During its growth cycle, medical device products face a challenging and unique set of hurdles. Medical devices must be thoroughly tested, developed, and approved before they can enter the market. These pre-approval steps take time and dedication, and it often feels like once the go-to-market strategy is initiated - you are in the home stretch.
However, after all the regulations are met and you're ready to position your medical device product in the market, you are just rounding first! To keep forward momentum and continue rounding those bases - follow some of our recommended techniques that will help your product score.
Know Your Product
While you might know your product inside and out - others must know what it does as well. For this example, think of a medical device. It could be your own, or maybe one you are familiar with. Can you describe this device to friends? A neighbor? Or how about to a stranger while riding up an elevator to the 30th floor? Can you quickly explain this particular medical device so anyone can understand?
Knowing your product and having the ability to communicate it to the general public is where many medical device companies get stuck. It's easy to see why, so many medical devices are complex in their design and specific in their application. However, just because a product might only be of use to a small percentage of the population does not mean that you should overlook ways to communicate its usefulness to every possible audience.
Target Your Customer
Now you know what your product is and how to describe it, it's time to identify and target your ideal customer. With medical devices this can be the physicians/patients who are using it or those that are selling the device. This is a great place to build your user and buyer personas around. Your user personas should be based on specific variables that work well for your product such as: demographics, pain points, inspirations, behaviors or obstacles, etc.
From doctor to patient, to private practices or hospitals, seek out areas you want to sell your product, and put your brand in front of them. Also, don't forget sites outside of your desired direct sales funnel. Target outlier personas like office administration, nurses, or specialists who may not be able to buy the product directly, but they can help influence the primary decision-maker.
Create Your Strategy
With your product description in hand and your target customer identified, the next step is to create your medical marketing strategy. While it sounds like a quick and easy process on paper, medical device sales are long and extensive. Purchasing a medical device is not like buying a shirt or the latest tech piece. The buyer journey is longer than most markets because the buyers typically perform extensive research and consideration of their use.
Your best lead marketing strategies are those that present your product to potential buyers at many places along the sales funnel. The goal is to meet your potential buyer at every point with answers, information, and educational options. To accomplish this, incorporate some of these tactics into your strategy:
- Press releases
- Social media advertisement
- Pay-per-click campaigns (PPC)
- Email marketing campaigns (new & nurture)
- Blog content
- Case studies
- Testimonials
- eBooks
Execute
Executing your medical device strategy should not be a record-shattering pace but a slow and steady gait to the finish. With a product that typically takes a long time to move down the funnel, rushing to the execution stage will only hurt your product success. Before you launch, make sure you are consistent across your entire brand. From your social media content to the website that is the front door of your product - keep your messaging and intentions clear and consistent.
Know Where You Began
When you initially launch your marketing campaigns, you have an opportunity to take a breather and watch your campaigns run their course. However, before you get comfortable make sure you identify your starting point. Identifying your goals and strategies at the beginning, makes it much easier to measure and track your data metrics in order to optimize your marketing campaigns.
This can be done by setting up analytics on your website, tracking and recording your KPI’s on your social platforms, and analyzing your PPC ad campaigns and organic SEO. Progress should be measured on a consistent basis in order to ensure the most accurate results. When you know where you have started, it is much easier to see how far you have come. It’s also important to note that almost all marketing strategies require some trial and error in order to see what is working and how you can improve your strategies to see the most return on investment.
Partner With An Agency Who Can Position Your Medical Device
Effectively positioning your medical device is crucial to the success of your product. Without the proper marketing, it’s very difficult to get your product in the right hands for its intended use. Whether you're just starting to build your customer personas or you need assistance with educational content - hiring an experienced digital marketing agency can get your product in front of the right people.
The stress and constant adjustments needed for the long-term medical device sales make working with an agency like Icovy a great option. Not only will Icovy alleviate your marketing pressure, but our experience and industry knowledge can give you peace of mind knowing that we create effective medical device strategies that set your product up for success.
