To increase the success of a product in development it is both critical and advantageous to conduct marketing and product development in parallel to increase the commercial success of a product (see Figure 1).
The purpose of conducting the product assessment and market assessment in the discovery or concept stage of product development is to minimize risk by helping our clients decide whether to move forward, make changes, or move in another direction thereby saving time and money. For example, when it becomes evident that a product does not fulfill a critical unmet need defined by the customers, or has no advantage compared to current available therapies or lacks adequate market potential, the company may decide not to develop the product further and avoid spending the industry norm of $960 million (see Figure 2) if the company had marketed the product. By identifying this development cost avoidance from the product and market assessments, this allows the company to redirect their valuable resources and allocate them to other areas of critical unmet needs or therapeutic areas of larger market potential.
The goal of developing a competitive profile and identifying the product’s competitive advantages starting with the development stage and throughout the product life cycle is to highlight the benefits of the product and give the customer significant reasons to buy the product over the others. Marketing strategies are then developed in creating a strong brand identity of these benefits through specific focused marketing activities in creating customer loyalty.
In the “go to market” stage of product development, marketing plans and launch strategies are developed and implemented for a product launch that coincides with the FDA approval of a product. Every day that the product is not on the market upon approval means potential dollars lost.
Our Services
- Product Assessment
- Identifying a critical unmet need from the customer and whether the customer will use/buy it.
- Obtaining the optimal product profile from customers.
- Market Assessment
- Defining the size of the overall market, product potential, and other influences in the market place.
- Competitive Intelligence or Landscape
- Identifying all competitors and their strengths and weaknesses.
- Competitive Advantage
- Identifying the products’ benefits in terms of clinical differentiation.
- Marketing Strategy and Plan
- Developing the positioning, messaging, pricing, reimbursement, and programs in marketing the product.
- Launch Strategy
- Creating a project time line that incorporates milestones, critical paths for a successful launch.