Globalization of Medical Device Companies, International Marketing Strategy for Expanding in European Markets

Abstract

This paper presents a marketing plan for GloboMed, a US medical device company wishing to expand its market share in Europe in the neurosurgical, spinal surgical, and ENT (ear, nose, and throat) surgical instrument markets. GloboMed currently has a 5% market share, and would like to increase its share to 10% over the course of two years. This plan addresses this market expansion while taking into consideration the economic health and competitive landscape of Europe. This paper begins with a literature review focused around the topics of the globalization of US multinational firms, international marketing strategy, and medical device marketing. The literature review reveals several implications for GloboMed, which are discussed in the connection section. The existing research proclaims that it is in fact very profitable for medical device companies to pursue international markets and that specific macro and micro environmental factors are pertinent to understand prior to international expansion. Furthermore, the literature reveals that service is an excellent area for medical devices companies to achieve differentiation, that medical education is an effective way to promote a company's brand name and products, and that internal strengths can lead to superior price offerings. A strategic marketing plan follows, taking into consideration the implications of the literature review. First, the macro and micro environmental factors affecting GloboMed are analyzed, and a SWOT analysis for GloboMed is presented. The marketing objective of GloboMed is to increase its market share from 5% to 10% in the EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) NSE (neurosurgical, spinal surgical, and ENT surgical) markets. The strategies that will be utilized to achieve this objective are to develop an alternative pricing structure, increase the customer service offering, increase the sales force size, and develop medical education programs. The plan spans two years and will be evaluated at the end of each of the first two years. Large increases in market share are not expected until year two due to the lengthy process of international expansion. The success of the plan will be determined by the amount of market share that has been gained throughout the span of the plan.