Blog

23Sep 2023 by cesare ferrari

How do you find customers to talk to? (Part 1)

From my writings, you can tell that I believe meeting, talking, and observing the customer are critical steps in any new product development. I’ve also shared with you the importance of customer interactions. However, for example, when discussing with some healthcare start-up founders, I found out that many still have some difficulties accessing “customers.” And that’ll be the focus of this article. You’ll learn more as you read on. Possible challenges with accessing customers Here are a few, yet common examples where access to customers can be challenging: You are a start-up or small company You have an extremely limited budget You are addressing a completely new segment You are targeting new stakeholders You need customers in a new geographic area You have no KOL network In these situations, for…

09Sep 2023 by cesare ferrari

The importance of cultural factors in international sales of medical devices (Part 2)

Sales

In the last article, I suggested the importance of cultural sensitivity in international sales, adding that high-performer international sales managers are those who show essential characteristics of cultural skills and cultural sensitivity. (Read the full article here). Today I will cover a few key elements of a country’s culture that I consider fundamentals in international sales, so keep reading to find out more. Some elements of a country’s culture and their impact Language I found that language is probably the most important factor of a culture when selling in a market. Speaking the customer’s language is a clear advantage and helps to reduce common barriers. A key skill in international sales is the command of foreign languages and not only English Language. “If I am selling to you, I…

25Aug 2023 by cesare ferrari

The importance of cultural factors in international sales of medical devices (Part 1)

Sales

Small and mid-size MedTech enterprises (SMEs) contemplating entering international markets will need to develop knowledge, competencies, and expertise in some areas such as cultural sensitivity. Already, some sales managers think that international selling is challenging, while others think it is somewhat easy. However, most who have tried it, see international sales as simply different and no more demanding than selling in the home market. International sales success depends on multiple factors. However, two elements can largely influence the progress of internationalization. These are the attitude and approach of the MedTech company and the personal qualities and skills of the international sales managers. Unfortunately, not every salesperson is suited to accomplish a complex task such as the management of several foreign markets. Hence, I think to properly execute the multifaced role…

15Jul 2023 by cesare ferrari

OOO-Summer Break

Other

It’s time for my yearly summer break and the right time to enjoy the summer vacations with my family. How about you – are you planning one too? For a while my regular schedule (every two weeks) will be taking a little bit of hiatus. As usual, in my last post before the summer break, I would like to share a few posts in case you missed them. Customer complaints Customer complaints is a hot topic in the medical device business for marketers, quality and regulatory people. I’m convinced that customer complaints are not a good indicator of customer satisfaction and I have discussed why in this post. Product flops Product flops are an incredibly good source of learning for product managers. In this post I analyzed 2 flops, their…

30Jun 2023 by cesare ferrari

Are Business plans useless or useful?

Downstream marketing, Sales

In the MedTech community, there are 2 common positions regarding business plans and business cases. Some people consider business plan and business case the “compass” of the business, the new venture, or the new project. They rely on it, and they use it to evaluate business opportunities, new projects, and new ventures. Others are more skeptical regarding business plans considering them less useful and some extremists consider them totally useless. So what then is true? Let’s start with a proper definition of what a business plan and business case are. Definition of business plan and business case According to Friend and Zehle in their book Guide to Business Planning, “A business plan describes the business’s vision and objectives as well as the strategy and tactics that will be employed to…

13Jun 2023 by cesare ferrari

Change this common mindset to develop better medical devices

Upstream marketing

If you have worked in the MedTech business or even in Pharma for a few years, you've probably heard some variations of this common mindset: "The user will benefit greatly from this technology that a good enough product will be okay. There is no need to investigate customer's need further." "The patient would die if they are not using our product, so the user will not consider how the product looks." "These stakeholders (nurses, scrub techs, sterile processing technicians, etc.) are not so influential; therefore, their needs will be satisfied by this basic design." "In the next generation of our product, we do not need to develop a new design because our current product's aesthetics and perceived quality are considered okay. Actually, nobody complains about it." Does this sound familiar?…

28May 2023 by cesare ferrari

These are the Best Methodologies for Measuring Customer Satisfaction

Downstream marketing

Measuring customer satisfaction is a cost-effective way to build brand loyalty, increase word-of-mouth marketing and differentiate your business from the competition. While large MedTech companies are systematically measuring how they are perceived by their customers and identifying the factors shaping customer satisfaction, small and medium businesses are still picking up. The benefits of customer satisfaction are enormous, and you should measure it regularly because it is one of the key elements to producing customer retention and loyalty. According to Philip Kotler, it has also been linked to better performance in the stock market. I'll discuss more on this here. Methodologies for measuring Customer Satisfaction The concept of customer satisfaction and its assessment is complex. It encompasses many different factors, and you can expect it to be more complicated than measuring…

12May 2023 by cesare ferrari

How to tackle MedTech over-engineering

Upstream marketing

Welcome back! Still, on MedTech over-engineering, I think this sentence from "The Elements of Style" is a great guideline for over-writing and can be transferred to over-engineering: "A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts." After analyzing the major causes of over-engineering in MedTech, now is the time to understand the consequences and the strategies to prevent it. Let's unfold that. Consequences of over-engineering There are many consequences from over-engineering a new product, but ultimately it limits the chance of product success by creating a misalignment between the product and the market. The most significant damage over-engineering can cause is creating a medical product with features and functions…

29Apr 2023 by cesare ferrari

Over-engineering is not only the fault of narcissistic, egocentric, and sociopathic engineers

Upstream marketing

Over-engineering in medical devices is more common than we think, and it can severely impact products and companies. Today's post is directed to all the people involved in the process of new product development, especially engineers, no matter their role—for instance, R&D engineers, founders, CTOs, project managers, and designers. We all know the sentence, "the devil is in the details." Well, over-engineering seems to be the natural solution, and R & D engineers might not even see it and do not see its associated risks. Read this step-by-step guide to understand over-engineering in MedTech, its cause, and its effects. What is over-engineering? According to Wikipedia: "Overengineering (or over-engineering) is the act of designing a product or providing a solution to a problem in an elaborate or complicated manner, where a…

15Apr 2023 by cesare ferrari

Customer Retention, Customer Loyalty, Or Customer Delight, What Is Your Goal?

Downstream marketing

Do you know that customer retention, loyalty, and delight are different? It's okay if you're finding out. All three are linked to customer satisfaction and provide substantial benefits for a medical device company. Remember, the goal of any marketing strategy is to attract, satisfy and retain customers in the target segment. This is because the longer customers stay with a company, the more benefits the customer generates. And often, it's a win-win for both parties. In this article, I'll discuss the differences and similarities between customer retention, loyalty, and delight. So keep reading. What is Customer Retention? According to Wikipedia, customer retention refers to the ability of a company or product to retain its customers over some specified period. The benefit generated by retention is related to a few different…