The 4A model, also known as the 4A of marketing, is a framework used to evaluate and plan marketing strategies. The 4A stand for awareness, affordability, accessibility, and acceptance. The model can be applied across various industries, but in healthcare and life sciences, the factors take on unique significance due to the sensitive nature of products and the importance of patient outcomes. Tailoring marketing strategies to these specific considerations can greatly influence the success of new product launches and market expansion efforts.
The implementation of the 4A can be measured via different methods, such as, brand awareness, recall assessment, campaign tracking and engagement, etc.
Approach- 4A Funnel Framework
The framework has been designed to comprehensively gauge the engagement of the target population across four key levels by analyzing either the historical performance, competitive benchmarks, or the industry standards, thereby optimizing market penetration of product/ service. It takes into careful consideration the following aspects:
1.Awareness: This component delves into the levels of product knowledge and brand awareness within the target population
2.Affordability: The affordability dimension assesses the financial and economic feasibility for the target audience
3.Accessibility: Accessibility examines the product’s availability and the convenience it offers to potential customers
4.Acceptance: The acceptance facet encompasses both functional and psychological acceptability
Some of the use cases are:
Market creation or categorization: For a young company, it pinpoints obstacles, grasps customer expectations, establishes pricing and distribution strategies, and launches awareness campaigns when venturing into a new market, whereas for an established company seeking expansion/ categorization, it gauges product/service acceptance in new markets, evaluates affordability for various customer segments, tackles accessibility issues, and raises awareness among potential customers. Some of the examples are:
- Launch of new drug/ device: Helps healthcare companies launch new products successfully by creating awareness among healthcare professionals and patients, ensuring affordability through competitive pricing and insurance coverage, optimizing accessibility through efficient distribution, and building acceptance with real-world evidence and endorsements
- Telemedicine service launch: Help promote awareness among patients and healthcare providers regarding the convenience and benefits of telemedicine through digital marketing and healthcare network partnerships, address affordability with transparent pricing structures and reimbursement options, help prioritize accessibility with user-friendly cross-device platforms, and foster user acceptance through feedback collection, user support, and success stories to instill trust in telemedicine services
We have worked on projects that demonstrates our approach in action:
The client is an innovator of a medical device and needed help to understand the overall market, competitor landscape, pricing and go to market strategy, and related research necessary to launch the product. To achieve this, we developed 4A Funnel framework to comprehensively gauge the engagement of the target population across four key levels (awareness, affordability, accessibility, and acceptance), thereby optimizing market penetration. This approach played an instrumental role in developing a high level commercial roadmap and evaluating the product’s alignment with the client’s goals.
