responsibilities of Internet hospitals, and how to implement and supervise the data security and privacy protection of Internet hospitals need to be further clarified and improved.

3. methods and recommendations for finding market opportunities through consumer research

Facing the challenges and opportunities of the Internet hospital industry, how to find market opportunities through consumer research is an important topic for Internet hospitals. Consumer research refers to the process of collecting and analyzing consumer information through various methods and means to understand consumer needs, behaviors, attitudes, satisfaction, etc., so as to provide basis and guidance for the design, development, optimization and promotion of products and services. Consumer research can help Internet hospitals:

Understand consumers' needs, preferences, pain points and expectations, as well as the motivations and obstacles that affect their use of Internet hospitals, so as to design products and services that are more in line with consumer needs, and enhance user stickiness and loyalty.

Analyze consumers' behaviors, habits, paths and scenarios, as well as the factors and conditions that affect their choice of Internet hospitals, so as to optimize user interface and interaction and improve user convenience and comfort.

Explore consumers' values, attitudes, beliefs and emotions, as well as the factors and standards that affect their cognition and evaluation of Internet hospitals, so as to create a more attractive and trustworthy brand image, and enhance user identity and reputation.

Investigate consumers' satisfaction, feedback, suggestions and complaints, as well as the factors and indicators that affect their satisfaction and loyalty to Internet hospitals, so as to continuously improve and optimize service quality, and enhance user satisfaction and recommend willingness.

In order to effectively conduct consumer research, Internet hospitals need to follow the following methods and recommendations:

Clear research purposes and objects. The purpose of consumer research is to solve the problems or challenges faced by Internet hospitals, or to discover the opportunities or advantages of Internet hospitals. Therefore, Internet hospitals need to clarify the specific purpose and problems of the research, as well as the object and scope of the research according to their own strategic objectives and market positioning. For example, Internet hospitals can determine that the purpose of the survey is to increase the frequency of use of users, increase the conversion rate of users, improve user satisfaction, etc., according to their own service types, target users, competitors, etc., and that the objects of the survey are existing users, potential users, competitive users, etc.

Select appropriate research methods and tools. There are many methods and tools for consumer research, such as questionnaires, interviews, observations, experiments, and data analysis. Internet hospitals need to select appropriate research methods and tools according to the purpose and object of the research to obtain effective and reliable data and information. For example, Internet hospitals can collect users' basic information, usage, satisfaction, etc. through online questionnaires or APP embedded questionnaires. Through telephone interviews or video interviews, we can deeply understand users' needs, preferences, pain points, expectations, etc. through user behavior data or user feedback data, we can analyze users' behaviors, habits, paths, scenes, etc. through A/B tests or multivariate tests, verify the user's values, attitudes, beliefs, emotions, etc.

Analyze and interpret the findings. The result of consumer research is some original data and information, which needs to be analyzed and interpreted in order to get valuable insight and enlightenment. Internet hospitals need to use appropriate analysis and interpretation methods, such as descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, causal analysis, cluster analysis, regression analysis, etc., according to the purpose and object of the research, to find the characteristics, laws, trends, problems, opportunities, etc. of consumers. For example, Internet hospitals can understand the basic situation, usage and satisfaction of users through descriptive analysis. Through correlation analysis, the relationship between users' needs, preferences, pain points, expectations, etc. and users' usage frequency, conversion rate, satisfaction, etc. can be found. Through causal analysis, the influence of users' values, attitudes, beliefs, emotions, etc. on users' usage behavior and evaluation can be verified; clustering analysis can be used to divide different market segments and user portraits of users, and regression analysis can be used to predict the future behavior and needs of users.

Propose and implement research recommendations. The ultimate goal of consumer research is to improve the products and services of Internet hospitals and enhance the market competitiveness of Internet hospitals. Therefore, Internet hospitals need to put forward targeted research recommendations based on the results of the survey, and translate them into specific actions and measures to achieve the purpose of the survey. For example, Internet hospitals can design products and services that are more in line with user needs, preferences, pain points, expectations, etc., such as adding or optimizing functions, interfaces, interactions, content, etc.; they can be based on user behavior, habits, and paths.

4. Shangpu Consulting's Consumer Research Service Case

Shangpu Consulting Company is a professional consumer research service provider with many years of consumer research experience and professional consumer research team. It provides comprehensive consumer research services for Internet hospital customers and helps customers find market opportunities and solutions. The following is a case study of consumer research services provided by Shangpu Consulting for Internet hospital customers:

Customer background: The customer is an Internet hospital established by a physical medical institution, which mainly provides remote diagnosis and treatment, health management, drug distribution and other services. The target users are middle-aged and elderly people and patients with chronic diseases. The competitors are other Internet hospitals and traditional medical institutions.

Research purpose: The purpose of the customer's research is to understand the needs, behaviors, attitudes, satisfaction, etc. of the target users using Internet hospitals, as well as the motivations and obstacles that affect their use of Internet hospitals, so as to provide basis and guidance for the optimization and promotion of products and services.

