Imagineyou’re a large medical technology company carrying a wide range of healthcare products. You see huge opportunity ina new market.How do you decide what innovation tolead with, what products to offer, and what your market entry strategy should be?
Here’s a framework that can help you narrow the universe of possibilities. We call it the 3 Cs, which stands forCompany,Customer, andCompetition. All three are critical factors that converge to reveal the sweet spot for market entry.
Company: This is often the starting point for med tech companies. They see a lucrative market, want a piece of it, and figurethey have something good that will sell there.The driver is the company’s desire for growth and their belief in the solutions they offer. The “company” factor narrows the universe by identifying three things: 1) Core competencies and existing assets that can be leveraged for entry into a new market, 2) New competencies the company wants to develop, and 3) New care areas they want to expand into.
Customer: This is about identifying and understanding unmet needs and meaningful problems customers care about, as well as needs and problems they may not be aware of yet. The driver is what customers desire andwill pay for. Determining these things requires being really tuned in to your customers. The “customer” factors narrow the universe by revealing 1) what customers want and need and will buy, 2) what their hidden desires and aspirations are and what better state they envision, and 3) what customersdon’t want, don’t value, and won’t pay for.
Competition: The competition factor focuses on identifying what customer needs are and are not adequately met by competitors, and what solutions you have that are already provided by others in the market you want to enter. The driver is finding anopen niche of sufficient size for your innovation to take hold. Generally, companies willstay away from markets where there is domination by one or two competitors – unless they are willing to make a huge investment to unseat market leaders.The “competition” factors narrows the universe by specifying 1) where there is space for innovation, 2) what solutions exist and which are still needed, and 3) where there is good growth potential.
The danger is that thecompany’s hungerto entera new marketcan lead to rash decisions and action without a guiding strategy. To mitigate that risk, giveserious consideration to customer desire and to the competitive space. That way you avoid being driven by companysolutions and wishes, rather than customer problems and desires.
What’s your experience developing new market entry strategy? What were your decision drivers? What lessons did you learn?
More resources:
How to Grow Your Business with Customer-Centric Innovation
How to Get to Breakthrough Innovation: Desirability First!
New Product Innovation: How to Determine the Winners
For more thought-provoking insights and articles by Moshe, you can follow him on LinkedIn here,subscribe to his blog here, and read his practical “Your Marketing Minute”e-newsletter here.
