Your Competitive Edge: A Guide to Launching New Healthcare Products

Launching new products in the healthcare industry presents unique challenges for hospitals and medical practices. Providers must navigate expanding their market share, establishing a presence for specialized services, and addressing new regulatory and cost considerations. 

The key questions to answer are whether the new product will provide value to patients, address an unmet need, attract the right audience, and generate sustainable revenue.

This is where a solid go-to-market strategy comes into play. This article is the first in a two-part series on how the right go-to-market strategy for launching new medical products will guarantee success. 

Key Components of a Successful Go-to-Market Strategy
Understanding the market and your patient population is essential, especially with the rise of non-traditional competitors and expanding consumer choices. We’ve found that utilizing principles from the consumer-packaged goods industry can create the foundation for a successful strategy and should include: 

Research and Understanding Unmet Needs
A successful go-to-market strategy begins with thorough research to identify and understand the needs of your patients. Leverage patient satisfaction surveys, first party and third-party market data, practice trends and stakeholder interviews, all can help uncover gaps in the market and potential for your new products. 

Defining the Target Market and Competitive Advantage
Once you understand your audience, the next step is to define your target market. This involves identifying specific patient groups who would benefit most from your product. Articulate why your product stands out and how it meets the specific needs of these groups better than existing alternatives. This understanding helps ensure that the right product reaches the right patients and is positioned properly. 

Analyzing the Competition and Patient Pain Points
Knowing your competition is crucial. Conduct a competitive analysis to understand the strengths and weaknesses of other providers and their offerings. Dive into the common pain points of patients within your target market. This dual analysis allows you to properly position your new product, identifying unique opportunities where your product can provide superior solutions or address gaps that others have overlooked. 

Defining Your Unique Product Benefits
Based on your research, define your product’s unique benefits. These could include innovative treatment methods, higher quality results, improved patient experiences, easier access, and better clinical outcomes.   

A Patient-Centric Message
Develop a compelling message throughout all your communications that highlights the added value your product offers to patients. This message should be clear, concise, and focused on the specific benefits that matter most to them. Emphasize aspects such as enhanced quality of life, reduced recovery times, or improved long-term outcomes. A patient-centric message ensures your communication connects and builds trust with your target market. 

Launching a Targeted Communications Plan
An effective communications plan is critical for reaching your target audience and driving patient utilization. First, identify the most effective channels to reach your audience: social media, email, or traditional advertising. Tailor your messaging to each channel to maximize engagement and impact. Offer engaging webinars and live events to build awareness and enhance the knowledge of your product’s benefits. Use patient testimonials or physician spokespersons to build credibility and early adoption. 

Launching a new product is a big endeavor that requires careful planning and execution. By understanding the market, defining your audience, using a patient centric message and leveraging the right communication channels, hospitals and medical practices can increase their chances of success.  

Next Steps 

Don’t miss my next article, I’ll dive into winning strategies for launching a successful communications program that gets your product in front of the right audience. Plus, I’ll share examples of successful new product launches. 

Launching a new healthcare product? Fill out our contact form at the bottom of this page and we’ll help you develop a winning go-to-market strategy to drive success and revenue for your hospital or practice.