As originally posted on LinkedIn by Ron Trahan, Medtech Journalist
What distinguishes between a technology physicians say they want and one they are willing to pay for? Furthermore, how do you determine those features that would be nice to have versus those that raise the value of your technology? Successful commercialization relies on the balance of a number of market factors and careful planning. When considering the strategic distribution of your R&D and marketing resources the voice of the customer is essential.
Nancy Patterson, President and CEO of Strategy Inc., with over 18 years’ experience providing market and valuation diligence to medical device executives and entrepreneurs, has developed a list of Eight Important Predictors of Clinical Adoption. Several of those key criteria to understanding a technology’s potential adoption include customer perceived efficacy and value, and willingness to pay, as shown in the graphic below.
A well-constructed analysis of customer willingness to pay for certain features allows a good strategy for innovation development and marketing around those highest-ranking feature preferences from the target users.
One proven method to project clinical adoption through willingness to pay is with a time-tested Voice of the Customer Analysis. Over the past 15 years Strategy Inc. has delivered over 3,000 of these analyses to clients seeking to understand how customers perceived and anticipate using their innovation in practice. The key to a Voice of the Customer is valuable insight supported by direct one-on-one interviews with Key Opinion Leaders and In the Trenches physicians.
A well-designed Voice of the Customer garners insights to:
- Current standards or care and practice patterns
- Potential hurdles to adoption
- Possible indications refractory to current care
- Price elasticity for innovation features
- Feature preferences
- Risk mitigation
Ms. Patterson notes, “Clients consistently tell us that the Strategy Inc. Voice of the Customer is surprisingly cost effective and uncovered issues that became either market drivers, or circumvented what would have been a costly business mistake.”
