Are You Hearing All The Right Voices?

Greetings, MedTech Strategists.

Yikes! It’s been a rough month. Earnings warnings from hospital systems, major growth strategy and product development projects cancelled, layoffs and reorganizations. Is it time to panic? Or dig in and ensure your next growth strategy is iron-clad and ready to withstand increased scrutiny?

I’m biased, of course, but I vote dig in. There are so many patients who still need the MedTech innovations you are killing yourself to develop. One client told me last week he thinks the biggest danger to MedTech right now is patients are spending all their extra money on GLPs and not able to afford anything else. What do you think? Take our 3-question anonymous straw poll.

My secret weapon when things get rough is to be even more strategic about what I’m doing. One lens I rely on to ensure I’m helping you unlock the right actionable insights at the right time is to be laser-focused on who’s essential.

In MedTech, as you know, “Voice of Customer” is often treated as the gold standard. And it is important. But which customers? Surgeons? Users? Referrers? Patients? What about these other voices? The reality is this: No single voice can justify a strategy or secure investment – especially when scrutiny is this intense. That’s why we use our “Voices” framework to guide strategy and marketing teams to get the most crucial input before making high-stakes decisions.

The voices we consider:

• Voice of Business – What does success look like internally?
• Voice of Customer – What do users and buyers actually need?
• Voice of Competition – What expectations already exist?
• Voice of Technology – What is feasible and scalable?
• Voice of Value – How will this deliver measurable health economic impact?
• Voice of Regulatory – What claims can you support—and how?

Individually, each voice provides useful insight. Together, they create clarity. When these perspectives are integrated early, teams are able to reduce investment risk and move forward with greater confidence. Most teams don’t need more data—they need a clearer view of where their blind spots are. And once you see those clearly, you can start making much better decisions.

Curious how this shows up in your world? Sign up to get the Voices framework. Then, tell me: Which of the six voices feels least clear for your team right now?

– JoAnna