05Mar 2022 by cesare ferrari
Customer Centricity: The Holy Grail Towards Unlocking The True Potential Of Customer Value

Customer Centricity: The Holy Grail Towards Unlocking The True Potential Of Customer Value

Downstream marketing, Upstream marketing
In the Medtech business as in many other businesses, there is a trend to move from a product-centric to a customer-centric way of doing business. Many companies are realizing that customer-centricity provides a competitive advantage, which is difficult to achieve and hard to copy. I’ve already touched on the topic of customer centricity here and here; In this short post, I will explore the following: The origin of the customer centric paradigmWhat it means to be a customer centric companyWhy it is important in the medical device sector Origin Of Customer Centricity The concept of customer centricity and its benefits have been discussed for more than 60 years in the academia and business community. Already in 1960, in the famous article “Marketing Myopia” published in Harvard Business Review, Theodore Levitt…
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19Feb 2022 by cesare ferrari
KOL Management: A KEY Ingredient Of Your Marketing Strategy Recipe

KOL Management: A KEY Ingredient Of Your Marketing Strategy Recipe

Downstream marketing
I have already touched on the topic of KOL, particularly regarding new product development in this post. I encourage you to go over it as soon as possible. Today I will go through the role of KOL in downstream marketing. Trust me, you'll find this interesting and enlightening! KOL: A Definition As already discussed, a key opinion leader (KOL), in the healthcare field, is a physician, nurse, researcher, hospital executive, etc, with proven experience and expertise in a specific discipline who is trusted and respected by his/her colleagues.  Why Are KOLs Important In Medical Device Marketing? Since the category “medical device” is so diverse, the relevance of KOLs is variable. For example, the importance of KOLs is lower for consolidated products like medical supply than for highly innovative devices that…
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02Dec 2021 by cesare ferrari
Some Ideas Helping Medical Device Marketers To Better Understand The Value Of A Medical Technology

Some Ideas Helping Medical Device Marketers To Better Understand The Value Of A Medical Technology

Downstream marketing
Every medical device company in some ways wants to move from a product-centric model to a customer & value-centric model. Customers are looking for partners, namely companies that can bring value with their products and beyond. However, value is a central concept in medical devices marketing, and sometimes it can be difficult to be defined. Today I will share some useful elements to help you understand value in medical device marketing. What Is Value In Medical Device Marketing? When I do salesforce training, I love asking questions that require "it depends" as an answer. One of these questions is; what is value in the medical device industry? There are a couple of definitions of value that are worth considering. According to Cutler and McClellan, this is the definition of value…
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23Oct 2021 by cesare ferrari
Who Is The “Customer” In Medical Device Marketing?

Who Is The “Customer” In Medical Device Marketing?

Downstream marketing, Sales, Upstream marketing
Keep in mind that the short answer to this is that...it depends. Luckily, as you read on you'll understand the reason for this conclusion on the role of the customer in medical device marketing.  To begin with, the medical devices category is very diversified and assorted, but that's not only from the regulatory point of view.    Part of the category of medical devices include: basic medical supplies like sutures, tongue depressors, syringes, surgical instruments, and more complex devices like implants, pacemakers. It also includes big capital equipment such as CT and robots.   For the different categories of medical devices, the number of individuals and organizations that could influence the purchase decision might possibly be significant and different.  In this article, I consider the “customer” of medical device marketing, all the stakeholders. And not only the…
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08Oct 2021 by cesare ferrari
How Marketing Can Bring Value And Better Long-term Perspective To Medical Device Companies

How Marketing Can Bring Value And Better Long-term Perspective To Medical Device Companies

Downstream marketing, Upstream marketing
If you have been working in the medical device marketing for a few years; Then you've probably noticed that it is far more complicated to achieve growth in the current environment.   The good old times are gone. Incremental innovation at a premium price, product launches that almost always deliver the expectations. And rapid development projects with easy registration are becoming rare.   In the past, medical device companies could rely on incremental innovations, easy market access, fewer price constraints, and sales force relationships with the clinicians to deliver good results.   Today, the market is far more complex and competitive. To remain profitable, companies will need to leverage better, stronger, and effective medical device marketing.  What Is Marketing And Why Is It Important In Medical Device  According to Prof. Philip Kotler, the father of modern…
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16Jul 2021 by cesare ferrari
Segmentation, Targeting And Positioning For Medical Devices. Part 2

Segmentation, Targeting And Positioning For Medical Devices. Part 2

Downstream marketing
Still on the subject, this is the second and final post about the strategic marketing for medical devices, which includes segmentation, targeting and positioning.  Today, I'll discuss mainly; about targeting because in my experience it is the most difficult step of the process. If you're probably wondering why I'm not discussing segmentation first, well that's because I already talked about it extensively in my previous post- You can refer to it (Part 1- Segmentation) here. Introduction "You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks."Winston Churchill This quote is inspiring and has a lot to do with today’s topic. Let me tell you the truth, it only goes to show that not every distraction requires your attention. I know it is difficult…
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03Jul 2021 by cesare ferrari
Segmentation, Targeting And Positioning For Medical Devices. Part 1

Segmentation, Targeting And Positioning For Medical Devices. Part 1

Downstream marketing
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…
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