Introduction
Spirox is a firm within the medical industry. It focuses more on the development of medical
devices that can be used in the treatment of nasal complications. Initially, the firm was referred
to as nasoform LLC. However, its transformation has made it to expand to other jurisdictions, away
from its initial headquarters in California. Quite recently, Spirox has been operating as a
subsidiary of a medical establishment referred to ad entellus. The firm has been seeking for funds
so as to ensure the expansion of markets within several jurisdictions. This has been geared towards
enabling product commercialization.
STEEPLE analysis
Steeple analysis encompasses social, technological, economic, environmental political, legal and
ethical factors (Leonidou & Katsikeas, 2010, p. 879). As a firm within the medical industry,
Spirox faces an uphill task in trying to operate, specifically due to government regulations and the
issue of patient safety.
Social factors
Nasal obstruction is a sensitive medical challenge that affects several individuals globally.
Statistics indicate that approximately 20 million people in the US suffer from nasal obstruction
(Fuller, et al., 2018, p. 176). In this regard, the development of medical devices that are geared
to towards overcoming the challenge has to be done in due consideration of the effects that it will
have on the people. Social factors entail an assortment of aspects, which include, fashion,
demographic changes as well as distribution of income. For instance, many of the people who are
affected by nasal obstructions may not be able to afford the devices, and this may force spirox to
manufacture cheaper and low quality equipment. However, the firm has decided to focus more on higher
income earners so as not to compromise on quality. At spirox, it is better to manufacture a device
that can be durable in the long term, rather than compromising, which would affect its reputation.
In this regard, the fear of challenges of recalls of products has made spirox to focus more on those
consumers who can afford the products.
In regard to the question of demographic changes, spirox continually innovates its products, so as to adhere to the different tastes of its consumers, who often make preferences to trendy devices. Due to changes in fashion as well as lifestyles, spirox has often desired to create products that come in various shades so that they can appear stylish in the eyes of users.
Technological factors
Technology continues to change, with new materials for production being created. Spirox has invested
immensely in technology, and this can be envisaged in the creation of the nasal implant, referred to
as the latera absorbable. The product was deliberately designed to offer modern patients a device
that could help them treat nasal obstruction with ease. The most common ailment of the nose, nasal
valve collapse has in this case been treated with ease as a consequence of the new discovery (Ishii,
et al., 2015, p. 3). Other technological factors include new information technology terrains, which
makes it possible for the organization to reach as many people as possible. With an increasing
number of people suffering from nasal obstruction, spirox considers an investment in information
technology as quite essential. Hence, the firm has disbursed information that can be used help
patients to get treatment to the complication without necessarily having to travel to the
headquarters. One may order the device online and follow instructions, and this can facilitate ease
of treatment.
Economic factors
Economic factors include the monetary policies that have been employed so as to guarantee the
success of the firm. Fundamentally, government regulations can influence the profitability of
spirox, and this is the reason as to why the leadership of the organization has to work towards
limiting the negative effects of such influence. Therefore, the rate of inflation has a significant
bearing to the profitability of the firm. To safeguard the firm from negative economic factors,
spirox has sought to engage various investors, whose main task is to ensure that it stays afloat.
The most strategic investors for the firm include Kravis Roberts and company, and the aperture
venture partners.
In essence, spirox has three main investors, although there existed four others that can be considered as subsidiary. From an investment perspective, spirox has raised more money through acquisitions. Such investments have enabled it to spend a substantive amount of resources within its IT sector. Its revenue can be said to be more than $1million on an annual basis. Moreover, economic factors can also include losses and earnings for the one year. For instance, a revenue of more than $4 million was generated, and this can be compared to a loss that emanated from operations, which was approximated to $9million.Even then, the firm generated an interest income of $ 9million, with net cash in relation to its operation being $10, million. It is noteworthy that spirox also invested greatly on the acquisition of equipment, and this translated into $400,000.
Environmental factors
Environmental factors entail issues dealing with regulations associated with climate change
discourse. For spirox, the issue of disposal of devices after medical procedures are over has been
quite a challenge. Devices used in the treatment of nasal congestion need to be soft, and hence
developed through plastics. Yet, plastics pose an enormous environmental risk, since they are not
biodegradable. As a consequence, the firm has been seeking to create new innovations, and this has
proved to be costly. Besides, such equipment is seldom preferred by clients. Therefore, creating an
attitudinal change has become quite problematic.
Political factors
Any innovation that is created must be perceived well by government. Government regulations can
prove to be helpful, specifically if they support startups to flourish. Fortunately, spirox
continues to enjoy goodwill from government, and this has been envisaged in the manner in which
expansions have been supported. The firm has not suffered any unfair taxation measures from
government, neither has it been denied permits of operation for political reasons. With statistics
showing the increasing number of people suffering from nasal complications, the government has been
supporting the development of more centers for spirox, in the hope that the prevalence of the
disease will reduce.
