Economic slowdown...says who?

Some analysts predict a recession others do not, whatever it is called we are experiencing a slowdown and that is a fact.

One thing though is certain, recession or not, the healthcare sector remains one area that people will need to keep spending money on.

For your company to ride the storm you will need to work smarter. Going international is one way of doing so. Please see below an extract from an article:"Recession-Proof Jobs in 2008" by Larry Buhl, for Yahoo! HotJobs. http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-recession_proof_jobs_in_2008-296

"...The Bright Spots

John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, told Yahoo! HotJobs that careers in the following fields may offer a good chance of weathering a storm this year.

* Health care. Almost half the 30 fastest growing occupations are concentrated in health services -- including medical assistants, physical therapists, physician assistants, home health aides, and medical records and health information technicians -- according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

* International business. "If you have a strong knowledge of other cultures, and an ability to work in another country, you'll find plenty of opportunities," according to John Challenger. "If you're first generation Chinese, with business skills and Chinese language skills, you're in good shape..."

So medical device companies have nothing to complain about. Just work smarter and keep looking at the great opportunities that still exist out there . Need a hint: This is the time to devise or review your Export strategy!!

Do your homework first...

In reference to: "Riding the Export Wave - How to find good distributors overseas" by Sara Goldstein, Inc., January 2008
www.inc.com/magazine/20080101/riding-the-export-wave

Reply to the above mentioned Inc. Magazine article:

Although I agree with the Ms. Goldstein that export is the way to go I would go even further and say that export is always good, not just when the dollar plunges in value.

Some of the advantages of always focusing on export are: 1) it provides a new lifeline for your existing products, 2) it helps spread your bets, especially during economic slowdown, 3) it helps spread your fixed costs, 4) you may learn some useful ideas from foreign markets that you could adapt to your domestic market, 5) it helps fend off domestic and foreign competition. (For more information, please check the following blog: http://www.mdtinternational.blogspot.com/)

However, the one point that I disagree with Ms. Goldstein on is that working with a distributor may not be your best bet.

First and foremost, you need to do your own homework and find out for yourself what each targeted market is all about.

Relying on others to get an idea of the potential, challenges and ways to market your product means that you are giving up control of your destiny in that particular market. After all, how are you going to judge whether your distributor is doing a good job, giving you the right advice and/or focusing on your product line?

What I suggest instead is that you perform first and foremost an independent market research to gauge the market potential, the competition, the regulatory approvals as well as the best ways to market - as it can be via an Agent, Licensing, OEM or a distributor. Not just via a distributor.

The value of Strategic Planning

How do you know whether your sales and profits are the best you can get in any particular market? Are you selling to the right customers, are you selling the right product mix, are you using the best distribution channels?

These are all questions that will be best answered if you have taken the time to plan your strategy, ahead of time, and have a solid road map to refer to.

Some of the major points that need to be addressed, in the medical device industry, are:

Market Survey
What do you know about the country/market that you are focusing on? Who is your competition? What is preventing you from selling more/better?

Market Intelligence
How is the market evolving? What are the new trends/requirements?

Objectives
What are you aiming for? What is it that you want to achieve?

Manpower
Do you have the right people in place? Are your partners/distributors on the same wavelength?

Regulatory
What are the regulatory requirements? How are you addressing them?

Going to market
Is it best to sell via agents, distributors, direct, licensing, OEM or any combination of these?

Clinical trials
Do you have credible data you can use, to prove the efficacy of your product/therapy?

Key Opinion Leaders
Who is backing you in each market and giving you their blessing and support?

Reimbursement
All the hard work would be futile if your product is not reimbursed in some countries, especially in socialized healthcare Europe. Do you have the right contacts and a solid file proving cost benefits for your product?

Remember that our environment is constantly changing and is different from market to market. In order to keep up with what our customers' needs are, we need to initially well define what it is we are in business for, how to please our customers and make sure that we keep monitoring our main target's and market's evolving needs, laws and requirements.

Why you should always think about Export

Export is beneficial:

• it helps spread your bets, especially during economic slowdown
• it provides a new lifeline for your existing products
• it could provide faster revenues - you could sell your new products internationally first, while waiting for FDA approvals
• it helps fend off the impact of both domestic and foreign competition
• it helps spread your fixed costs
  
• when the exchange rate ($) v/s foreign currencies is favorable - as in now! (2008)
• when you have identified a need in a certain foreign market - you actually need to be actively seeking for new horizons
• when you can create a need in a foreign market for your product - make sure to adapt your products to the local needs and requirements
• when your home market gets saturated - ideally, you would have thought about export way before then
  
• when you want to learn from outside the borders - you could adapt foreign ideas to your domestic market
• when it can be beneficial for your domestic launch - may very well support your FDA trials

What are you then waiting for? - Start working on your strategic export plan, today!!!