“What do you need?”
This is such a simple but powerful question. It’s genuinely open-ended, centres the person rather than the solution, and invites honest responses. But when were you last asked this – in any setting, healthcare or otherwise?
Unmet needs sit at the heart of femtech and women’s healthcare solutions. They’re the goal we’re chasing – to grow profitable brands serving engaged consumers while creating solutions that matter.
So why don’t we ask it more often? Perhaps in healthcare, we’re afraid of the time it takes to listen. And in femtech, we may be confident we already understand all the needs in our market. Maybe we’re not sure we can meet the needs that emerge, so it feels safer not to know.
What happens when we ask
A recent study from Iran shows what happens when researchers did just this. They asked 158 breast cancer patients what they need from digital support tools [1]. What they discovered illustrates why the question matters so much, particularly for lower-income regions with limited access to in-person care, where digital platforms are not just convenient but essential.
The women had a clear hierarchy of preferences: emotional support ranked highest, followed by informational support, then esteem support. But here’s where it gets interesting – the format of that support mattered a lot.
Women showed a 2.45 times stronger preference for instructional videos over text messages. They preferred personalised online support 1.42 times more than generic supportive messages. Even within esteem support, mindfulness affirmations outperformed inspirational messages.
These aren’t broad themes you’d guess at. They’re specific, actionable preferences that only emerge when you ask and listen to the answers. Small differences in approach that may create significant differences in adoption.
Four takeaways for women’s health marketers
1. Create more moments to ask
Beyond formal research, build “what do you need?” into customer service interactions, onboarding flows, and support conversations. Train your team to ask this question genuinely – not as a script, but as curiosity about the person they’re speaking with.
2. Listen to what’s already being said
Your customers are already telling you what they need through support tickets, social media comments, and app store reviews. Start a weekly practice of reading these with fresh eyes – not for problems to fix, but for unmet needs to explore.
3. Test your assumptions about preferences
The Iranian study shows how specific preferences can be: video versus text, personalised versus generic, mindfulness versus inspiration. What format assumptions are you making that you’ve never tested with real users?
4. Give them something to react to
“What do you need?” can be hard to answer cold – people often don’t know until they see an option. So bring rough starter ideas to the conversation: sketchy, half-formed, deliberately unfinished. The point isn’t to present a solution, it’s to give people something concrete to push against. You’ll learn as much from what they reject as from what they reach for – and a flat “no, not that” is often sharper signal than a polite “yes”.
A parting thought
Think about your last month of work. How many real conversations did you have with the women you’re building for? What might you discover if you created more opportunities to ask: “What do you need?” I’d love to know.
Reference
[1] Rafiei, S., Heidarpoor, P., Souri, S. et al. The preferences of breast cancer patients regarding a digital social care platform. BMC Women’s Health 25, 240 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-025-03792-2
