Companies are ready to turn the page to the new year. When we meet, I can hear it in their voices and see it on the faces of colleagues, clients and prospective clients.
They are excited about finally scheduling meetings with marque health organizations and/or investors to share their business story. These are very important meetings that will impact their business traction in early 2026.
Following our discussion, I take a look at their website or review their latest sales and investor presentations. I notice it immediately. They are not ready.
Their story is missing key pieces. It does not include the latest market and their own company intelligence to address enhanced business models, shifts in the competitive landscape, potential partnerships or use cases leveraging data and AI as a differentiator.
When I ask for additional information, clients send me the valuable missing pieces which are buried in their follow- up customer emails, recent conference presentations and notes from meetings with customers, prospects and investors. A recent client gave me access to a folder with over 20 documents for me to find and connect the insights dots. Unfortunately, there were still missing pieces which were not captured and/or translated to address the latest market changes.
Regardless of the company stage or market focus, I have noticed 3 common problems with their business strategy stories.
1. Inside - Out vs Outside- In. Health technology companies tend to briefly mention the problem followed by many details about their technology capabilities. They spend more time talking their technology than the needs of the market. They miss the opportunity to drill into the problem to communicate the patient and provider experience before their solution. They describe their capabilities without mapping these capabilities to specific stakeholder pain points. I work with these companies to capture and spotlight the voice of customer insights to strengthen the “problem” part of the story and to share how their value proposition addresses of needs of key stakeholders (e.g. business, clinical and operational) to generate new business.
2. Same Story. Different Target Markets. Several health tech companies have built solutions which meet the needs of multiple markets. The problem is when this value proposition description is the same for these markets. My client initially had the one story for two markets. As I evaluated these markets, I noticed each had their own vocabulary, needs/pain points, use cases, competitive solutions and success measures. Working closely to combine my external market intelligence with their internal business intelligence, I defined separate messaging personalized to the needs, solution and in the language of each market.
3. Business Evolved. Story Stayed the Same. These health tech companies tend to be so focused on what they need today that their website, sales and investor pitches do not include their latest story. After seeing a company pitch at a recent Accelerator, I approached the founders and asked a few questions about their target healthcare segments. After listening to their responses, I explained that what they are communicating to the market is missing key pieces of their story. Preparing for our project together, the company gathered key internal documents (e.g. plans, emails, meeting notes). I was excited to find missing pieces of their story which I injected into their marketing, sales and investor assets.
As we begin the new year, take a close look at the business story that your company is sharing. View your story from the eyes of your buyers and investors. What pieces can you add to your story to generate more interest and gain new ground in 2026?