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Competition

Can Independents Smooth Their Relationship with Medical OEMs?

No one likes competition. After all, why work harder than you have to. For years, Medical Device Original Equipment Manufacturers (MDOEMs) reaped the rewards of a high cost of entry into the business of supporting and servicing medical devices at hospitals and homes. Eventually, success attracted competition. Medical Device Independent Service Organizations (MDISOs) sprung up across North America to take advantage of the opportunities.

Competitive Service Pricing Research: Where’s the Value?

At a recent industry reception, while a group of us were talking, the conversation somehow meandered to competitive service pricing. Someone asked: “Can you get good competitive research on service pricing?” “Sure,” I replied, “but it won’t be of much value to you anyway and you can probably find a better use for your money.”

Len Berry on Service Competition

A conversation about the key drivers of service business success and why competitive intelligence is not one of them. In the early nineties, I remember reading Professor Berry’s book, Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality, which he co-authored with A. Parasurman. Many models and quotes from that book came in handy when I needed to back up my proposals to management. So I was quite delighted to get the opportunity to speak with Dr. Berry about issues on the minds of practitioners these days. ServicesRevenue: I noticed you don’t talk very much about the role of competition in your most recent book, Discovering the Soul of Service. Yet many service marketers struggle with gathering and using competitive information.

Price Pressure? Remain Calm

Most everyone with whom I speak these days seems to be getting extreme pressure on their service prices. This is particularly intense from product marketers and sellers who believe that service prices are affecting product sales. Let’s address this issue and then make some recommendations on how to handle pressure.

How Do You Protect Value against Price Pressure? Doug Morse's Perspective

This perspective addresses a challenge presented in a ServicesRevenue business case listed under Relevant Links Hans Beyer is in a very tough spot. He ought to know that you don’t set the price, the customer does. What you set is the value. It appears that he has not done a good job establishing the value of his services prior to these meetings. Hans Beyer is in a very tough spot. He ought to know that you don’t set the price, the customer does. What you set is the value. It appears that he has not done a good job establishing the value of his services prior to these meetings.
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