Maybe your product’s performance in the market is suffering because of complex issues with no quick and easy fix. Or maybe you’re looking at a major opportunity, but it’s not clear how best to take advantage of it.
Sometimes in the life cycle of a medtech product, market situations come up where you need to take a fresh look at where you are, and how you want to move forward.
At times like these the usual marketing toolbox may not be enough to achieve your goals. A new perspective and more robust process might be in order. It may be time for a relaunch.
OK, but wait — what is a relaunch?
When you relaunch, you’re pushing the reset button because your product’s performance isn’t where it should — or could — be. The relaunch process combines the discipline of launching with insights gained from the product’s history in the marketplace. It’s the opportunity to rethink, reframe, realign, redefine — in light of what you know, and what has changed.
What are some signs that it’s time for a relaunch?
1. Your offering has evolved beyond current market perceptions.
Audiences have you pigeonholed in a narrow niche, but the reality is your market has expanded far beyond that. A relaunch gives you the tools to counter misperceptions, open new doors, and expand your territory for growth.
2. The market environment has changed.
Technologies, competition, regulations, reimbursement — every facet of the medtech environment is in a state of rapid change. Sometimes that means you have to change how you market your product. Relaunching positions you to see evolving challenges clearly, counter them effectively and take advantage of new opportunities to win.
3. You are losing share to new competitors.
That startup company nobody thought anyone would take seriously? It seems that they’re making inroads. Stealing your customers. What’s going on and what should be done about it? The relaunching process uncovers answers and produces insights that help reassert your position in the marketplace.
4. Your product is underachieving.
You’re confident your offering is better than the competition and it’s exactly what the market needs. But it’s never performed up to expectations. Relaunching can uncover issues and correct problems, with a discipline that generates new thinking, energy and direction.
5. There’s been a merger or acquisition.
Bringing separate businesses together and adding new products often creates confusion and misunderstanding among internal and external audiences. It’s critical to make sure your new team is communicating the right messages about your products, in the right way, to the right people. Relaunching allows you to reset teams for success, so they are unified, aligned and energized going forward.
6. You’re encountering price resistance.
What if your product is a hit with clinical audiences, but keeps hitting a brick wall with the Value Committee? Whether the issue is aggressive competitor pricing, or difficulty in articulating your economic value proposition, relaunching provides a structured approach for solving business problems and defining a better way forward.
7. The competition is outmaneuvering you.
They’re quick, agile, fresh and beating you to the punch. They’re commanding attention, dominating conversations and gaining market share. Maybe you’ve gotten a little sluggish or fallen behind with innovation? Let a relaunch re-energize your team, restore your advantage, and bring your market mojo back.
8. Your trajectory is pointed in the wrong direction.
It’s clear things aren’t going as you would want. But it’s not obvious why. Or perhaps it is, but it’s hard to know what to do about it. When a turnaround is in order, the process and discipline of relaunching jumpstarts a more successful trajectory, through aim, alignment and reinvigorated communication of all you do.
What does a relaunch look like?
Check out our work with Mauna Kea Technologies to see how a relaunch revitalized the medtech innovator’s Cellvizio® offering. Of course every relaunch is unique in scope and content.
