Case Study
Assessing product-market fit for a new type of medical malpractice insurance
When patient volumes change, medical practices still need to manage costs and protect revenue. Constellation Mutual (now part of the Curi brand), saw an opportunity to offer a more flexible, usage-based approach to medical malpractice insurance, designed for uncertainty like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before bringing the product to market, Constellation partnered with Bixa to understand demand among CFOs and practice administrators at large medical practices. Through surveys, interviews, persona development, and message testing, Bixa helped the product development team assess product-market fit and shape a go-to-market strategy for this new type of insurance based around buyer priorities.
The challenge
This new and very different approach to medical malpractice insurance needed a clear reason for buyers to switch. Constellation Mutual wanted to understand whether its proposed model addressed a meaningful need—and how to communicate its value to the people making insurance decisions.
The research focused on:
Understanding the challenges and motivations that prompt practices to change insurance carriers
Testing whether findings from earlier qualitative research held true across a broader audience
Assessing demand for the usage-based model
Identifying messages that resonated with CFOs and practice administrators at different sized practices
Our approach
Bixa employed a multi-phase approach to bring decision-makers into the product and messaging conversation. Bixa combined quantitative and qualitative research to explore the opportunity, understand buyer motivations, and refine the story before launch. This involved:
Reaching the right niche target audience. Bixa successfully identified and recruited CFOs and practice administrators—a highly specific audience with influence over insurance carrier selection at medical practices of different sizes and specialties.
Testing assumptions across a broader audience. Quantitative surveys explored buyer behavior and pain points, and tested key hypotheses.
Understanding the reasons behind the responses: In-depth interviews examined decision-makers’ motivations, preferences, and concerns about the proposed model.
Turning findings into actionable personas: Bixa synthesized interview and survey insights into actionable personas that captured the key decision-making factors, challenges, and priorities of Constellation’s target audiences.
Refining messaging before launch: Message testing with practice administrators revealed what resonated and what fell flat. Video montages/playlists from participant interviews brought the voice of consumer directly to Constellation’s team, helping the team hear buyers’ perspectives in their own words.
What we accomplished
Validated product-market fit and Go-To-Market (GTM) plan
The research confirmed that the usage-based model addressed a meaningful need among medical practices, but had some very specific elements that had to be worked out before launch. Bixa translated those findings into buyer personas and a focused go-to-market plan—giving Constellation confidence in both the product and how to bring it to market.
Messaging built around buyers’ most pressing concerns
Message testing helped Constellation explain the product’s value through priorities such as protecting practice revenue during downturns. Video montages brought buyers’ reactions directly to the team, showing which messages connected and where to refine the story.
Foundation for future growth
Evidence of demand and a clearer understanding of buyers helped Constellation make informed decisions about investing in the product. The company was later acquired, which marked a subsequent milestone in its growth.
A peek behind the curtain
Persona of a specialized procedure-based practice
Highlighted tools & techniques
Cluster analysis
A statistical model for audience segmentation and persona creation that identifies meaningful groups of customers based on shared behaviors, needs, motivations, or attitudes. This gives you real data to determine who to target (and who not to target) while informing differentiated messaging, products, and go-to-market strategies.
Quantitative surveys
A large-scale survey with your precise audience puts real numbers behind what you’re hearing or suspecting—providing reliable data to validate assumptions, size opportunities, and make confident decisions.
In-depth interviews
One-on-one conversations with target customers, led by senior researchers, that go beyond surface-level answers to uncover the motivations, needs, experiences, and decision-making behind what people do. Our flexible format lets us probe into unexpected insights in real time, revealing the “why” behind customer behavior that surveys alone can’t capture.
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