As CoolSculpting has created a new category in bodysculpting, Cynosure has been aggressively selling the SculpSure device to just about any physician willing to listen. Unfortunately, they have not provided the same level of marketing and advertising support that Zeltiq has. This has left much the weight of driving revenue from their new purchase on the physician alone.
We’ve heard physicians complain about the lack of support and we feel their pain. With the success of Zeltiq and its aggressive marketing support, both at the national and local level, it’s puzzling to see why Cynosure has yet to significantly invest in national and local advertising. The fact that they generate revenue from the consumables make it even more puzzling.
The weight of a monthly payment of device that does not produce can cause severe strain on a medical facility whether it’s a dermatologist, primary care physician or medical spa. It’s also not an aesthetically looking pleasing device. Cynosure really needs to rethink not only the marketing strategy but also the way these devices look and feel. Only Zeltiq has nailed it by making their device appealing to the eye.
Just last year in December, it’s gotten worse for Cynosure as they’ve been hit with a nasty class action lawsuit from furious phycisians that have not seen their return on investment from these devices let alone the results that they’ve indicted their patients would see from SculpSure. The lawsuit is scathing with statements such as “SculpSure does not work as represented, rendering the product effectively useless for practicioners and physicians“. Only time will tell what will come of this lawsuit. What we do know is that Cynosure and other manufactures must provide more support after they sell a device to a practice. Who knows what kind of support these facilities had but I have to believe it was little to none.
