When we are developing a product, there is always a solution to a critical problem that we are trying to deliver. In the Life Sciences sector, that would result in reducing morbidity or mortality and increasing the quality of life for patients, or making life easier for physicians, depending on the problem and its solution.
So why is it important to incorporate product adoption very early on while you are developing the product?
The number one reason
: Need Money
You need money from investors (Angels, VCs, or other investors ) to develop your product. Investors will fund your company based on the projected success of your product in the marketplace, as demonstrated by market due diligence and marketing strategy.
Questions that investors will ask probably include:
1)
What problem (critical unmet need) are you solving?
2) How are you going to solve the need or problem better than what is done now?
a)
Innovation
3)
What is the market opportunity?
a)
Overall market (prospective customers and competitors)
The subsequent four important reasons will also help to answers these questions.
The second reason: Determine the market potential for your product
To determine the market potential for your product, there are four basic factors to consider:
1)
Product Adoption
2)
Competitors
3)
Market Trends
4)
Technology Trends
I'll go into more explanation on product adoption, since the other three points are self-explanatory. While there are many stakeholders involved which I will cover in the third important reason, for the purpose of this newsletter I will focus on product adoption for the patient with a simple example.
Google developed contact lenses that will continuously monitor a diabetic patient's glucose levels through his/her tears. The problem that Google is solving is eliminating the needle prick in drawing blood to read the patient's glucose. This is innovation, since it has never been done before. What is the market potential for this product?
Diabetes Market - Overall Market
1)
Diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes in the United States
a)
Total: 29.1 million people, or 9.3% of the population have diabetes.
b)
Diagnosed: 21.0 million people.
c)
Undiagnosed: 8.1 million people (27.8% of people with diabetes are undiagnosed).
What is the market potential for this product? Here are the statistics.
What Percentage of People Use Vision Correction Device?
1)
75% of adults use a vision correction device.
b)
11% wear contact lenses
Currently, only 11% of the population wears contact lenses, so if we extrapolate that to the diabetic market, which is 29.1 million people, then the current market potential for this product for those who wear contact lenses is 2.31 million people.
The reason I didn't include the 64% of the people who wear glasses is because these people had the choice to wear contacts or glasses, but chose to wear glasses. How do you convince people who prefer to wear glasses to instead wear contacts? That is product adoption. And for those who don't wear any corrective lenses, how do you convince them to wear contacts if you want to include them in the market potential for this product?
Current contact users will be your current market potential and while you are penetrating this market, the experience you get will also help you learn how to expand the market into other demographic segments, that is, eye glass wearers and those that do not wear corrective lenses. Product adoption is also important in expanding the market potential for your product.
The third reason: Satisfying your stakeholders/customers
In order to get product adoption from all stakeholders/customers, identify your primary stakeholders/customers and determine how to most effectively satisfy their needs. Any break in this chain and your product will not be used, purchased, or approved. So who are the stakeholders? I call them the 4 W's.
Product Adoption
|
The 4 W's
|
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Who is going to use it
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Patient or Physician
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Who is going to order it
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Patient or Physician
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Who is going to pay for it
|
Insurance payers, hospitals, physician, or patient
|
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Who is going to approve it
|
FDA
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The fourth reason: Product Profile or Specifications
The stakeholders above will dictate how your product must perform in terms of satisfying their needs in order for them to use it, purchase it or approve it. The voice of the customer is all powerful. I recommend doing customer interviews conducted by a (neutral) third party, so that you will hear first-hand the viewpoints and priorities of target customers. The reason is, it is imperative that you eliminate the unconscious bias that often causes investigators and marketers to validate their product's ability to solve the needs of prospective customers.
Going back to our example of the Google contact lenses, there are a number of questions to consider when developing the product. Here are just a couple of examples from a number of questions that need to be asked in order for the product to be adopted by the user and become successful in the market place:
1)
Will it be part of the contact lenses or a separate device?
2)
If it is part of the contact lenses, since everyone will have a different lenses prescription, is the company going to manufacture ever prescription or will it be custom ordered?
a)
Either scenario could be prohibitive in terms of manufacturing cost or cost to the customer.
3)
If the sensor is part of the device, is it comfortable for all your customers?
a)
If it is too thin it may be comfortable, but could rip easily and replacement costs could become financially unsustainable for many customers.
b)
If it is too thick, it may be uncomfortable and the customer won't wear it.
c)
From an aesthetic appearance, would the customers want to have the sensors in their eye and how that would look to others?
4)
If it's a separate device, how easy is it to apply?
a)
If it's too difficult, they won't use it.
Product adoption plays an important role in defining the product profile or specification.
The fifth reason: Marketing Strategies
In order to achieve product adoption, you need to develop marketing strategies for the primary stakeholders/customers, so that you will have a tailored message and roadmap for each. To get you started, consider and develop the following:
1)
How are you solving the problem better than anyone else, or what are the product's competitive advantages?
2)
How are you going to position the product --- what is your branding strategy?
3)
What is your key messaging?
4)
How are you going to build brand awareness?
5)
What marketing and sales tools will you use to achieve this?
6)
How are your customers going to gain access to this product?
