A qualitative study : clinical marketing strategies for medical devices innovations that increase adoption in the USA

Abstract

The medical device industry is a prominent and lucrative industry in the USA that benefits the country by both improving health and improving the economy. As this industry is heavily regulated, marketers in the medical device industry are faced with unique challenges. Unfortunately, due to the nature of this industry, marketing strategies pertaining to medical devices are often over-looked by researchers and scholars. The purpose of this research is to gain insight and better understand the importance of two key clinical marketing strategies employed by medical device companies: key opinion leader (KOL) strategies and evidence-based medicine (EBM) strategies. Nine medical device companies that market medical device innovations were interviewed regarding these two strategies and how/if they have contributed to the company’s success. The results were analyzed so patterns and similarities linking these strategies to measures of success could be examined. The results suggested that a KOL strategy is highly important and always used and that companies that pay their KOLs are more likely to have sales. In order to attract and recruit KOLs, the most used strategies included networking and requesting references. The interviews also revealed that KOLs are likely to pay for products, unless they are researchers in an academic setting. With regards to EBM strategies, the interviews indicated that an EBM strategy is not always necessary to achieve sales. Further, the interviews indicated that employing a KOL and EBM strategy may leverage other strategies. When measuring success, the interviews indicated that sales were a key indicator of success. Lastly, early stage companies are less likely to have sales than mid-late stage companies and companies with niche products are more likely to have sales and less likely to employ an EBM strategy.