CUSTOMER STRATEGY AND MARKETING

In every industry, connecting with customers is an essential component to continued success. Yet, in the life science market, executives face a unique set of challenges when it comes to customer strategy and marketing. At the most basic level, life science executives need to define “who” is the customer. At various stages of product development, the customer can be defined as the patient, physician, payer, regulator, investor, alliance partner or researcher. Satisfying these diverse stakeholders can often lead to customer strategies that are the “lowest common denominator” and end up satisfying no one. Even after products are launched and generating revenue, the rapid pace of technological change often requires re-visiting the customer strategy in the face of competitive pressure. This challenge of staying a step ahead of the competition has become the hallmark of life sciences.

We hear from many of our clients that the traditional marketing tools and approaches don't work for their situation. This is not surprising as many of the classical marketing tools were developed for consumer goods products. Almost all of the classical marketing toolsets envision markets where incremental product changes drive market uptake, and consumer behavior can be tracked and analyzed utilizing large datasets. The life science market, in contrast, has multiple intermediaries who impact the range and type of choice that end-users have. Technological progress often requires developing customer and market strategies for new products. These step change improvements make it difficult for buyers to predict how they will perform compared to currently marketed products. Also, the life science “product” has many related services, complementary products, and features which can be critical elements that drive the market uptake. Finally, many life science products seek to create new markets where none exist today. We are familiar with these problems at a hands-on level, as multiple members of our consulting team have been product managers for life science companies and have successfully launched products in these environments. Collectively we understand the importance of implementing an action plan that is both tangible and has sufficient depth. 

We are often retained by clients to:

• Identify the Right Customer.
  Our process begins with customer segmentation to identify at the sub-segment level the potential range of   customers. We marry this with a meticulous analysis of the growth potential and size of each of these segments. Unlike many other consulting firms, we develop this information from primary sources. We have developed a rigorous survey capability that allows us to gather statistically significant data in a matter of weeks. We can then merge this information to secondary sources to create a fact base which our clients consider a source of competitive advantage, particularly in markets that are less defined.
  
  
• Design the Right Product.
  To identify the appropriate features and benefits, one must first understand the workflow that the product will impact at a detailed level. These workflows, ranging from drug discovery research to clinician treatment patterns, are specific to the product and its market. Based on primary interviews and surveys, we highlight the bottlenecks and issues that current users experience. With this knowledge base, we can then test with potential customers how the key features and benefits would result in market uptake. Our approach also focuses on finding overlooked opportunities for a competitor to take on market share.
  
  
• Clarify the Value Proposition.
  In our experience, the success of value propositions is best measured in how well it resonates with customers. We also believe that customers do not evaluate value propositions in a vacuum but rather against the market alternatives. For these reasons, we marry customer segmentation and workflow analysis with an understanding of how our clients’ value proposition compares to competitive offerings. In most of the major life science markets, we maintain and constantly update a database of competitor offerings. Our database includes both marketed products and products in development by both public and private companies. This resource allows us to quickly help our clients understand competitive threats and refine their value proposition to eliminate potential competitors.