Following product development, many medical device companies turn their attention to sales and lead generation. However, a big part of acquiring those sales and leads happens through medical device marketing. Today, much of your marketing—especially in the early stages—will be done online where it’s cost-effective and there are a lot of eyes. Of course, there’s also a lot of competition for attention online, so a keen understanding of online marketing techniques is crucial.
10 Considerations for Your Medical Device Marketing Strategy
Wondering how to launch a medical device in today’s environment? After you’ve determined your product name, logo, positioning, and other branding essentials, you need to use modern marketing tools while leveraging traditional marketing best practices. Here are ten techniques that take both into consideration.
1. Build Your Website
For some of us, this may seem like a no-brainer, however, the Small Business Association (SBA) reveals that 36% of startups and small businesses do not have a website. For medical device startups, this is often due to prioritizing research and development over a functional website. While that makes sense in theory, research from Google shows that nearly 90% of B2B buyers researching solutions are doing so on the internet. Without a well-designed and informative website, medical device manufacturers could miss out on a large potential audience.
Pro Tip: Be sure your website content does not make claims your technology can’t back up; you should always assume that the FDA will be one of your first visitors! You might also include a disclaimer if your product is not yet approved for use.
2. Optimize Your Website
The same Google study also shows that B2B buyers aren’t performing a search by looking up a product name; they’ll type in a generic term to view the list of results. So, your website needs to be optimized with generic terms, or keywords, that will draw users to your site even if they’ve never heard of your product. Of course, you want to also use your brand name a lot to begin to develop a correlation between your brand and the generic search terms in both the minds of your customers and search engines.
3. Create Quality Content
Your website shouldn’t be just promotional, but educational. Research by Demand Gen Report shows that more than 50% of B2B buyers look for instructional content prior to making a purchasing decision. Some types of engaging online content you should consider making available on your website include:
- Blogs
- Case Studies
- FAQs
- Interviews
- Photos
- Press Releases
- Product Reviews
- Resources
- Sell Sheets
- Team Bios
- Webinars
- White Papers
- User-Generated Content
- Video
Some of these forms of content can be very powerful, and we’ll delve deeper into them within this list.
4. Animate Your Device
It can be difficult for some potential customers to visualize exactly how your medical device would work. Therefore, part of your video content strategy could be a brief, 30-60 second animation showcasing your technology in action. Having the animation created may cost a little bit of money, but the investment will be well worth it if it helps others to “get” your vision, and in turn, become customers or even advocates.
5. Host Webinars
A webinar is a great way to showcase your product to an inherently interested audience and answer their questions during the presentation or once it has ended. Want proof? A recent study of online marketers revealed that a minimum of 20% of webinar participants are transformed into qualified leads!
6. Write Guest Articles
When your website is new, it can take a while to gain some traction in search. So, consider writing guest articles on other popular websites in your specific niche as part of your medical product marketing strategy. Many websites that allow visitor blog posts include a writer biography where you could share information about your company or product and leave links to your website or social media accounts. This creates recognition for your brand and can boost your following. One website has put together The Ultimate List of Health Blogs That Accept Guest Posts that you should check out if you employ this strategy.
7. Engage on Social Media
You may think social media is just a way to keep up with family and friends. Not so fast! While you may not have much use for Instagram and Snapchat when it comes to medical device marketing, Twitter and LinkedIn can be valuable and both have large medical communities. Explore various hashtags on Twitter to find out where medical professionals, corporations, and influencers are (here are some healthcare marketing tags to get you started) and check out Groups on LinkedIn to do the same on their platform.
Also, be sure to consider YouTube. Today, it’s about more than just funny cat videos, it’s a place to showcase your product and how it works. After all, YouTube is the most popular website in the world, so it doesn’t hurt to be there!
8. Post Testimonials or Reviews
Peer reviews go a long way when it comes to selling others on your medical technology. Depending on the stage of your product development, you may already have gotten your technology in front of medical professionals or patients. If the results were positive, it’s important to ask them to review the technology (it’s uses, benefits, quality, etc.) and get their approval to use their words on your website or in other promotional materials.
9. Create a Sell Sheet
Chances are, you already have a sell sheet—that classic piece of marketing collateral that includes product information, features and benefits, photos, testimonials, and contact information. You’ll also want to feature this prominently on your website. Not only does it give visitors all the information they want in a nutshell, but it also gives them something they can print out and/or forward to share with other decision-makers. It’s also valuable for sharing as part of your social medical device marketing strategy.
10. Consider Patient Visitors
Last but not least, consider patients who may come across your website. Most likely you’re going after medical professionals, but marketing to the end-user can also help push products through the sales funnel, as customers begin requesting or asking about your technology when they’re visiting a medical professional.
One of the best ways to promote to patients as well as medical professionals is to have a “FOR PATIENTS” button on your website, which leads to a dedicated page that takes into account their needs and interests. Case studies and/or patient stories, if you have them, are perfect to include here as well.
Creating Your Medical Device Marketing Strategy with Diberin Solutions
If you’re working on a new medical device or bringing a breakthrough to market, or if you’ve already gained FDA approval but are having a hard time gaining traction in the marketplace, Diberin Solutions can help!
Diberin Solutions is a healthcare consulting firm—though some of our clients consider us their medical device marketing agency—dedicated to helping medical device startups accelerate their device growth, scale their healthcare brand, develop new products, and find efficiencies in everyday business tasks. For more medical device marketing ideas, be sure to check out our blog 8 Techniques to Boost Your Medical Device Sales. Ready to talk with us now? Contact us today!
