A manufacturer goes through a full cycle of doing market research for a new product, the R&D to build a prototype, an MVP for the market before getting a full-fledged product out for the customers. However, the greatest challenge that the manufacturer has, is to find customers willing to pay for the product. This is when the gruelling cycles of marketing and sales begin.

Typically, what every manufacturer wants is this –

  1. Improve his reach to potential customers
  2. Convey lucidly the differentiators of the product – how it is better than the competition
  3. Create a brand out of the product
  4. Ensure a continuous connect with the customer
  5. Generate quality leads that can be converted into tangible orders.

Is this any different in the case of medical device manufacturers? As a matter of fact, it could be more challenging and more intense given the intellectual and finicky end user that they have and the fact that all these products deal with human life in some way or the other. Experience has shown that the one mechanism that the surgeon fraternity responds to is “education”. Continuous medical education or CME as it is popularly known is not just a statutory requirement for the surgeons to maintain their credit scores but it is the only way and means through which they can stay current in a profession that expects them to always deliver immaculately. For this to happen, every surgeon is always looking for ways and means to

  • Understand every relevant surgical procedure
  • Understand the use of instruments in surgical procedures
  • Learn about new procedures
  • Update knowledge on new instruments

A medical device manufacturer is perfectly equipped to address all these requirements. They have a strong relationship with KOL’s and influencers of the field who can conduct a CME on their behalf. Typically, the medical device manufacturer conducts CME’s with experts from different specialities or different geographies. For a manufacturer with a wide portfolio of products, this would mean that they would have to conduct hundreds of CME’s with different KOL’s and for different geographies. This implies the need for a massive budget given the cost of the KOL, the venue which is typically a 5-star hotel, accommodation, food, travel and much more. How many potential customers can be served this way – typically around 50 to 100. Someone with deeper pockets will probably accommodate 200.

However, these traditional CME’s are an expensive option and hence it is difficult for any manufacturer to keep on sponsoring them in numbers and expect to reach a large potential customer base. Instead, eCME’s (online CME’s) have a TCO that is not just reasonable and affordable but it also guarantees a bigger reach as compared to the traditional CME’s. To add to this, if the eCME platform offers ways and means to generate quality leads then it would be the icing on the cake as it would address all the 5 needs of the manufacturer.

Meditorch Technologies has developed an excellent technology platform that has been used effectively by leading medical device manufacturers and there are many more who are seeing value in doing their CME’s. The platform comes with patent-pending technology and has features that have been developed after interacting with thousands of surgeons and dozens of senior executives from the medical device industry.

In the next part of this blog, we will look at how medical device manufacturers can conduct an eCME with maximum ROI using the Meditorch surgery training and mentoring platform.