Research methods: Shangpu Consulting adopted a variety of research methods for customers, including online questionnaires, telephone interviews, user behavior data analysis, A/B testing, etc., and collected 1000 valid user data and information.

Findings: By analyzing and interpreting the results of the survey, Shangpu Consulting provided the following key insights and insights to its clients:

The target user's demand for the use of Internet hospitals is higher, but the frequency of use is lower. The survey results show that 80% of the target users said that they have the need to use Internet hospitals, mainly for convenience, speed, time and cost saving, but only 20% said that they use Internet hospitals more than 3 times a month, mainly because they do not have enough trust and satisfaction with the service quality, safety and effect of Internet hospitals, or they are not familiar with the service content, process and cost of Internet hospitals, or they are not proficient and adaptable to Internet technology, equipment and operation.

The behavior of target users using Internet hospitals is affected by many aspects, mainly service type, service quality, service cost, service evaluation and so on. The survey results show that 60% of the target users said that when choosing to use Internet hospitals, they will consider whether the types of services that Internet hospitals can provide meet their own needs, such as whether they can provide remote diagnosis and treatment, health management, drug distribution and other services, and whether they can provide professional, authoritative and reliable doctors and medical institutions. 50% said they would consider whether the service quality of Internet hospitals meets their expectations, for example, whether it can provide timely, accurate and effective diagnosis and treatment, and whether it can provide friendly, patient and considerate service attitude; 40% said they would consider whether the service fees of Internet hospitals are reasonable, such as whether they can provide preferential, transparent and compliant charging standards, and whether they can provide insurance, reimbursement, refund and other services; 30% said they would consider whether the service evaluation of Internet hospitals is good, such as whether it can provide true, objective and comprehensive user evaluation, and whether it can provide effective, timely and satisfactory user feedback.

Target users have a more positive attitude towards Internet hospitals, but their trust and loyalty are low. The survey results show that 70% of the target users expressed a positive attitude towards the development of Internet hospitals, believing that Internet hospitals are an innovation and progress in the medical industry and can provide users with more choices and convenience, but only 30% expressed full trust and satisfaction with the services of Internet hospitals, believing that Internet hospitals can replace or surpass the services of traditional medical institutions, and only 10% expressed a high degree of loyalty to Internet hospitals, believing that Internet hospitals are their preferred or only medical service providers.

The target user's satisfaction and recommend intention to the Internet hospital is low, mainly because of the lack of service quality, service effect, service safety and so on. The survey results show that 40% of the target users are not satisfied or satisfied with the service of Internet hospitals, mainly because the service quality of Internet hospitals is unstable, such as network delay, fuzzy picture, sound distortion, diagnosis error, improper treatment and other problems. 30% said that they were not satisfied or satisfied with the service effect of Internet hospitals, mainly because the service effect of Internet hospitals was not obvious, if they cannot effectively solve or improve their own health problems, or need to go to traditional medical institutions for follow-up or treatment again; 20% said that they are not satisfied or satisfied with the service safety of Internet hospitals, mainly because the service safety of Internet hospitals is not guaranteed, such as the legal effect of electronic prescriptions, electronic medical records, electronic signatures, etc. is not clear, or there are risks of data security and privacy protection. In addition, only 20% of the target users expressed their willingness to recommend the services of Internet hospitals to others, mainly because they do not have enough trust and satisfaction with the services of Internet hospitals, or they do not know and are familiar with the services of Internet hospitals, or they do not have special advantages and attractiveness for the services of Internet hospitals.

Research recommendations: Based on the results of the survey, Sunp Consulting made the following research recommendations for its clients:

Increase the frequency and conversion rate of users. In order to improve the frequency and conversion rate of users, customers need to improve the trust and satisfaction of users to Internet hospitals, as well as improve the understanding and familiarity of users to Internet hospitals. Specifically, customers can take the following actions:

Increase and optimize user education and guidance. Customers can provide users with more information and instructions about the service content, process, standard, cost and other aspects of Internet hospitals through various channels and ways, such as publishing more information about the introduction, cases, evaluation, common problems and other contents of Internet hospitals on official website, APP, social media and other platforms, or in the process of users using Internet hospitals, provide more tips, guidance, demonstration, exercise and other functions to help users better understand and familiar with the Internet hospital services.

Improve and protect the user's service quality and security. Customers can improve and guarantee the service quality and safety of users through various measures and mechanisms, such as improving the stability and reliability of Internet technology and equipment, avoiding network delay, blurred picture, sound distortion and other problems, or providing more technical support and fault handling services; improving the professionalism and authority of doctors and medical institutions, such as providing more information on the qualifications, background, experience, and evaluation of doctors and medical institutions, or providing more functions for the selection and switching of doctors and medical institutions; improving the legal effect and standardization of electronic prescriptions, electronic medical records, electronic signatures, etc., such as complying with relevant laws, regulations and industry standards, or providing more legal advice and protection services; improve the level and measures of data security and privacy protection, such as adopting higher encryption and authentication technologies, or providing more data management and control functions.

