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6 Strategies that Work to Sell Medical Supplies in 2022

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As a medical supplier, you sell medical supplies to improve the lives of patients. 

You work hard to provide hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare organizations with the critical supplies and tools they need to care for patients.

Whether you are a seasoned medical sales representative or new to the role, you should always be ready to learn new strategies. These effective selling strategies can help you improve your business and keep pace with the rapid industry growth of medical supply sales.

Key Takeaways

  • Use advanced technology to provide visually engaging demonstrations of complicated products.
  • Create a personalized buying experience for your customers by getting to know them and staying engaged.
  • Keep yourself educated with up-to-date medical information that helps you fully understand your products and answer customer questions.

Sell Medical Supplies More Effectively with These 6 Strategies

These sales strategies can help you improve your medical sales as you look towards 2022 and the incredible progress of the healthcare industry.

According to IBISWorld, the medical supplies wholesaling industry is expected to grow by 3.8% in 2021. This is faster than the average annual growth of 2.5% between 2016 and 2021.

You can improve your sales strategy as you look to the future with these 6 tips.

1. