Strategic Marketing Consultancy

The FDA has steadily increased its enforcement focus on supplier controls – a critical potential weak link in medical product manufacturing. Manufacturers can outsource goods and services but not regulatory responsibility or product liability.

Devices pose a unique set of challenges because of the exceptionally wide range of supplied products and services and a reliance on suppliers from other fields, who have limited knowledge of medical risk factors and regulatory requirements.

Another hot-button issue in all segments of the life sciences industry is full service fulfillment outsourcing. In the medical device sector, outsourcing initially took hold in the manufacturing phase, and companies raced across borders and oceans to capitalize on low-cost labor for potentially large profit gains.

Several trends are driving the need for single-source partners. Among these trends are rapid market growth and the emergence of new industry-spanning market segments. New markets, such as those for combination products and advanced drug delivery, are more complex than traditional markets.

Top business thinkers have known for some time that logistical success often equals business success. If you can find a better way to move goods in and out of your
organization and put the right things in the right people’s hands at the right time—your chances of success go up dramatically!

As the logistics outsourcing model continues to mature, companies are realizing that outsourcing key areas of sourcing, kitting and fulfillment can impart large productivity gains that translate into competitive advantages.

Medical device companies and medical marketing consultants, in turn, expanded their universe of external partners. But problems arise when too many outsourced firms are involved. Relying on a number of different suppliers to get a medical device to market can be inefficient and time-consuming. In response, medical device manufacturers have begun seeking partners that can provide full-service outsourcing and mail order fulfillment services.

Partnerships typically begin with a formal assessment process that helps evaluate the strategic elements of an organization’s outsourcing needs and short or longer-term “consult-to-action” retainer relationships often develop.

Programs for a formal logistics assessment look at an integrated supply-chain management approach to ensure more efficient movement of materials in and out of an organization including: procurement, warehousing, packaging, assembly, kitting, distribution, returns management, quality inspections and tracking with the ultimate goal of improving inventory visibility and velocity. 

By storing, assembling and distributing all manner of goods more efficiently, you will be able to positively impact your bottom-line. To learn more about how you can capitalize on low cost outsourcing, click here.



Jon Nugent | Director Client Services
Business Intelligence Solutions | www.busintellsol.com

• Research and Analysis:  who are your best prospects?
• Data Appending:   what is of interest to them?
• Nurture Marketing: how best to speak to them?
• Lead Generation:  how can they easily interact with you?

As some of us folks here in the Northeast wait for Hurricane Irene, we are told to stock up on supplies, bunker down and wait out the storm. We don’t have a lot of experience dealing with hurricanes so more times than not we follow the direction of our local leaders and a common message is “Stay put until the storm blows over!”

This is fine for hurricanes but not for business!
 
We are in a challenging business climate so it is essential to “not wait” and keep fighting. When I started at The Allied Group 17 years ago, we were strictly a business forms printer; maybe we would look for an envelope order here and there but the main product was business forms. Then we worked in new areas such as print management as clients started looking for someone to manage their forms, not just print them. Then it was mail order fulfillment services . . . Then we got into promotional products since we had a number of clients ask us “Hey you print our logo on paper; can you print it on a coffee mug?” Then we jumped into commercial print and being able to redesign websites, helping us evolve into a strategic marketing consultancy.

By now you get the idea . . . These changes were all precipitated (and became necessary) by changes in the marketplace. Many printing companies who “stayed” just with the printing have suffered and many have not made it.

For us, the changes have been at times a struggle and we have experienced the "growing pains" that come with change. But someone very smart once said: "Would you rather have growing pains or shrinking pains?"

So I ask two questions:
1. Which pains are you getting right now?
2. What are you doing not to "wait out the storm"?

I just sat through a fascinating presentation by Harry Gold of Overdrive Interactive on social media marketing. Several things stood out.

There is a misconception among some that much if not all of this stuff is “fluff”. It’s not.
Many people that I’ve spoken with think social media marketing only works with B-to-C applications. That’s wrong.

You can “dabble” in it and maybe get a hit or two along the way that will turn into something over time. Maybe- but – not likely.

Here are the three words I’d offer to counter those arguments.

Sophisticated. On the contrary to the “fluff” argument, the strategic marketing consultancy "types" who engage (successfully) in social media marketing are very sophisticated. It is not child’s play. The creative and technological aspects of a marketing services company successfully deploying it are every bit as critical as traditional media channels.

Savvy. B-to-B organizations are have woken up to the need to add social media marketing to their integrated marketing communications program. Over 80% of companies with more than 500 employees are doing it. They realize that if “you’re not in it – you’re outside it”.

Serious. They say that politics is a full-contact sport. So is marketing and sales support / business development / revenue and customer creation. If you want to grow your business in the 21st Century, you need to figure out how to add social media marketing to your mix.

I’m not a believer in “silver bullet” answers or putting all your eggs in one basket. But, just so you know, if it’s not, social media marketing should be a big part of the plans for your integrated marketing communications program in the future.

                                                     

The bottom line is that it isn’t so much about which channel of media is better than another (they each have their strengths and weaknesses). The best integrated marketing communications campaign is constructed as a multi-media approach with each medium acting as a support mechanism for the other educating your best prospects through the lead generation and sales cycle and eventually turning them into customers. As the batch-blast era of direct mail moves toward a more targeted, strategic marketing consultancy approach, a healthy mix and balanced attack to reach your targeted audience is simply the best approach. Cost-per-contact varies tremendously amongst the 10 or so major media options. And while direct mail certainly costs more, its revenue-per-contact still make it one of the most effective marketing tools for your buck!

[1] The Winterberry Group

[2] USPS Media Choices Today: What’s Getting Through

[3] InfoTrends/CAP Ventures

[4] USPS and DMA statistics

[5] Xerox Designing for Digital