I don’t do tents. Granted it’s been years since I’ve been camping, but I can still remember trying to sleep with a rock (or two )poking through my sleeping bag never quite getting comfortable and then finally drifting off only to wake up slightly damp and sticky from the dew. You know what I’m talking about. Think of your scouts camping trips circa age 9 or 10.
But a friend of mine suggested that I start listening to the How I Built This Business podcast. So I caught the episode with Cory Tholl from Klymit – a company that sells sleeping bags, pads and other outdoor camping accessories.
Cory’s story about how the firm pivoted from creating insulated apparel to sleeping pads was fascinating. As I listened to what worked (and didn’t work) for Cory and his recommendations for new entrepreneurs, I was struck by 3 points that were particularly relevant to medical device marketers looking to launch a new product:
- Don’t just focus on engineering
We work with a number of different medical device manufacturers and the R&D teams are constantly working on tweaking product features and benefits. A new way to wrap a balloon, an innovative break-away technology, a cool adhesive that absorbs moisture. But in order to get the biggest ROI out of R&D, the engineering and and marketing teams need to talk – and often – so that the engineering teams know how to focus their efforts, so that they understand which features (and benefits) the market is willing to pay for and what is going to truly make a competitive difference. Otherwise R&D dollars and time is spent creating just another ‘me too’. - No one can sell your product as well as you can
Contract sales teams and distributor models are great for getting a product into the field, but relying solely on distributors can hamper your success. There are just too many other competing products in their bags. And they’re never going to sell the hell out of your baby the way that you can. - One big win isn’t going to do it, it’s the smaller wins, one at a time, that win the day
Most firms don’t get to wake up one day to find a gift of a Premier agreement on their doorstep. Unfortunately – or fortunately – it’s the daily sales call, it’s the constant contact, it’s the always putting your product, your brand, your story in front of as many (targeted) customers as you can that will ultimately win the game.
If you have a daily commute and you’re looking for business insight, best practices and food for thought that will inspire you – and your company, check out the podcast here.
And if you’re looking for insight into how to build your next medical device product launch, call us!
