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Essentials of Health Care Marketing, Fifth EditionEric N. Berkowitz
The Johnson Medical Device Company had made drug-coated implants for cardiac surgeons since their initial introduction. While there have been many interactions since its introduction, the company has been active in the field and been a frequent sponsor and exhibitor at cardiac surgery conferences. The salesforce has also been active at calling on cardiac surgeons and hospitals in the promotion of their stents to be a preferred choice among the alternatives that are available.
In recent years, the health care environment has changed significantly as there has been increasing consolidation as well as centralized purchasing, most noticeably by the larger health care systems such as Ascension and Dignity Health. Coupled with this centralization of purchasing, physicians are becoming increasingly difficult to gain f2f time with given their own time compression.
At a recent sales meeting, the sales manager in the Northeast region, David Pittman, who had been a member of the Johnson sales team for twenty years, stood up and said, “My sales group keeps telling me the same complaint. Each time our reps converse with medi-cal office receptionists, they just say to our reps, ‘Email the information or send me a video link that I can download.’ The doctors just don’t want to spend the time. Even cardiologists are not willing to sit and talk to us if they are employed by the health system. In fact, I think they might be the hardest because they feel they have no input into the decision. It’s a corporate matter. The independent doctors are running so hard for income they can’t spend time talking about our drug-coated stent benefits relative to Boston Scientific’s or Medtronic. We need to rethink our approach to getting information into the hand of the doctor.”
Sally Idek-Larson, who headed one of the largest regions, the Southwest, spoke next. “I agree with David. I think I could ask my sales team whether they are in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, or elsewhere to sit outside the doctor’s office until they close, and the cardiac surgeon would rush out and say ‘Not now, sorry. Off to surgery. Send me a link.’ We are beating a dead horse in the 21st century. It’s like a retail store approach in the digital age.”
“I hear you,” said Ryan McHugh, the vice president of sales, “but I am not sure we can go all digital. There are nuances to what we are selling here. Are you saying we move to an all e-detailing approach like some pharma companies have done? I think I would take some convincing. Although, it would save some money, and corporate might jump on that strategy. It comes down to cost savings, which is great, but it is the revenue relative to the cost, or the net, that we are after.”
“I agree,” said Sally. “No one is saying it is either or, but it can’t be staying the course.” “Right,” said Dave. “Just listen to Sally.” “Okay,” said Ryan, “how about this? It is 3:30. Let’s stop an hour early. I will ask the two of you—Sally, Dave—and any others from the
other regions who want to join you to stay in this room and lay out a new strategy for how we approach this changing market. Here is what I think we agree on: one—there is consolidation among the buyers; two—the doctors are time-compressed; and three—we have all agreed the doctors and even purchasing agents have a lot of information at their fingertips by going online. So, tomorrow morning when we start up after our buffet breakfast, I will turn the room over to you two and whoever joins you in the next hour or so. Lay out your proposal for our new sales approach. Remember dinner and cocktail hour begins at 7:00. And, if you have other assumptions besides the three assumptions I just laid out, please specify them as you propose your new approach. See you all in a little while.”
Selling Drug-Coated Cardiac Stents in a New Health Care Environment
CASE STUDY
