Case Study

How a medical marketing company used internet strategy and online business opportunity to build a $50M business in 2 years.

Situation:

Year 2003: A medical marketing company wanted to build practice of a lap-band surgeon based in Tijuana, Mexico. The surgeon was a leading authority for this new procedure and was doing about 8 surgeries a month for $10,000 fee. The medical marketing company was to be paid $2,200 for each new surgery it brought to the doctor.

1. The medical marketing company faced the following challenges:
   • Quality perception -- Since the doctor was based in Mexico and patients were Americans, it was a challenge to convince them to travel to Mexico, where the medical quality care is perceived to be of lower quality than US.
   • Unknown procedure -- Lap-band was a new procedure. While it was a better alternative to the invasive gastric-bypass surgery, no one knew about it.
   • Scattered target audience – the medical company did not have the resource to educate broader obese population about lap-band procedure; it was decided to target people already aware of the lap-band procedure, or someone researching solution for their obesity.
   • Travel requirement -- while patients needed to travel to Mexico for this procedure, several American doctors were already performing this procedure in US in most major cities.
2. On the other hand, the company had the following advantages:
   • The fee for a similar surgery was $25,000 in US.
   • This procedure was not covered by a majority of health insurance companies in US.
   • The doctor in Tijuana was a US board certified surgeon and an expert in lap-band procedure.
   • The hospital where surgery was performed was comparable to any advanced US hospital.

GMR Solution:

1. Customer research – GMR conducted research with obese people and some of the patients cured through this procedure by the doctor. The research was conducted through several one-to-one interviews and a detailed online survey. Below are the research findings:

   Obese people findings:

   1. Suffered physically with several diseases (diabetes, cardiac, etc) because of the obesity.
   2. Suffered emotionally and felt like an outcast. Many obese people shied away from social gatherings.
   3. They felt discriminated upon because of their weight.
   4. They felt like society blamed them for their problem – they were considered to be a “slob” and were perceived to be suffering from this disease due to their behavior and lack of control over their life style.
   5. They started surfing the net to find answers once they decided to tackle their obesity problem.

   Cured people findings:

   1. Felt like they have a new life and were praised by the society for what they managed to accomplish.
   2. Experienced enhanced health – over 90% had their diabetes cured automatically after losing weight, and other benefits.
   3. Were thrilled by the doctor and hospital.
   4. The thing that touched them most about the doctor – he told them “this is not your fault” during their first meeting.

2. Business foundation: Website presence – GMR suggested a web-based solution where
   • The medical company website would become the foundation of the business. the reasons were the following:
     • The company agreed to target customers already looking for a solution for obesity rather than the general obese population of US.
     • As a result of the above decision, the prospects scattered all over the country. Internet was the best medium to find them.
     • Prospects could be interrupted, engaged, educated and contacted through call to action on the website.
   • The website will generate all leads, and the medical company sales people (called patient coordinator) will close all sales.
3. Website development: A website was developed with the following features:
   • Detailed information of the lap-band procedure with pros and cons vs. gastric by-pass surgery.
   • Detailed benefits (physical & emotional) of losing weight.
   • Credentials of the doctor who performed surgery in Mexico.
   • Pictures and details of the hospital where this surgery was performed.
   • Before/after pictures and testimonials of patients cured by the doctor.
   • Call to action to
     • Find cost – needed to fill a small form with contact information to show cost.
     • Discuss the procedure and details of the process with a US-based patient coordinator by filling a form or calling a toll free number.
     • Sign up for an informational newsletter regarding the risk of obesity and latest developments for the cure of the surgery.
   • Details of how to prepare for the surgery (including travel & boarding) and what to expect after the surgery.
4. Increase Online Presence –
   • GMR Web marketing team conducted a research of online activities related to obesity cure searches services and identified keywords used by the prospects.
   • Launched a PPC campaign for each keyword and tracked its effectiveness closely.
   • PPC budget was eventually increased to over $100K a month.
   • Managed the program.

Results:

1. The surgeon started performing over 90 surgeries a month within six months of launching the website.
2. The website generated such a huge demand that the surgeon was unable to fulfill the needs. As a result, the medical marketing company expanded its supply base by signing up several doctors and hospitals across Mexico.
3. As of the end of 2008, the medical marketing company was managing over 300 surgeries a month – annual sales of over $36M and gross profit of over $2M.

Conclusion:

Any medical doctor based anywhere in the world who performs elective procedure can benefit from a similar program.