Legal factors
Legal factors as they affect spirox include the safety regulations that have been put place,
specifically in terms of avoiding contamination. Considering that spirox products are often inserted
within the body, the organization is expected to abide by certain safety regulations so as to ensure
that no patient complains of the equipment’s effect on the body. Tax policies can also be considered
as having a negative impact. Taxation regimes often make the organization to lose much of its
resources, and this affects its revenue.
Ethical factors
Spirox has an obligation to abide by a moral duty towards its patient. Some of the medical
procedures that are used have to be ethically correct, even if there exists no law that safeguards
patient safety. The moral duty allows the organization to enjoy a competitive advantage against
rivals.
Porters five forces
To sustain profitability, spirox has to abide by porter fiver forces of competition, power of
suppliers, customers, threats of new substitute and the power of new entrants.
Power of customers
Customers have the ability to influence the prices of products. For the nasal obstruction equipment,
the laws of supply and demand work strongly. However, the number of people suffering from the
complications continues to rise, an indication that the demand for the products has also increased.
As a consequence, increasing demand will evidently increase the price of the device
Power of suppliers
The number of suppliers has an effect on the availability of nasal obstruction equipment. More
equipment is available to spirox if there exist more suppliers, and vice-versa. Essentially, spirox
has the ability to regulate the prices of its products by influencing those who supply the raw
materials.
New entrants
The power of new entrants into the spirox market has been limited, due to a unique business venture.
Even with the number of patients seeking nasal treatment increasing, few people are willing to
invest into the industry. Besides, government regulations work to the advantages of spirox, to the
extent that it is virtually difficult for other firms to enter into the field.
Competition
The major competitors of spirox include SinuSys, Intersect ENT and Ststent. Some of the competitors
generate more revenue than spirox, although this can be attributed to the length of years of
operation. Firms that have been longer in the market are likely to function much better (Shvindina
& Oleksandrivna, 2015).
Threats of substitutes
Nasal obstruction devices are cumbersome, and there is fear that new medical procedures would make
such equipment to become obsolete (Schuman & A.Senior, 2018, p. 873). Therefore, Spirox’s
profitability depends on the fact that no innovations would emerge that would make the devices to
lack relevance in the market.
SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis entails strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The strength of the firm is
the durability of its devices. Currently, there exist no better treatment option for nasal
obstruction apart from the devices created by the firm. Its weaknesses can be reconciled back to the
question of lack of innovation. The firm exists in fear that a competitor will discover better ways
of treating nasal obstruction. Therefore, there exists little effort to establish research and
development so as to create better avenues to establish better treatment mechanism for nasal
ailments. The greatest opportunity that spirox is the increasing prevalence of nasal congestion
among populations. Threats of competition are valid, considering that some rivals are recording more
revenue than spirox.
Marketing objectives
The vision of spirox is to enhance the quality of life for patients who suffer from nasal
obstruction. Its mission is to continually develop as well as commercialize nasal implant systems so
as to improve the treatment of nasal airway obstruction.
Segmentation, targeting and positioning
Often abbreviated as STP, segmentation, targeting and positioning assists marketers to create
relevant communications that augers well with different customers (Schlegelmilch, 2016, p. 63).
Spirox effectively achieves the above through creating products that are relevant to different
consumer needs. Therefore, the advertisement procedures that are employed serve an essential purpose
of reaching the customers in question. In regard to segmentation, customer needs are identified
through appropriate messages. Therefore, spirox seeks to engage with customers to understand product
preference. Target segmentation is then used to evaluate the need of each customer. In terms of
positioning, the exact product is placed within the reach of the customer.
Marketing mix (the four P’s)
- Product. It entails the tangible product that meets the specific demands of the customer. For spirox, the nasal obstruction device becomes the product, and fits into the exact description of a solution that is offered to patients in need.
- Price. The manner in which a product is priced has an effect on how much it sells (Landström, 2016, p. 7). However, such a proposition does not auger well for spirox, considering that patients who have been diagnosed of nasal obstruction would find the device to be fundamental. Therefore, spirox can take advantage of such necessity to fix the price of the device, since patients will have no otherwise but to purchase it.
- Promotion. It entails the communication techniques that may be used, and includes advertisements (Camilleri, 2017, p. 71). Spirox is required to make advertisements so as to maintain competitive advantage. Through promotion, patients would make preference to its products rather than those of competitors.
- Place. Place entails how the product will be distributed to reach customers in various destinations (Andaleeb, 2016, p. 179). Apart from physical locations in centers, placement for spirox guarantees that consumers can access the devices through an online platform and make their orders. This avoids preference to competitor products as a last resort.
Conclusion and recommendations
Spirox is a new firm that has just emerged in the medical field, and has encountered other players.
From the analysis, it is evident that the firm enjoys goodwill, and this can be envisaged in the
high prevalence of nasal obstruction complications. To survive within the highly competitive market,
Spirox will need to develop new strategies of innovation, such that it can increase more research
and development(R&D). As a new player, the firm has fresh employees, who can overcome resistance
and change the attitude of many patients who continue to suffer silently from nasal obstructions. It
is therefore recommended that the firm creates products segmentation so as to reach out to as many
consumers as possible, and this will reduce the tendency of those with low social economic status
from making preference to cheaper and counterfeit equipment.
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