Make Your Medical Device or Health Related Product a Spectacular Success.

Make Your Medical Device or Health Related Product a Spectacular Success. Discover the Success Factors in Developing and Launching New Products.

Seeking best practice in innovation New product development (NPD) is critical to the ongoing success of the medical device, life science and related healthcare industries. Companies constantly need to update their product portfolio to remain competitive in the global market that characterizes this sector.

Among the many challenges businesses face, perhaps none is as crucial as the mandate to change and grow. If companies stay still, they die. One area where many companies attempt to change -- and all too often fail -- is new product development.

Why do these ventures fail? Many businesses either expend too much energy generating a variety of new products (without necessary forethought, screening or testing) or too little energy (preferring to "stay the course" with their existing product line).

According to studies, three out of four new product ventures fail in the marketplace; a sizeable fraction of these new products don't even make it to market.
Companies most often succeed in new product development when they leverage their own core competencies. There must be strong links between the new product and a company's:
• Resources
• Marketing expertise
• Distribution channels
• Sales
• Technology and operations

The good news is, businesses can design internal roles and structures to support new product development. Start by recognizing that the process essentially touches on everything your business does.
Innovation stimulates the company from top to bottom. As new products progress from idea to reality, all functions become involved -- from manufacturing, supply chain and distribution to marketing and customer service. The process requires the company's executives to think long and hard about the changing needs of their customer base, as well as the threats -- real and imaginary -- posed by the competition.

Marketing considerations should start when the new product is still on the drawing board, he says. Ask all the basic questions, such as:
• Who is this new product for?
• How will it be used?
• How does it fit into our current line and how will it affect our future products?

Market research, whether conducted in-house or through an outside agency, is the first essential step toward building a welcome response to your new product in the marketplace.
Search exhaustively for the right product advantage. Early on, identify precisely what your customers want and need. Use customer-focused research to guide the process. Use that same research to pinpoint what works and what doesn't in your competitor's offerings. When you get to the prototype stage, go to customers and test, test, test.

Defining Goals
So you're considering adding a new product to your line. Have you looked at the process (and proposed outcome) from a strategic perspective? Do you have clear and measurable long-term goals?
Without measurable goals, you have no benchmarks to track performance. It's equally important to determine how the new product is linked to your overall goals and strategy. The fit has to be right, or you risk substantial losses.
Innovation doesn't occur in a void. It must be tied to ongoing business priorities.

Other attributes of clearly-defined new product goals:
• Guides selection of development projects
• Defines target markets, competitive strengths and weaknesses, and angle of attack in the marketplace
• Differentiates your new offering from the competition
• Offers staff a sense of direction and purpose

Success Factors
A wide range of factors goes into the successful development and launch of a new product, but the leading factor, is differentiation. A product that genuinely sets itself apart from others succeeds by capturing larger market share and meeting other long-range sales objectives.
This may seem obvious -- but if so, why are there so many "me too" products floundering in the marketplace?

There's nothing inherently wrong with being an imitator, if you can bring something unique to the next stage of a new product's lifecycle. For an imitation strategy to work, you have to have an advantage over the pioneer's initial effort. You have to capitalize on something the pioneer missed.

What might that be? The originators of a new product might have had difficulty keeping costs under control, or they may have missed certain features and benefits that would generate value for customers. In either case, successful imitators find a way to offer the same value for less money, or more value for the same amount of money.

Other critical success factors:
• A steady stream of ideas
• Leaders who understand and encourage risk-taking
• Cross-functional project team
• Sufficient flow of resources from key functions
• Formal prioritizing of projects

Ultimately, a company's culture must reflect a dedicated commitment to new product development. There should be a common language and framework for product initiatives. The project team should be able to access a comprehensive database of ideas and customer research. People throughout the organization should be encouraged and rewarded for coming up with new, profit-making ideas. Everyone is in it together.

About Author: Zizi Joseph-Imatorbhebhe, MBA MS is a Principal Consultant at Bios Consulting. A leading consulting company specializing in delivering solutions to the bio-pharmaceutical, medical device , life science and health related. She has been involved in successfully developing and implementing strategic action plans that have resulted in launching numerous breakthrough health related products for many companies. She can be reached at zizi@biosconsulting.com .
Qualified Medical Device, Life Science or Health Related Companies can receive a $3000 Value in Consulting Services FREE. Visit our website at www.biosconsulting.com or call 1-888-BIOS-101.