Commercializing an innovation is hard, especially in healthcare. Health innovators often assume that just because an innovation solves a real problem or is technically and functionally superior to competing solutions, it will automatically result in commercial success. This is far from reality.
In fact, 95 percent of innovations brought to market fail to reach an adequate level of customer acceptance and profitability. Accenture studied nearly 900 digital health startups and found that just over half were 'zombie startups, at risk to die.'
Health innovators want--and need--to know the best strategy to adopt to increase their chances of market success. There are many things that can get in the way. What I find again and again is that innovators either confuse or interchange the processes of launch and commercialization, or they focus completely on one and ignore the other.
Based on my research and experience, launch and commercialization are different functions of the innovation process, but it's commercialization success that ultimately drives market success.
So what drives that commercialization success? The people you need to be successful with. My research indicates that success in the mainstream market depends on success with early adopters, those who try (and love) your product first. If you are not successful with them, you cannot be successful over the long term.
How Health Innovators Maximize Market Success is written for health innovators who want to discover not only how to avoid failure, but also how to adopt the key components of an early adoption commercialization strategy. By applying these insights, health innovators will not only increase their chances of success, but ensure that they are making the most of their healthcare innovations.
