By Rob Kinslow, Sr. Strategist, Brand Communication, KHJ Brand Activation
In my last blog, I suggested that medtech companies consider how data – including its collection, analysis and sharing with customers – could build greater value into their devices. So I wasn’t too surprised to read today that Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ Health Research Institute concluded in a new report on innovation that, "The value of a device is no longer solely in the product itself."
The report goes on to say:
"While clinical efficacy is a must, the true value in medtech today is a company’s ability to provide information, services, and other assistance to customers to solve additional problems such as improving diagnostics, increasing operating room efficiency, reducing length of hospital stays, monitoring patients remotely, and keeping people out of the hospital." If knowledge is power, then data should be a powerful tool in helping to achieve these aims.
For some time now in this space, we’ve been saying that no longer is it enough to tell a clinical story. Most if not all medtech companies do a pretty good job of that. We need to become facile at articulating an economic story as well. We’ve been saying that it’s not enough to say you’re innovative – most if not all medtech companies do that, too. (Interestingly, in the PwC report, only 17 percent of the executives surveyed said they believe that their companies are true innovation pioneers, compared to 21% of telecommunications executives and 24% in the pharma sector.) You need to be innovative in how you communicate the value of your entire offering, and that includes customer support and all the other benefits you wrap around your product.
As we’ve written here and said from the podium at various industry events, your company or product story is never not about innovation. It’s just that it now needs to be about so much more. But innovation can still play a role. Be innovative in how you help improve accountability, transparency, diagnostic pathways, lengths of stay, rehospitalization rates and OR efficiencies. Then tell your customers.
It’s nice to see some validation. Read the report. It just might sound familiar.
This is the Brand and Beyond™ blog, a new resource for the medical device industry. Brand and Beyond™ is sponsored by KHJ, headquartered in Boston, MA. KHJ is a strategic brand activation firm that is passionate about helping people see and realize what’s possible for themselves and the world around them.