In 18th century England, a group of obstetricians built a successful practice by delivering babies safely with minimum infant and maternal mortality rates. They had a secret that they guarded from their competitors until a curious medical student climbed onto the roof of their delivery room and peered through the skylights. He identified their secret – a unique pair of forceps. The healthcare industry has come a long way since then.
Medical devices are openly promoted, and inventions are shared to improve patient outcomes across different care settings. With the best marketing strategies, life-changing innovations reach hospitals worldwide to save lives and improve healthcare.
However, the healthcare market is a highly regulated industry. Some of the most strict regulations come from the Food and Drug Administration. These laws mandate that medical device marketing be truthful, accompanied by scientific evidence and adequately communicate the risks. Marketers must also watch out for Medicare and Medicaid guidelines and ethical guidelines from the American Medical Association.
Beyond compliance with these regulations, the best medical device marketing strategies put the patient in the driver’s seat. Here are ten good example strategies to study.
Practical Marketing Strategies for Medical Device Manufacturers
1. Regulatory approval or compliance marketing
By the time the FDA greenlights a medical device for the market, it’s been proven effective and beneficial. This approval is a great marketing asset for the astute CMO. Create and share messaging around how the new device is approved or compliant with regulations. It helps build trust.
FDA-approved devices have a higher adoption rate. But, based on insights from the Actuary Magazine, learning how to communicate the date of approval is essential, too. The uptake of newly approved devices starts to peak after 6 months following the approach as hospitals want to wait for reimbursement.
Compliance is all about safety assurances for patients, but healthcare institutions make it all about legality and cost savings.
2. Mobile optimization for device website
Healthcare professionals are increasingly using mobile devices in market research. It is a similar case for hospital administrators. They use mobile devices when researching and making purchase decisions. Because of these trends, companies like Abbot Laboratories have invested in improved mobile experiences, publishing critical product information and educational materials on highly responsive, mobile friendly websites.
The first action step in any medical device marketing strategy should be publishing materials about the device on a mobile-ready website. The website should be capable of showcasing interactive product demos and details for healthcare professionals to interact extensively with the device.
3. Outcome based marketing strategies
Medical professionals and healthcare centers prioritize investing in devices that improve patient outcomes while minimizing risks. Keeping this in mind, medical device marketers must adequately communicate how the new device meets an unmet need.
Key messages can be developed and shared around the device’s functionality and safety. Share plenty of data from the clinical trials to buff this strategy.
But don’t get tied up on the technical specifications. Know your audience and the problems they are trying to fix. 64 % of decision makers in hospitals and healthcare settings are more likely to buy or reject a device based on real world results. Marketers that adopt this approach can shorten the sales funnel and save incredible amounts of time.
4. Educational demonstrations
Take your product demonstrations to a new level with VR videos that walk the healthcare practitioners through its use. Virtual reality comes in handy to explain complex functions in diagnosis and treatment and show the device in action so that potential buyers can make informed decisions.
VR marketing strategies that demonstrate device implementation can drive adoption and eliminate the typical change resistance among medical professionals.
This strategy is effective for busy healthcare professionals who need to make decisions without lengthy hours of demonstrations. Virtual reality simulates the entire usage experience, leaving potential buyers with more answers than questions. VR based marketing for medical devices saves costs and improves sales performance metrics.
5. Design goals and clinical trial storytelling
Clinical trial storytelling is a surefire way to ignite excitement and interest in your medical device. But the best medical device marketing strategist takes it farther. They start from the beginning, communicating the needs and gaps that drove the development of the product in question.
Once the FDA rubberstamps your device, set it free and let it have its own life and story. You want to ensure the narrative aligns with the approved messages. For instance, while communicating the benefits is crucial, the FDA mandates that you also communicate the risks. Add elements such as testimonials to boost credibility.
6. Digital twin forecasting
A digital twin is a virtual copy of the medical device that simulates its market performance in real-time based on accurate data. A study by Accenture shows that digital twin forecasting can improve demand prediction by up to 56%. If this approach is adopted in medical device marketing, manufacturers can make better decisions on order fulfilment.
Most importantly, however, this strategy can be used early in the design phase to generate interest before the product hits the market. Ultimately, this technology can help in AB testing, leading to more innovative solutions that improve client experiences.
7. Webinars and workshops
The value of tapping into workshops and webinars is in networking. These web-based events can put device manufacturer sales and marketing professionals in direct contact with healthcare representatives scouting for new disruptive solutions.
An example is how Stryker organizes webinars on IRIS stents. These meetings attract surgeons, hospital administrators, and even device manufacturers. When manufacturers participate in these presentations and answer questions, hospitals can learn a lot about their new devices, which may improve sales and shorten the sales cycle.
8. New research publishing
Publishing biomedical case studies and research papers in journals can be game-changing for medical device manufacturers. There are two options to do this: either sponsor the research as a manufacturer or get the manufacturing science teams to publish the papers. Boston Scientific is an exemplary publication to target. It showcases articles and case studies on new cardiovascular devices and how they impact patient outcomes.
Provide extensive quantitative and qualitative data by publishing papers on your breakthrough devices. Demonstrate results from clinical trials and communicate how the device fills existing gaps in diagnosis, treatment and care. Further, distributing these case studies via email can strengthen your market position.
9. Hyper segmentation and targeting
Hyper segmentation is imperative for focused results in medical device marketing. It leads to tailored marketing approaches that identify and address the needs of the target hospitals and healthcare centers.
A perfect example of this is Cook Medical’s segmentation which groups audiences by specialty, such as urology, vascular surgery and gastroenterology. This ensures that when it’s time for messaging, marketing teams speak to the right audiences.
This strategy improves the likelihood of getting a response from hospital decision-makers. For instance, Abbot creates tailored campaigns targeting different healthcare teams to ensure that marketing efforts reach the right people. It would be a huge mistake and a waste of resources to message general audiences about your device.
10. B2B eCommerce marketing
The shift towards digital purchasing has not spared the healthcare sector. Manufacturers are now joining or building e-commerce platforms that put them in direct contact with the people responsible for buying medical devices for hospitals. This can greatly help to streamline the buying process. A good example to learn from is Cardinal Health’s ecommerce platform.
This approach must take the customer experience into consideration. Make it easy for healthcare providers to identify and order the devices they need through strategic descriptions, guides, multimedia content and immersive navigation.
You can always get ahead with personalization. For instance, 3M’s platform lets hospitals create their purchasing profiles. That way, they get the best products they need at the right time.
Conclusion
The above marketing strategies can help medical device manufacturers stand out in the industry. The best strategies make use of technology to improve buyer experiences. They are personalized, data driven and comply with the FDA guidelines and ethics.
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