MedfirstIndia Trading Private Limited was a privately owned e-commerce start-up in India. The firm’s goal was to establish a first-of-its-kind medical devices e-commerce platform catering to various underserved market segments, such as small hospitals and independent medical practices. The firm relied primarily on digital channels for branding and customer outreach. However, the founders did not have a structured data-driven decision-making strategy in place despite the wealth of data flowing in through web analytics. In 2018, after three years of operations, the firm closed its doors. The case highlights the challenges of strategizing and managing the digital marketing operations of an e-commerce start-up.

Spreadsheet to accompany product W34168.