eCommerce Competitive Analysis - Pinnacle Medical Solutions

Background on Pinnacle

Pinnacle Medical Solutions is a small company based in Southaven, Mississippi that was established in 2006 to provide home delivery of medical supplies for people with diabetes. With a team of twelve employees, Pinnacle's solution centered model recognizes that patients, healthcare providers, managed care organizations and product manufacturers are looking to partner with medical supply companies that offer innovative and integrated solutions to the shared challenges faced in responding to the accelerating diabetes epidemic in the United States.

The Pinnacle Medical Solutions Brief

Pinnacle Medical Solutions was looking for help in enhancing the experience and brand awareness for three main audiences:

1. Doctors who refer patients
2. Manufacturers of insulin pumps who refer patients
3. Patients, the customer

Pinnacle was particularly interested in making functional revisions to their website, as well as the sales materials they leave at the doctor's office. Their surest measure of success would be an increase in sales, especially through referrals from doctors and suppliers. An increase in web traffic would be optimal, but not a direct measure of success.

To better understand the business of insulin pump and supply distribution I met with Pinnacle to discuss their business model. The company owes a good deal of its success to having good customer service. Pinnacle has five phone representatives, each with an average of five years of experience. They call customers to remind them when it's nearing time to reorder supplies. They also take care of filling out much of the paperwork associated with insurance coverage of insulin pumps, this is a great benefit for Pinnacle's customers and advantage they hold over some of their competition.

The Research Process

I spent a couple weeks making phone calls to diabetes advocacy organizations and endocrinologist's offices. An online survey was also created and circulated on social media. In the survey I asked how the patients had previously purchased diabetes related supplies. I asked them to specify if it was via phone or online ordering, and we asked for them to elaborate why.

Five of the survey respondents agreed to phone interviews, with these interviews we attempted to gain more insight on how people with diabetes order their supplies. I found that a the majority of the respondents with insulin pumps do order their supplies online.

I also posted Pinnacle's website on Usertesting.com for heuristic evaluation. I got feedback that the site looks "generic" and "like a business-to-business" site. The site doesn't include prices for the products it sells because the price is dependent on the insurance coverage of the individual, this absence of pricing suggested to some that site wasn't intended for customers. The absence of pictures of patients further reinforced this notion.

While looking at ten of Pinnacle's competitors, I noticed that nine of them had websites that permitted reordering and bill payment. Pinnacle's site has a "Pay My Bill" button, as well as a "Place an Insulin Pump Supply Order" button, but at present these buttons are only used to alert the sales reps to call the customer. It's probably worth noting that diabetic insulin pumps cost up to five thousand dollars, for this reason the sales reps are required to ask the customer for their current home address every time an order is placed to avoid the costly mistake of sending products to the wrong address.

While doing competitive feature analysis I noticed that eight out of ten distributors had written content about diabetes management on their sites. Pinnacle has several articles on their site, but they are several years old and run the risk of being perceived as out of date. Several of the people surveyed indicated that the color scheme on the site seemed dated and unappealing.

The Patient Referral Journey

I took a closer look at how Pinnacle receives referrals from physicians and discovered two broad referral pathways. One is to distributors such as Pinnacle and the other is directly to the manufacturers of the devices that Pinnacle sells.

Most pump manufacturers view the sales that Pinnacle brings in as a good thing. Some manufacturers do not have an internal sales department to process orders, so they will refer the patient to Pinnacle. While this is beneficial, it is a very roundabout way of getting an order.

Pinnacle can't rely solely on the good graces of manufacturers to generate leads, so it is to the company's benefit to explore new ways to get referrals from physicians, or better still, to get word-of-mouth referrals from existing customers.

In the past Pinnacle sent printed sales materials to the doctors' offices to build brand awareness, however there is no way to certify that doctors will actually display the information without making a visit to verify. The print pieces also do little to explain how Pinnacle is better than their competition.

