Product Co-Creation, Adoption Strategies & The Power of Engaging With Patient Leaders w/David Goldsmith

Thousands of apps, devices, and wearables are brought to market with good intentions of solving real problems, but they just don’t get any adoption. Part of the problem is a disconnect between the innovation and the patient’s needs. What are patient leaders, and why is it so important for innovators to engage with them? How can involving a patient in the co-creation process help uncover hidden insights? What are some of the problems that can arise in these engagements? On this episode chief strategy officer of WegoHealth, David Goldsmith, and I dig into why product co-creation is so critical in order to successfully bring an innovation to market.   3 Things We Learned   How patient leaders benefit your marketing Working with the patients helps get the word out about your product to other patients. The information will have a far greater impact with other patients coming from them than if that same message is being delivered by the company creating the innovation.   How to get the most valuable contribution from patient leaders When it comes to patient leaders, most innovators don’t know where to find the right people to put into the room. They struggle to know who to draw in and what their contribution will be. Start with something along the lines of a patient advisory board. By creating a board that includes the very same people you want to reach, you boost the commercialization potential of your innovation.     What can go wrong with patient leader engagements The one thing that many companies get wrong is engaging with patient leaders and then choosing to ignore or dismiss what was put forth. You could get backlash, and this might really affect your reputation in the market.   The landscape of failed products and solutions targeting patients in healthcare is vast and highly documented. For a lot of innovators, the first mistake they make is in what they fail to do, and that’s bringing in the right voices and influencers from the market they are trying to serve. A lot of things get overlooked when you don’t involve the right stakeholders in your commercialization process. By choosing to co-create with the people your innovation is going to serve, you increase your chances of success significantly.   Guest Bio- David is the Chief Strategy Officer at WEGO Health. WegoHealth is the world’s largest network of patient leaders to help health innovators access patient experiences and expertise in the designs, development, and promotion of products and services. Connect with him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsgoldsmith/.