The Human Approach to Medical Device Marketing
An advanced medical device marketing agency will mix fact-based and relationship based marketing, communicating value propositions, and moving online. The professionals at a successful healthcare marketing agency know that they can’t compare medical device marketing to promoting typical consumer goods and gadgets. While it’s helpful to understand marketing basics, a medical marketing agency needs to appeal to a very different and specific sort of customer. To attract the attention of medical device customers, it takes creating the right message about a complex, vital, and typically expensive product while maintaining a human connection. To develop this skill, consider three important aspects of modern healthcare marketing. Adding a human touch to medical device marketing Naturally, the best tactics for marketing various medical devices can also differ in some details. Examples of this important kind of technology can range from pacemakers and infusion pumps to MRI machines. Even though devices and customers may vary, certain principals can help engage customers for a variety of different medical technology. Balance relationship-based and evidence-based messages In the medical field, customers may include doctors, researchers, and medical engineers. That’s why reaching them generally calls for a combination of evidence-based and relationship-based marketing messages: Evidence-based marketing: As the name implies, evidence-based marketing relies on the results of tests, studies, and other sources of hard data. Relationship-based marketing: While medical professionals will certainly care about facts, they’re still people and will also respond to emotional drivers, just like everybody else. Relationship-based marketing can help establish a human connection by telling stories about other customers or even patients. Customers may want to know that a product has a 99-percent success rate, but a story about an individual success or two can help them understand how the purchase will help them, their patients, or their healthcare facility. Establish competitive differentiators and value propositions Anybody who works for a healthcare or pharma marketing agency knows that they’re rarely the only representative that customers communicate with. Value propositions succinctly outline why the device provides a good solution, touches on benefits, and explains how it compares to major competitors. Presenting this information early in the process can quickly gain attention and in some cases, motivate buyers to act. For instance, a hospital executive may hesitate because of concerns over the cost of retraining medical staff to use the new device. It’s important to understand these concerns and explain how this better solution can save money in the long run, reduce risks that could lead to poor outcomes, and other important benefits that outweigh drawbacks. Add online marketing to the mix All kinds of companies advertise online these days. This includes B2C companies. At the same time, it seems like medical device marketing has moved slower to transform parts of their marketing from offline to online. In-person visits still may work very well, but an internet platforms gives marketers a chance to scale their efforts to reach a much wider audience. Consider a few of the main benefits of online marketing for medical devices: Busy prospects can research information whenever their schedule allows, without always having to set aside time for an appointment or a phone call when they have questions. Social media and blog posts can develop relationships and communicate value propositions with a global audience. Video demos and online meeting software can help educate prospects without having to spend extra time and money on travel. Website analytics and other tracking tools make it simple to see how well marketing campaigns perform at each step. Generally, an experienced medical marketing agency won’t suggest skipping office visits, trade shows, or other productive types of in-person marketing. At the same time, they will help you understand how much easier it is to scale your marketing to a national and even an international audience when you take advantage of online communication. Through the use of various media, reaching customers online won’t mean losing a human connection. In fact, such marketing channels as webinars, videos, blog posts, and social sites can help develop relationships with a lot more people. Because the internet is always turned on, it also provides the perfect way to satisfy the demands of busy customers. The importance of medical device marketing While marketing medical devices can prove tricky, a good healthcare marketing agency can enjoy a large market. According to the U.S. government, American healthcare agencies spend $156 billion on a variety of devices, and that’s expected to grow to over $200 billion within a couple of years. In addition, the country exports over $40 billion in medical devices, and the overall industry supports missions of jobs. Marketing medical devices may have challenges, but it also offers plenty of opportunities. Effective tactics include offering both relationship-based and evidence-based marketing messages, quickly establishing the value proposition, and taking advantage of additional online marketing channels.
Apps that bleed – A new technology buzz that’s helping diabetes
We live in an age of convenience. We can have a pizza delivered to our home in 10 minutes, we can order take out from every one of the nation’s largest chain restaurants, and we can order greasy cheeseburgers from drive-through windows at any hour of the day.While there are benefits to these conveniences in society, junk food doesn’t come without a price. Today, more than 26 million Americans live with diabetes, and the majority of them suffer from type 2 diabetes, which researchers link to high-caloric food consumption and sedentary lifestyle. The digital landscape that we live in doesn’t always help. It’s easy to get caught up with watching hours of TV at a time… did you know that if you watched the entire Lost TV series, you spent 90 hours in front of your television? That’s more 3.75 full days of your life – and that doesn’t even include time spent sitting through commercials. There are also all kinds of other distractions such as video games, Facebook , chatting and email – time that people used to spend out in the world, being social with one another. Our Florida advertising firm supports American Diabetes Month, and we believe that the digital era doesn’t have to be a burden to weight loss and blood sugar management. In fact, there are numerous tools that can help people lose weight through technology. If you are one of the people who battles type 2 diabetes, or even if you just want to take strides today to prevent diabetes in the future, our Orlando marketing agency has come up with some digital world ideas that can help you stay healthy and manage your blood sugar in the physical world. WebMd’s Food and Fitness Planner: This tool offers personalized weight loss plans based on weight loss goals and exercise habits, making it an optimal tool for people just beginning the weight loss journey. Nike Fuel Band: The Nike Fuel band takes weight loss and exercise, and turns it into a game. Wear it to track your daily activity, and then connect with friends to compare your progress through a smartphone app. Locavore: Generally, fresh foods are better for you than processed foods. Locavore helps you choose the right ingredients for your meal by letting you know what’s in season, and using GPS to let you know the best places near you to buy locally grown, healthy foods. Eat This, Not That! The Game: This game makes dieting fun by letting you compare food options to help you determine which has the least adverse health impacts. The results are sometimes surprising, and playing the game helps you think critically when trying to determine whether a McDonald’s chicken sandwich beats a fish sandwich. Withings Body Scale: This innovate tool helps people to lose weight by connecting an electronic scale to a wifi Internet connection to show graphs of progress, track weight loss goals and help develop an overall fitness plan. People who are able to successfully overcome the challenges that diabetes presents will live longer, healthier lives. [quote]When weight loss and diet management seems like a challenge, it is important to look to the support of your loved ones who can help you with the process. [/quote]Keep these ideas in mind as you commit to better health during American Diabetes Month. The BIGEYE team is here to support you along the way. If you need an app, look no further. Check out what our team of experts is capable of.