Interview – Cindy Humphrey, Cochlear - Medical Device Commercial Leaders Forum USA 2014
Leading up to NextLevel Pharma’s Medical Device Commercial Leaders Forum, we are conducting email interviews with selected members of our prestigious speaker panel to learn more about their thoughts on this vital issue.
*Opinions below are those only of the individual and do not reflect upon corporate strategy or positioning. For more information regarding NextLevel Pharma’s Medical Device Commercial Leaders Forum click here.
Cindy Humphrey, VP Marketing, Cochlear Americas
NLP: What do you think makes the North American market so unique for commercial success for medical devices?
Cindy Humphrey: The healthcare landscape in North America is truly unique in that consumers themselves are responsible for their own health and well-being. This is only exacerbated by the fact that the health coverage climate is changing (with high deductible plans, etc.), leading them to want to better understand how their approach to healthcare impacts them financially. Furthermore, since they are becoming more accountable for their own healthcare choices (and because DTC marketing is permitted in North America), we have the opportunity to reach consumers directly, and early in the journey, with information about medical devices and the benefits they provide.
What’s the best thing for you about working in medical devices in North America?
Cindy Humphrey: Working as healthcare marketers in North America means that we have the opportunity to provide value directly to consumers early in the journey. There are so many places where a marketer can assist a consumer and help drive them to act in different ways – research online, attend an event/seminar, request additional information, find a provider. Each of these calls to action allows a marketer to test different vehicles for effectiveness. Unless we can demonstrate results, there is not much use in having the marketing role. I want to be in a place where marketing can prove its effectiveness to the sales team, and eventually show that consumers are finding our information and then taking the appropriate action.
NLP: Why is this Medical Device Commercial Leaders Forum event a good idea for people to attend in your eyes?
Cindy Humphrey: The opportunity for open discussion and learning sessions between leaders in our industry is key to helping make our individual organizations better. We are testing new activities and programs all the time, and have undoubtedly encountered similar challenges and opportunities along the way. We can learn a lot from each other about what went well versus what didn’t, and how we can refine our individual approaches going forward.