Global medical equipment company discovers a new competitor…and a new market
Posted by | Michael Ratcliffe
A leading medical equipment manufacturer was concerned about a new entrant that had moved into one of its high-value, diagnostic markets. Fuld provided competitive insights for the company to implement a renewed sales and marketing strategy and recover market share.
Challenge
During 2020 and 2021, a leading medical equipment manufacturer experienced a slowdown in the sale of diagnostic machines to hospitals. This was easily explained as many hospitals canceled and postponed surgeries and procedures, and redirected resources to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Therefore, when an independent market report published during this period revealed a major spike in sales for diagnostic machines, as well as the emergence of a new, unknown competitor, the company was taken by surprise.
In light of this report, the company engaged Fuld & Company to conduct a competitive intelligence assessment of the marketplace to uncover who the new player was, where they were selling, and what level of risk they presented.
Approach
Fuld implemented a targeted primary and secondary research approach. The focus was to develop a full understanding of market dynamics and key segments and intelligence on the new potential disruptive entrant.
Fuld’s extensive network was leveraged to secure a series of interviews with industry experts and players. This approach revealed real-time industry perspectives on how the pandemic was impacting the demand for medical equipment. The client’s historical sales figures by market segment were also reviewed to help identify key market growth drivers and trends.
Results
The results revealed more detail about how the COVID pandemic radically affected the dynamics of the US healthcare market. The extent of the pandemic’s impact on the medical device market was not fully appreciated by the client prior to reviewing the findings.
It was clear that different segments of the market were forced to react differently to the pandemic, and understanding those forces provided key insights into how the new player had entered the market.
During COVID, when hospitals were forced to cancel and postpone many procedures, private medical centers experienced a boom. The resulting increase in larger surgeries at private clinics subsequently drove their need for new medical diagnostic equipment.
A smaller medical equipment player already serving the smaller equipment needs of private clinics saw this shift in demand and was quick to scale up its offerings at a competitive price. Since the client had traditionally focused on equipping hospitals that performed major surgeries, they had not paid attention to the expanding needs of the smaller private clinic market.
By providing detailed insights into these dynamics and revealing the identity and strategic approach of the new entrant, Fuld enabled the client to effectively target the new segment. The client was able to justify shifting their marketing strategy and sales team alignment to focus on recapturing their market share.
How Fuld & Company can help your business
Fuld & Company is among the world’s leading competitive intelligence and industry research firms, with offices in the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Our leading industry databases and research experts help our clients grow, enter new geographies, expand into new verticals, assess new partnerships, and launch new products. Contact us today to find out more.
Tags: Competitive Intelligence, Market Insights, Medical Devices
