Blog

03Jul 2021 by cesare ferrari

Segmentation, Targeting And Positioning For Medical Devices. Part 1

What is the core of strategic marketing for medical devices? Well, this short article is the first of a couple posts in which I consider what I have found about the trilogy of strategic marketing: Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning, to be useful for our industry. Hence, I will use it as an opportunity to share some patterns I have seen in several companies during my career. Introduction "If you’re not thinking segmentation, you’re not thinking."Theodore Levitt As a salesperson, it was difficult for me to understand and accept that there were customers that I shouldn’t be targeting because the offering wasn’t going to convince them. After all, I had a general idea that my job as a marketer was to help potential customers see why that particular product was a…

19Jun 2021 by cesare ferrari

How To Conduct Effective Qualitative Interviews That Will Produce Great Data (part 2)

Upstream marketing

This is the second post where I'll be talking about qualitative customer interviews and here, I'll discuss the process of preparation, implementation and their most common problems. I will also enlighten you on all the serious issues that prevent you from getting useful data for better product development. You can refer to part 1 here and follow the guide below on how to conduct qualitative interviews that yield results: Piloting Another element to the interview preparation is the organization of a pilot test with colleagues or participants. The pilot test will help you in finding out limitations, or weaknesses within the interview design and will allow you to make necessary revisions. The pilot test will also assist you with the refinement of the questions and it will be a helpful…

05Jun 2021 by cesare ferrari

How To Conduct Effective Qualitative Interviews That Will Produce Great Data (part 1)

Upstream marketing

In this previous post, I discussed the importance of VOC, especially at the beginning of a new product development process and various methodologies to collect it. I also mentioned that a VOC study should include different forms of data collection, to provide the development team with a well-rounded database of information for analyses. And one of the techniques to gather the VOC is customer interviewing. With that being said, this is the first of 2 posts that explores an effective way to conduct qualitative interviews, by employing a simple process for implementation. What Are Qualitative Interviews? Qualitative interviews are well-structured conversations with a subject that represents the targeted customer. Interviewees are asked identical questions and the questions are worded so that responses are open-ended. This structure allows the participants to…

22May 2021 by cesare ferrari

You too… Do you think that the VOC (Voice of the Customer) doesn’t Work? I don’t!

Upstream marketing

I have already analyzed; the fundamentals of the Voice of the Customer (VOC) in my previous post, and today I will go through some ideas against the VOC. Introduction Speculations have already been raised, as to the effectiveness of VOC, and to some, they feel that it's actually not needed in the process of developing medical devices. In case you're wondering if there's really a need to clarify this, the instances below should clear your doubts. A couple of friends; experienced medical device marketers once said to me that VOC is not working. And they explained further, saying that real innovations are generated by visionaries. Likewise, two sentences supporting this thesis, that I’ve heard more than once are: “If I’d asked customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster…

08May 2021 by cesare ferrari

Voice Of The Customer Fundamentals – For Medical Device Marketing

Upstream marketing

In developing medical devices, there is an aspect to it that is overlooked, sometimes. And that is probably because in producing medical devices, some marketers and developers have never really understood its significance and benefits. Well, in today's quick guide, I would shed more light on the fundamentals of VOC in Medical Device Marketing, and as you read on, you'll find every detail useful. What is VOC? In simple terms, the Voice of the Customer (VOC) is a process that captures customers’ needs and requirements. In my experience in Med-tech, I've seen a lot of people use the word VOC for any customer interactions, in relation to the entire process of product development. Sometimes VOC is used after the product’s launch, and there, the term is used as a synonym of market research, market analysis, customer satisfaction assessment, and customer…

24Apr 2021 by cesare ferrari

A Practical Guide on Writing High-quality User Requirements For Successful Medical Devices Development

Upstream marketing

In the previous post, I examined the crucial subject of user requirements, and I went ahead to define what it was and gave an analysis to support the claims. I figured out that I had done enough justice to the topic, as you might have found out already. However, after publishing the post, I had an interesting discussion with a friend. And I have decided to revisit the subject to provide some, hopefully useful, information regarding writing quality user requirements. Why User Requirements Are Important? As a quick recap: User requirements are a critical part of the medical device creation process and are essential for a solid foundation in product development. And if poorly written or overlooked, user requirements will lead to an unsuccessful product. What Should A Well Written…

11Apr 2021 by cesare ferrari

How To Define User Requirements That Make Successful Products

Upstream marketing

Having a successful product is a growth requirement for any company and to achieve this, it revolves around the product manager, the development team, as well as the final “consumers”. In the process of medical device development, the definition of proper requirements is critical to develop a product which brings value to the customer. The role of the product manager is to constantly unveil the customers' perspective to the company and he/she must be obsessed with user requirements. What Are User Requirements? User requirements have to do with the functionalities, characteristics, attributes, and capabilities of your product. And user needs, product requirements, design requirements, customer requirements, are all synonyms of user requirements. With that being said, the basic user requirements of a medical device, consist of: What your product doHow…

29Mar 2021 by cesare ferrari

9 Disadvantages Of Selling Through Distributors

Sales

As already discussed in my previous post, distributors are an essential part of the medical device business and there are lots of advantages of selling through them, especially for companies looking to enter new markets. Hence, in moving on, I will focus on the other side of the coin: the disadvantages. What Are The Disadvantages Of An Indirect Sales Force? The Indirect Sales model remains one of the most patronized forces in medical business but have you ever pondered on its likely disadvantages? Well, let's find out what they are: Quality and price policy: It is not always easy to find a partner who shares the same policy for quality and price. A typical example is a distributor with complementary products that are not in the same price segment as…

13Mar 2021 by cesare ferrari

7 Key Advantages Of Selling Through Distributors

Sales

Indirect sales force is used by most medical device companies for the reasons already discussed in my previous post. Unfortunately, third parties and partners are often considered the ugly version of a direct sales force; however, a good partnership is a key factor of success for a company that is in search of geographical expansion. What Is A Good Distributor? A good distributor is not a commodity; on the contrary, it is an asset on which the profitability of the company is built. What Are The Advantages Of An Indirect Sales Force When Entering A Market? The indirect sales force has its own share of advantages, especially to medical device companies and it is the most used model. Highlighted below are some of its benefits: Selling cost under control: In…

01Mar 2021 by cesare ferrari

Some key factors helping companies in deciding the sales model

Sales

Introduction: What is the optimal sales model, and what factors should you prioritize when deciding on an efficient and effective sales approach? In my previous post, I discussed an easy guide to being an effective sales manager or marketer, by understanding the sales force model. Here, we'll take several steps further and learn about the sales models; that is, fundamental for any medical device company entering a new market. No doubt; selecting and identifying the right sales model is not always easy; hence, in this post, I would like to suggest some factors to evaluate when deciding between the 2 main approaches; direct or indirect. 1. Financial Factors How critical is the financial risk for the company? How important is the need to control the cost of sales? Implementing a…