Downstream marketing Archives - Page 2 of 4

16Dec 2023 by cesare ferrari

Holiday Season

Downstream marketing, Sales, Upstream marketing

The holiday season is a hectic time for many people. Between holiday shopping, holiday parties and holiday cooking, it can be difficult to find the time or energy to read during this busy time of the year. This is the reason I normally take a pause during the holyday season. This is my last article of 2023, and I would like to re-share a few posts on important topics for medical sales and marketing professionals. Business plans I have a pragmatic position on business plans and business cases. I do not consider realistic plans and planning useless. However, before starting to write a long and detailed business plan any entrepreneur or intrapreneur should focus on building and testing the product and the business model. I have analyzed in detail the…

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…

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…

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…

01Apr 2023 by cesare ferrari

4 Best Factors That Affect Customer Satisfaction In MedTech

Downstream marketing

In this article, I'm going to analyze the factors affecting customer satisfaction. And in the previous posts, I covered customer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and their impact–you can refer back to them. Several factors determine customer satisfaction, and the importance of a single determinant might vary depending on the sub-segment of the medical device market. For example, the impact of product reliability is less critical for a single-use and low-priced device than for reusable and expensive medical equipment. Moreover, over time the importance of the determinant may evolve as it is influenced by various factors such as market dynamics. And this is one of the reasons for continuously monitoring customer satisfaction and its determinants. Let's see the four key factors affecting customer satisfaction in MedTech, and the actionable steps you can take…

18Mar 2023 by cesare ferrari

Do you consider customer complaints a good proxy of customer satisfaction? You may regret it!

Downstream marketing, Upstream marketing

Medical device companies must seriously treat customers' complaints in compliance with regulatory quality standards. However, compliance with regulations does not necessarily mean you're focused on customer satisfaction. Most MedTech companies are small and medium-sized, and customer satisfaction is sometimes not fully understood and considered for different reasons. Imagine this scene: You are with a colleague discussing a product feature that produces customer's dissatisfaction. And to support the thesis that this is not a real problem, he/she shows you that none of the complaints collected about the product is related to that feature. Despite having anecdotal feedback on the problem, you do not have robust data; therefore, customer satisfaction with this feature is considered good. Let's have a look at the impact of customer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and customer complaints to see…

05Mar 2023 by cesare ferrari

Back To Basics: Understanding Customer Satisfaction

Downstream marketing

As a marketing and sales leader, I consider customer satisfaction a fundamental aspect and a key to running a long-term successful medical company. Customer satisfaction is not something new. The concept has been central in marketing since the '50s, with increasing interest and importance. Obviously, if customers are satisfied with the product, they will buy again, and they could show loyalty and spread the message. Otherwise, they will move to another supplier or may complain and express dissatisfaction with the company and others. Sam Walton's short story The former CEO and founder of Walmart shared this short, personal story which I think is very stimulating. "I'm the kind of person who goes to a restaurant, sits at the table, and patiently waits whilst the waiter does everything but takes my…

10Feb 2023 by cesare ferrari

7 strategies to avoid the commoditization in the MedTech business

Downstream marketing, Sales, Upstream marketing

In my previous post, I discussed the commoditization of medical products. How it is becoming very common and a visible threat to company profitability. As a result of commoditization, business models that MedTech and pharma companies were able to implement in the past are becoming unsustainable. Today's post is about strategies you'll have to implement to avoid commoditization in MedTech. Strategies countering commoditization of MedTech products To begin, the ideas and the strategies to avoid commoditization presented here are not a panacea. Every company must find its way of countering commoditization's power, exploiting market knowledge and core competencies. The company facing commoditization has 2 options: compete within the trap or escape the trap. It is also possible to work on both strategies simultaneously to increase the chance of success. Compete…

29Jan 2023 by cesare ferrari

Is your medical product becoming a commodity?

Downstream marketing, Sales

Imagine this scenario. Your product has been on the market for several years, and the competitors have copied most of its key features. Customers perceive your product and its competitors as very similar, and the price is becoming the main factor considered for buying decisions. Moreover, your marketing efforts put in place to communicate the value proposition and brand equity seem not to be working as in the past. Does this sound familiar? Then it means there’s an ongoing commoditization of your medical product. What is commoditization? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a commodity as “a good or service whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (such as brand name) other than price,” i.e., an undifferentiated product. According to the same source, commoditization means…

14Jan 2023 by cesare ferrari

6 customer experience pitfalls to be aware of

Downstream marketing, Sales

In recent times and across many sectors, companies have been forced to rebuild many processes due to the rise in demand for excellent customer experience. Expectations are advancing, and things like getting immediate help from customer service, integration among the touchpoints, and personalization are the new normal in many sectors. In the same way, enhancing customer experience in the medical business is becoming important, and companies are transforming their culture and building plans to sustain the shift. Today I will discuss 6 pitfalls I have identified as most common when improving customer experience in the medical business. 1. Trained sales force I’ve already touched on this topic in a previous post. So, here I will focus particularly on the need for a properly trained sales force. A crucial part of…

Category: Downstream marketing