Editor's note: Tracey Powell is founder and chairman of PinPoint MD, Chicago, parent company of getSTDtested.com.
My name is Tracey Powell and I’m on a mission to make a difference in health care.
It all started with sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs). In 1993, I started Home Access Health Corporation (HAHC), the only company on the market to develop FDA-approved HIV and hepatitis C testing. After making significant advancements in finger-stick blood testing, I wanted to move my focus to bringing STD testing to a broader consumer population. In 2009, I launched getSTDtested.com, a solution that leveraged technology to offer private testing for the average Joe.
At the time of launch, ordering STD testing online and via mobile was in the early product stages. Our marketing efforts were focused on building awareness and attracting targeted Web-savvy consumers. Compared to traditional STD testing alternatives, getSTDtested.com offers the additional convenience and privacy from the click of a mouse – oftentimes at lower prices than visiting a doctor. In our eyes, it was the perfect marriage.
One of our target populations in the early days of launching the business included sexually-active gay and bisexual males. We partnered with David Novak, vice president of research and development at Online Buddies Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., developer of online communities for gay men, to create targeted campaigns that would effectively speak to this demographic.
Novak recommended hiring InsideHeads, a St. John, Virgin Islands-based research firm, to conduct online focus groups. The objective was to better understand the attitudes about STD testing and to gauge reactions towards a variety of market positions. Together, we designed an online screening questionnaire and recruited registered Online Buddies participants into the study.
Participants included gay or bisexual males between the ages of 25 and 55 that were “somewhat” or “very” concerned about STDs and interested in regular STD testing.
A mix of ages, races and geographic locations across the U.S. were selected for participation. The two groups were segmented as Frequent Testers and Infrequent Testers and participants were compensated $75.
Two 90-minute synchronous text chat groups were held in one evening while my entire team watched online through the InsideHeads Virtual Focus Facility. Since the discussions were among men who already test for STDs regularly, I wasn’t expecting too many surprises. I settled in and expected the accolades to start flowing in.
The moderator welcomed participants, explained the facility and jumped right in. He used a whiteboard to display the concepts and the chat scrolled briskly. He skillfully moderated and probed extensively and I was able to pass requests to him unobtrusively via private message. To my surprise, we hit every objective in the discussion guide and received revealing feedback from a total of 28 men in just two online focus groups. After the session, InsideHeads provided complete transcripts and a full analysis.
Beyond the objectives
What I learned went beyond the original research objectives. The gay and bisexual participants who spoke with us were loyal to their current testing method – their physician – and would need a real reason to switch. Not a reason to test but a reason to switch.
This segment had been connecting online since the early 1990s. Since then, open communities of online communication helped fortify a growing culture of sex education and honest STD discussions over the past two decades. When it comes to achieving the healthy benefits of consistent and frequent STD testing, we found that gay and bisexual males were ahead of the curve.
Sexually-active gay and bisexual males who already test for STDs did not need to be sold on the idea of testing in general (i.e., awareness) but rather were ready to understand the benefits and differences of testing online. Further, they were most comfortable with and trusting of their doctor in relation to sexual health than other segments we had interviewed in the past. Although I was hoping for insights that would immediately translate into transactional value, the insights learned helped shape a revised direction to move the business forward, which was invaluable in the long run.
And the story doesn’t end there. GetSTDtested.com set the foundation for Pinpoint MD, the new parent company born from an immense amount of learning about diagnostic testing and the consumer-physician relationship beyond STD testing. Pinpoint MD is striving to reinvent diagnostic health care to revolutionize the patient and physician experience.
And that reminds me ... it’s probably time for another set of focus groups.