Patient Advantages & Disadvantages

Patient → Pinnacle Advantages

• Flexibility of product offerings
• Pinnacle handles paperwork
• Long-standing employees
• Strong customer service

Patient → Pinnacle Disadvantages

• Patients unaware of benefits with Pinnacle
• No email, so they must rely on phone calls
• No insurance, patient can't afford product
• With insurance, patient can't afford product
• Patient is difficult to reach via phone
• Patient prefers online communication
• Patient has never heard of Pinnacle
• Out-of-network patients

Physicians Advantages & Disadvantages

Physicians → Pinnacle Advantages

• Pinnacle sends educator to physician
• Educator demonstrates product features
• Educator informs patients of options
• Physicians become familiar with products
• Pinnacle sends rep to physician's office
• Pinnacle ships sales aids to physicians
• Physicians provide sales aids to patients
• Physicians place sales aids in office

Physicians → Pinnacle Disadvantages

• Registered nurses as educators are costly
• Registered nurses not always effective at sales
• Some manufacturers have their own sales reps
• No way of confirming effectiveness of sales aids
• Physicians may not display sales aids

Manufacturer Advantages & Disadvantages

Manufacturer → Pinnacle Advantages

• Steer customers to products with best margins
• Referral from manufacturer is good for Pinnacle
• Pinnacle handles insurance and all paperwork
• Pinnacle not pressured to sell certain brands
• Pinnacle offers the best products
• Pinnacle doesn't hold inventory
• Pinnacle is brand agnostic

Manufacturer → Pinnacle Disadvantages

• Some manufacturers distribute themselves
• Manufacturers have more options

Competitor Advantages & Disadvantages

Competitor → Pinnacle Advantages

• Pinnacle phones customers for reordering
• Strong customer relations and interactions
• Pinnacle handles insurance and paperwork
• Pinnacle has low employee turnover

Competitor → Pinnacle Disadvantages

• National competitors have contracts with major commercial insurance companies in multiple states which allows them to serve more customers
• Competitors have user accounts which permits users to view their order history, reorder and pay their bills
• Some competitors have stronger online presence
• Some competitors have clearer communication
• Some competitors are using content marketing
• Some competitors have automated reordering

The Problem Statement

Patients, doctors and manufacturers are unaware of the benefits of choosing Pinnacle, which is hindering an increase in sales.

The Design Direction

The solution should increase Pinnacle’s presence in the market and promote their personal approach to customer service.

The Ideation Process

I asked nine UX students to help out with ideas and employed the 6-8-5 ideation method to generate ideas and the students were instructed to ideate using minimum viable product criteria. That is, which products will provide the best return on investment.

I culled through the ideas to find which would provide solutions to the broadest base of users possible. Most of the solutions required some redesign of the website, as well as a some tweaks to the existing form of printed sales materials. The idea to sponsor events was one of the most unique and approachable concepts to originate from the sessions.

Voice & Tone Introduction

Although Pinnacle already has a well-established voice in phone sales, their voice in the online space needs some refinement. The idea that Pinnacle is there for the patient isn't coming across on their web page or their printed materials. If Pinnacle is going to begin sponsoring events they'll also need to establish a voice on social media. Below you'll see voice and tone for different media.

Basic Voice & Tone

Voice: Pinnacle's voice is human, familiar and assuring. Our goal is to explain the products we sell and help our patients find the right solution. We educate our patients without confusing them.

Example: "We're here to help"

Tone: Personable, Knowledgeable and Respectable.

Example: "We are a loyal team with a passion for serving patients. We will help you get exactly what you need to manage your diabetes."

Print Voice & Tone

Print Scenario: A newly diagnosed diabetic patient is given Pinnacle's print materials at the doctor's office.

Patient Quote: "I need an insulin pump, but I don't know anything about them."

Patient Feelings:

• Apprehension
• Confusion
• Uncertainty

Response Tips:

• Encouraging
• Assuring
• Sincere

Pinnacle's Response: "It's going to be alright, we're here to help you select the best product for you."

Website Voice & Tone

Website Scenario: A newly diagnosed patient visits the website for the first time.

Patient Quote: "What is Pinnacle Medical Solutions and how can they help me?"

Patient Feelings:

• Curious
• Ambivalent
• Skeptical

Response Tips:

• Transparent
• Convincing
• Informative

Pinnacle's Response: "Our team has expert knowledge of diabetes management and we can ensure that we'll find the right product for you."

