As Valeant Pharmaceuticals executive vice president, Dr. Ari Kellen helps lead the firm’s U.S. Bausch + Lomb, U.S. Dermatology, and Latin America segments. Dr. Ari Kellen has an extensive background in medical industry consulting and coauthored the December 2012 McKinsey Quarterly article “Battle-test Your Innovation Strategy.”
In this article a situation is described in which a corporate team has undertaken extensive market and consumer research in bringing a promising new product or service to fruition. Unfortunately, despite in-depth financial modeling and a well-defined marketing plan, real world results are subpar.
The reasons for such disappointing outcomes typically have to do with failing to accurately map out the competitive landscape, in particular the actions and motivations of rival companies. Competitors often take steps that are not obvious, yet can have an major impact on sales. These include price discounting and setting up exclusive distribution deals that make it difficult for competitors to get shelf space. They may also mimic or duplicate the new service in ways that leave consumers without a clear incentive to choose one version over the other. In countering this, it is critical to overcome biases that prevent the competitive landscape from being fully explored and to integrate “war games” into the internal development process.
In this article a situation is described in which a corporate team has undertaken extensive market and consumer research in bringing a promising new product or service to fruition. Unfortunately, despite in-depth financial modeling and a well-defined marketing plan, real world results are subpar.
The reasons for such disappointing outcomes typically have to do with failing to accurately map out the competitive landscape, in particular the actions and motivations of rival companies. Competitors often take steps that are not obvious, yet can have an major impact on sales. These include price discounting and setting up exclusive distribution deals that make it difficult for competitors to get shelf space. They may also mimic or duplicate the new service in ways that leave consumers without a clear incentive to choose one version over the other. In countering this, it is critical to overcome biases that prevent the competitive landscape from being fully explored and to integrate “war games” into the internal development process.
