Strategic marketing approaches for the diffusion of innovation in highly regulated industrial markets: the value of market access

Purpose In industrial markets, different players concur to diffuse the new products and services. However, in high-regulated industries, firms might find substantial limitations to their usual strategies. This paper aims to analyze the strategic marketing approaches adopted by firms to overcome these limitations. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a case study approach to explore the strategies adopted by two multinational health-care companies to promote their new products in the Italian health-care market. Findings The two firms adopted three specific strategic marketing approaches: educational activities for all the different players of the market with the involvement of highly reputed partners (e.g. opinion makers, scientific societies and patients’ associations); simulation of the innovation’s impact on the entire system realized; and creation of an ad hoc organizational unit, called market access unit, to deal with the specific issues of this highly regulated market. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature on marketing strategies aimed at promoting the diffusion of new products in highly regulated industrial markets by illustrating the strategic approaches that innovative firms can adopt to both achieve regulatory compliance and promote the diffusion of their new products.