ABBOTT DIABETES CARE: OPTICOM AS A STRATEGIC PARTNER
Fierce competition between suppliers characterises the market for blood glucose meters with the additional challenge that this market is strictly regulated by public procurement. All blood glucose meter suppliers are fully dependent on getting their meters on tender in as many counties as possible. A customer can only obtain disposables (test strips) for a meter that is currently on tender and which meters are selected and available to customers is under constant change. Creating loyal customers under those conditions is quite a challenge. Abbott Diabetes Care has selected Opticom as a strategic partner in its strive for success.
Abbott Diabetes Care is a global leader in manufacturing diabetes blood glucose monitors and glucose meters, which has been conducting scientific research in the therapeutic area of diabetes since 1981. In Sweden, Abbott Diabetes Care has reached market leadership as a result of a fruitful collaboration with Opticom.
“The main reason for us to work with Opticom is that we’ve been very pleased with everything they have delivered to us. I enjoy working with them as they always have a ‘can-do-attitude’ which I find very refreshing.”
Abbott Diabetes Care works with a number of direct-to-consumer marketing initiatives as well as with more strategic projects. For many of these activities – including end-user coaching as well as segmentation studies but also for strategic projects such as FutureLab® – Abbott Diabetes Care has selected Opticom as its preferred partner. Anna Levander, Commercial Director North Europe, Abbott Diabetes Care has been in charge of these projects and she is enthusiastic about her supplier: “The main reason for us to work with Opticom is that we’ve been very pleased with everything they have delivered to us. I enjoy working with them as they always have a ‘can-do-attitude’ which I find very refreshing.”
The aim of the projects has been for Abbott Diabetes Care to keep a direct dialogue with its customers to maintain a stable relationship while at the same time minimising churn. An up-to-date CRM system is a prerequisite to be able to choose preferred channels for direct-to-consumer actions, to sort out relevant customers and to retain customers by actually knowing them and their preferences. In order to achieve this, Opticom has carried out a number of outbound calling campaigns in Sweden, Norway and Denmark on behalf of Abbott Diabetes Care during several consecutive years.
“I would describe Opticom as more of a strategy consultant than a market research company. They are very good, as opposed to the average market research companies, at bringing their analysis to conclusion which makes Opticom more of a strategy consultancy firm with the ability to perform market research.”
To complement these more quantitative campaigns, and gain more strategic qualitative insight, Abbott Diabetes Care has chosen to work with FutureLab® Deminars. A FutureLab® Deminar is a round table discussion where a demonstration of a product, or other selected material, is the starting point for the discourse. A mixed target group – in this case diabetes patients, nurses, public purchasers, doctors and representatives from a diabetic patient organisation – were gathered to discuss features of new Abbott products and the accompanying product presentation materials. This provided Abbott Diabetes Care with valuable information prior to the product launch. “I would describe Opticom as more of a strategy consultant than a market research company. They are very good, as opposed to the average market research companies, at bringing their analysis to conclusion which makes Opticom more of a strategy consultancy firm with the ability to perform market research.” Anna Levander concludes.