The medical device market is widely understood to be one of the largest markets in the healthcare industry, which can make things exceptionally challenging for marketers struggling with how to market a medical device. According to Market Realist, the United States holds the largest share of the global medical device market with roughly 45% (equivalent to about $136 billion dollars). The same report suggests that this 45% is comprised of more than 7000 medical device companies all competing for similar customer bases and using similar approaches to their marketing programs.
How to Market a Medical Device
When it comes to medical device marketing, it is also important to recognize how dependent this industry is on technology, and how easily impacted it is by technological innovation. Successful medical device marketing not only requires forward thinking, but a strategy that recognizes how important adaptability is to stay ahead of trends, innovations, and the implementation of new tech.
Throughout this post we are going to review a few strategies for effectively marketing a medical device in an increasingly competitive market. Starting with the basics, we will review some big picture innovations (like going mobile or capitalizing on your social media presence) before introducing the concept of medical lead generation, and the impact in can have on your company’s bottom-line.
Be Mobile First
We have heard it time and again – we are living in an increasingly mobile world. But what does that mean in the context of healthcare, and more specifically how to market a medical device?
These days, it is no longer enough for your company just to have an online presence that is mobile friendly (though a responsive, mobile friendly webpage is still incredibly important), and more robust mobile apps are quickly becoming the norm. These apps integrate closely with your business operations and provide opportunities for increased interaction and engagement with your customer base, and provide opportunities for medical lead generation that can have a remarkable impact on your sales outcomes. While this is true of any industry, the use of mobile apps has become particularly interesting in the context of the healthcare.
Earlier this year, Prizm Media, CEO Zeeshan Hayat wrote an article for the Huffington Post titled “Prescribing Mobile Apps”. In it, he discusses how doctors understand and interact with mobile health technologies like apps and wearable devices. Ultimately, he predicts that we will continue to see an integration of health apps and medical practices and will see a shift in how health information is communicated to patients.
Now as a marketer, it is imperative to recognize that an industry that is moving so rapidly towards interfacing with mobile technologies will require successful approaches to marketing to keep up. Investing today in quality mobile infrastructure as part of your marketing program will pay off in the long run, and will also lay a strong foundation for medical lead generation when you are looking to grow the list of qualified, interested customers for your medical device.
Commit to Content Marketing
With some much competition from other marketing teams trying to ensure that their product is at the top of consumer’s minds, understanding how to market your medical device is going to be a constant battle.
Even so, maintaining a focus on interesting, original, and relevant content is still one of the best things medical device marketers can do to help connect prospective consumers with their products and services. Not only does original content help with SEO when done right (see last week’s article on SEO in healthcare for more information), but it provides a tangible resource for potential customers who are interested in learning more and looking to build a relationship with a company that they can trust.
High quality content not only requires pertinent and accurate information, but a diverse digital media mix through which to deliver that information. While simply publishing blog after blog will build up a content base, it is including a wide-range of content like social media campaigns, videos, infographics, and white papers that will reach the largest number of prospective clients and eventually guide them towards your medical lead generation landing page (more on that in the next section).
At the end of the day, when it comes to content and how to best market your medical device, the best thing to remember is that there are thousands of other marketers out there competing for consumers attention. Understanding your product, your target audience, and what kind of stories they want to hear and using that information to craft your marketing messaging will always give you an advantage over the competition. It sounds like marketing 101, but in a hyper competitive industry like healthcare it can be easy to forget that the products and services you are trying to sell are helping to save lives and improve people’s quality of life every single day – and those are the stories you need to be telling.
Tie It All Together With Medical Lead Generation
With an increased focus on mobile technology and high quality content, your marketing program will absolutely be well positioned to consider a medical lead generation campaign.
To learn more about lead generation in general, we definitely encourage you to take a look around some of the other great posts on this blog. Simply put, medical lead generation is a way to maximize the effectiveness of your other marketing initiatives. Whether it is through mobile, on your website, or through social media – medical lead generation directs users to a landing page (which often features a premium of some kind, like a white paper or educational video) and encourages them to connect with your company by identifying as an individual who could potentially benefit from your product or service. Once they have been qualified as a potential user, your sales team can contact them directly to build on that relationship and convert that lead into a sale.
These are just a few approaches with respect to how to market a medical device in an undeniably competitive market. At the end of the day, staying up-to-date with the latest innovations, maintaining a high degree of quality in your company’s content, and maximizing your marketing efforts through programs like medical lead generation are all wonderful avenues to consider when it comes to ensuring that your medical device is top of mind for the individuals who could benefit from it most.