Increase and optimize user incentives and rewards. Customers can increase and optimize users' incentives and rewards through a variety of ways and means, such as providing more discounts, discounts, rebates, points, gifts and other material incentives and rewards, or providing more recognition, praise, honor, certificates and other spiritual incentives and rewards to stimulate users' motivation and interest, and increase users' frequency of use and conversion rate.

Enhance the user's identity and reputation. In order to enhance the user's sense of identity and reputation, customers need to enhance the user's perception and evaluation of the values, attitudes, beliefs, emotions and other aspects of the Internet hospital, as well as enhance the user's perception and experience of the advantages and attractiveness of the Internet hospital. Specifically, customers can take the following actions:

Strengthen and convey the brand image of Internet hospital. Customers can strengthen and convey the brand image of the Internet hospital through various channels and methods, such as clarifying and highlighting the mission, vision, value, culture, story, etc. of the Internet hospital brand, so as to show the social responsibility and value proposition of the Internet hospital and improve the user's sense of identity and trust; or design and optimize the logo, name, slogan, color, style, etc. of the Internet hospital brand, in order to enhance the recognition and reputation of the Internet hospital brand, enhance the user's sense of identity and love.

Increase and optimize the brand promotion and promotion of Internet hospitals. Customers can increase and optimize the brand promotion and promotion of Internet hospitals through various channels and methods, such as publishing more advertisements, public relations, news, activities and other contents about Internet hospitals on various media, platforms and occasions, so as to enhance the brand awareness and influence of Internet hospitals and enhance users' sense of identity and attention; or use various social media, communities, forums, blogs and other platforms, carry out more activities such as interaction, discussion, sharing, and comments on Internet hospitals to enhance the participation and reputation of Internet hospitals, and enhance users' sense of identity and willingness to recommend.

Increase and optimize brand differentiation and innovation in internet hospitals. Customers can increase and optimize the brand differentiation and innovation of Internet hospitals through various ways and means, such as providing more service types, functions, characteristics and advantages different from those of traditional medical institutions and other Internet hospitals, so as to enhance the uniqueness and competitiveness of the brand of Internet hospitals and enhance users' sense of identity and willingness to choose; or provide more new, interesting and useful service contents, forms and methods that meet the needs, preferences and expectations of users, so as to enhance the innovation and attractiveness of the brand of Internet hospitals and enhance users' sense of identity and willingness to use.

Improve user satisfaction and willingness to recommend. In order to improve the satisfaction and recommend willingness of users, customers need to improve the satisfaction and trust of users in the service quality, service effect and service safety of Internet hospitals, as well as the satisfaction and sense of security of users' service feedback, service guarantee and service rights protection of Internet hospitals. Specifically, customers can take the following actions:

Timely and proactively collect and process user feedback and suggestions. Customers can collect and deal with users' feedback and suggestions timely and actively through various channels and ways, such as providing more functions such as evaluation, feedback, suggestion, complaint and so on during or after using the Internet hospital, and providing more contact information such as telephone, email, online customer service and so on, so as to facilitate users to express their opinions, questions, needs and so on, as well as timely customer response, resolution, satisfaction, etc.

Increase and optimize user protection and rights. Customers can increase and optimize the protection and rights of users through a variety of measures and mechanisms. Customers can increase and optimize the protection and rights of users through a variety of measures and mechanisms, such as providing more insurance, reimbursement, refund, compensation and other services to protect the interests and rights of users, or provide more arbitration, mediation, litigation and other channels to safeguard the legitimate and reasonable demands of users.

Build and enhance the user's sense of trust and security. Customers can establish and enhance users' sense of trust and security through a variety of ways and means, such as providing more user certificates, expert certificates, institutional certificates, etc., to increase users' trust and confidence in the services of Internet hospitals, or provide more user stories, user communities, user activities, etc., in order to increase users' sense of security and sense of belonging to the services of Internet hospitals.

Research results: The consumer research services of Shangpu Consulting have brought significant effects to customers, such:

Help customers understand the needs, behaviors, attitudes, satisfaction, etc. of target users using Internet hospitals, as well as the motivations and obstacles that affect their use of Internet hospitals, thus providing a basis and guidance for the optimization and promotion of products and services.

Help customers discover the market opportunities and advantages of Internet hospitals, such as improving the frequency and conversion rate of users, improving users' sense of identity and reputation, and improving users' satisfaction and willingness to recommend, so as to provide direction and inspiration for the innovation and differentiation of products and services.

It helps customers solve the market problems and challenges of Internet hospitals, such as improving the trust and satisfaction of users, improving the understanding and familiarity of users, and improving the protection and protection of users' rights, so as to provide suggestions and measures for the improvement and optimization of products and services.