Event Voice & Tone

Event Scenario: Pinnacle sponsors a diabetes advocacy event.

Patient Quote: "I'm interested in attending this event, but I'm not sure about it and I don't know anyone else that is going."

Patient Feelings:

• Anxious
• Doubtful
• Vulnerable

Response Tips:

• Enthusiastic
• Invitational
• Warm

Pinnacle's Response: "Come out and meet other people who are learning to live with diabetes."

Reordering Voice & Tone

Reorder Scenario: An existing patient of Pinnacle in the reorder process.

Patient Quote: "I need to get this done without any hassle."

Patient Feelings:

• Confused
• Impatient
• Annoyed
• Stressed

Response Tips:

• Accomodating
• Responsive
• Assuring

Pinnacle's Response: "Of course, we're taking care of it now... You're all set, we'll call you next month."

New Style Tiles

Heuristic testing of the existing site revealed that some people came away with the impression that it is geared towards business-to-business clients. Bringing more personality to Pinnacle's website is the first order of business. It seemed that the best way to inject some personality is to show people on the site. I used a stock image search using the keyword "personable" and set the search parameters to show image results with two or more people in the image. I wanted the design to be easy to comprehend, so the color scheme is a straight progression of sky blue. Because sight loss is a common side effect of diabetes I selected the Google font called Montserrat for its legibility and simplicity. The logo has been redesigned to feel more stable and grounded. A simple icon style is established to explain Pinnacle's process. A accent color of red-violet is the fill color of a button that reads LET'S TALK, picking up the plain-spoken voice and tone established in the last section.

Landing Page – Redesigned

The new landing page has a large, personable hero image (or images) depicting people sharing a moment of connection. The first headline reflects Pinnacle's new voice and tone, WE'RE HERE TO HELP. Below the headline is the LET'S TALK button, which opens a short form.

Short Form & About Page Redesign

The page is shaded and a short form appears in the upper-left of the screen, directly below the logo, this form will persist throughout the site. The form only asks for first name, last name, phone number and email address. It is kept perceptibly brief so that patients don't get the impression that enrollment is a chore. The about page includes messaging about Pinnacle's sales staff, including professional quality portraits and a short bio.

Product Comparison & Product Pages

One of Pinnacle's biggest advantages is that they're product agnostic, they want to help you find the best product for you. The product comparison page will include a table of products with a checklist of features, this will permit the patients to learn more about the products while reinforcing the idea that Pinnacle is here to help. The product page includes a scrollable screen with thumbnails and short product descriptions. If the user has a question, they may click the "Do you have a Question" button, which opens to reveal a small chat window.

The Previous Print Materials

Some of the feedback I got about the existing print materials is that the colors look dated and harsh. The choice to run blue text over a blue gradient background was probably not the best choice if the goal is legibility.

Print Materials - Redesign

There will be a picture of a phone sales associate in the lower-right corner of the redesigned print piece. This reinforces the idea that Pinnacle is personable. The products and services Pinnacle offers are arranged in neat legible rows and the background is light. On the other side of the card is a product comparison chart, similar to the one on the website.

Going Forward

1. The above redesign needs to be tested to insure that it is accomplishing its goal of presenting Pinnacle in a more friendly light. Usability testing on a live prototype will generate more feedback and that information should be carefully weighed. The print piece should be tested on people, especially on people who are diabetic.
2. Pinnacle needs more content on their site. It's not enough to sell products, they also have to reach out through social media. One idea that might have merit is blog content from a registered dietitian and chef. Regular postings of recipes could bring more traffic to the site.
3. The idea to include branded incentives was one of the most straight-forward concepts from the brainstorming sessions. A coffee mug seemed like a good idea. There was also an idea to create a desk calendar with stickers to remind the patient to reorder their supplies. These items can build better brand awareness.
4. Sponsoring an event with a diabetes advocacy organization is another great idea. We considered 5K walks, as well as co-sponsoring existing meetup groups. The branded incentives can be given away at the events. Generating word-of-mouth association with the brand is in keeping with the new design statement and will make Pinnacle seem more personable.