Engaging with fertility services can be a complex and intense emotional experience. Our client, a global fertility provider, was facing increasing market competition. In a field where trust is essential, poor patient feedback was limiting growth and damaging the organisation’s reputation.

The provider faced several connected problems that needed both immediate action and longer-term systemic change:

• Dissatisfied patients weren’t returning for additional treatment cycles, directly impacting patient retention and lifetime value.
• Meanwhile, new competitors were entering the market with differentiated experiences.
• Critically, the organisation lacked the internal capability to deeply understand patient needs or to make the required changes in a timely way.

In fertility services, every patient interaction matters. The provider needed to transform quickly while respecting the sensitive nature of the patient journey.

Building capability while delivering change

We took a short and long-term view to address the organisation’s needs:

• One view focused on rapidly developing and testing improvements to fix immediate patient pain points.
• The other component focused on building internal capability, ensuring the organisation could sustain and scale the improvements independently.

This dual-track approach enabled us to deliver quick wins that built momentum and confidence, while also ensuring the organisation could become self-sufficient and build on these successes in the future.

From insight to action through rapid iteration

We used mixed-methods research, carefully adapted for this sensitive context. Our team drew on a combination of patient interviews and quantitative data analysis to understand unmet needs and generate and evaluate ideas.

Each potential improvement was evaluated based on two factors:

1. Patient impact: How much would it help patients?
2. Feasibility: How easy would it be to implement?

This resulted in a range of solutions, prioritised from simple, low-tech fixes to more advanced future-state solutions.

CEC worked with the provider’s own staff, including clinical staff and managers, to create a systematic approach to test and prioritise concepts. This involved rating features on a five-point scale for statistical rigour, while qualitative insights were used to ensure solutions addressed both practical and emotional needs.

This approach was successful because it embraced iteration and continuous improvement. Instead of perfecting solutions in isolation, we established a sustainable rhythm of testing, learning and scaling-up successful ideas.

Immediate tools

We created four initial prototypes that addressed core patient pain points. These prototypes were designed to launch quickly and be refined over time based on ongoing feedback.

One of these solutions was designed in further detail, ready for large-scale patient testing and market launch.

Lasting capability

The engagement also produced templates and frameworks that enabled internal teams to continue the innovation cycle independently. This included:

• Research tools adapted for the sensitive fertility context.
• Prioritisation frameworks that enable decision makers to balance patient value with implementation effort.

As a result of this work, the provider has shifted from reactive problem-solving to proactive innovation. Better patient satisfaction is already translating to greater patient retention and a stronger reputation.

The first pilot was quickly launched in fertility centres across multiple states; it has already received excellent feedback from both patients and staff. This initial success has validated and strengthened the organisation’s confidence in its new approach.

Two more prototypes are now ready for pilot development. The provider’s internal team is driving this rollout, leveraging the capabilities built during our engagement.

The dual-track approach has created compounding momentum. Each success builds the organisation’s capability, confidence and competitive advantage, in a market where patient experience increasingly determines success.