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Three Places to Find Out About Potential Clients and Their Needs: 1. BLOGS There are a large number of blogs dedicated to mental health issues. One of the largest is PsychCentral.com which includes many smaller blogs on many mental health issues. Most of these blogs are written by “experts” but where the market research lies is in the comments from mental health care consumers. Read what they have to say about their experience with a certain issue, how they feel about the treatment they receive and what they hope they could get from a provider in the future. You will start to see themes in these comments and when you do, start to brainstorm ways you can meet the needs that the consumers are missing. Those “holes” in the marketplace are where a business grows. Another place to look for mental health oriented blogs is AllTop.com. AllTop bills itself as the “magazine rack” for blogs. You can type in any search term from ADHD to Major Depression and see what blogs are out there on these topics. For me, the best blogs for market research are those written by people who are living with a condition, rather than those of us who are “experts.” We want to know what people experience and need so we can help them. Listen in on their blogs. 2. SOCIAL MEDIA There are large communities of people in the social media space who gather to talk about their mental health conditions. You can use http://search. twitter.com/ and type in any term (i.e. autism, depression, ptsd) and see what people are talking about on Twitter in real time. This is an amazing resource because you get to hear from people in their own words about what they are thinking and feeling at that very moment about their condition. Again, tune in for things people wish they could learn, experience or gain from their interaction with a psychotherapist. Look for themes and “missing pieces” that consumers are looking for. You can also start to follow people who tweet about your specialty area so you can see what they have to say on a regular basis. Similarly, you can use Facebook to find group pages related to certain mental health issues and conditions. Most of these groups you can “like” and join in the conversation. Personally, I like to read what people are talking about and, again, see what they want and need. If I can offer support or a resource, I may chime in, but I mostly observe to do my market research. An example of a large Facebook group is “Autism Awareness” which has over 246,000 members. Talk about a great place to get to know your market!
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