It’s almost impossible to market medical devices the same way you would market something else – maybe a shirt or even a business. Medical device marketing shares significant similarities to marketing in other industries, but there are differences here nonetheless.
In medical device marketing, it is important to grab the attention of intellectual, technical buyers. You need to convince them that you have a device that beats others, even if it might be more complex and expensive than theirs.
For small and medium-sized companies, medical device marketing can be even more challenging. You need to find and target the right customers, and you need to communicate why your product is what they need.
With the number of information available about online marketing, this can be indeed challenging. Below, we’ll look into how you can conduct a proper medical device marketing campaign and how you can ensure that your product sells and reaches the right people.
You need evidence and the right relationships to get ahead
If you’re selling medical devices, your clients are majorly scientists, hospitals, and other healthcare industry players. So, you know that cheap and easy marketing tactics won’t work on them. For these people, data and analytics are kings – and you need to show evidence of why your product is better.
Most marketers understand this. They know that the patient might not necessarily care about a study or some evidence-based trials, but the healthcare professionals will be the ones to make the ultimate purchase decisions.
This is why you need evidence-based marketing. This is the type of marketing where you appeal to buyers and add some form of credibility to the claims you’re bringing. Instead of saying that something is the best surgical device in the world, you need to show it.
In medical device marketing, there’s no room for exaggeration.
But, beyond just evidence-based marketing, you will also need to optimize your relationship marketing efforts. The professionals you’re marketing to are people as well, and they respond to the same emotional drivers as everyone else. So, you need to build relationships with them.
To do that, you need relationship marketing. Where evidence-based marketing is solely analytical, relationship marketing will help you to bond with your buyers on a more human level. You get to raise curiosity among these professionals by telling stories and sharing reviews from customers who have used it.
Remember that your audience doesn’t just want to know that your tool has a 90% success rate. They want you to build that image of it being effective in their minds.
Optimize your content creation
Content is a piece of information that is used to educate an audience about the product, so you get to build credibility and trust. It can be articles, web content, blog posts, case studies, and more.
When communicating with your audience here, you want to be professional – remember that they are as well. So, you need a skilled and experienced copywriter and content marketer to help you out. Ensure that they are experts in the field and can deliver the type of content quality you need. From there, it becomes much easier for you to highlight what needs to be highlighted.
They know what the product is and what to focus on. In every sense of the word, it makes the work easier for you.
Build on digital marketing
For too long, medical device marketers have focused extensively on in-person meetings and trade shows to market their products.
While there is no reason for these tactics not to work, you can also combine them with digital marketing strategies to get the best of both worlds. Digital marketing is cheap and effective, and you get to enjoy all the benefits of traditional marketing as you sell your product.
The biggest benefit of digital marketing is scale. With a single website or social media page, you can reach clients from around the world. You can build those important relationships as well, setting yourself as an expert in your field and someone that these professionals can come to if they need help.
Instead of spending so much time traveling to trade shows and organizing events, you can even offer remote tours for any client with internet access. They get to see what you have to offer, and you get to save money. Everyone wins!
Technology is also analytical. You can track the effectiveness of your marketing performance using analytics tools, and you know how to move forward. You can segment content to your audience, see the areas where you need to work on, as well as those you can afford to leave and let run autonomously.
If you’re looking to optimize performance, you can combine these traditional methods with digital marketing. But, if you want to focus solely on one, digital marketing remains the top pick.
Remember to stand out
As stated earlier, medical device marketing is more complicated than almost any other field. You need to ensure that your content is tailored to your audience and that they understand what you’re selling.
But, this task doesn’t have to be so difficult. In whatever you do, remember to stand out and be proactive about what you’re selling.
Have a clear value proposition through which you can grab attention. Keep your audience interested, and they’ll be itching to get their hands on your product. Stand out and be memorable, no matter what you do.