Year: 2017-18

Company: Hologic Inc.

Liaison(s): Allan Harris

Hologic Inc. is a leading global healthcare and molecular diagnostics specializing in providing early detection and preventative solutions in the Breast and Skeletal Health, Diagnostic, GYN Surgical and Medical Aesthetic segments. Headquartered in Massachusetts with additional locations in the Northeast, California, and overseas, Hologic holds 13% of the molecular diagnostics (MDx) market and is the market leader in the women’s health segments of both MDx and cytology.

The MDx market is becoming increasingly competitive as customers consolidate vendors, platforms, and menus in order to improve lab efficiency and reduce cross platform training. In order to maintain and strengthen its market position, Hologic plans to consolidate its products and tests into one platform, Panther Fusion. However, this consolidation strategy is being pursued by other MDx leaders as well; as a result, product differentiation is becoming increasingly difficult and companies see a crucial need to differentiate on non-product factors rather than solely relying on product attributes.

Understanding all the factors affecting customer retention and purchasing behavior is critical to both keeping existing customers and acquiring new customers through MDx consolidation. The KGI team conducted interviews and two surveys of MDx buyers to prioritize the top product and non-product level factors that influence lab managers’ purchasing decisions, decisions that ultimately lead to retention or consolidation of vendors. Multiple statistical techniques were used to identify the relative impact of these factors on customer purchasing behavior. These findings were used to recommend sales and marketing strategies to maximize customer retention and acquisition.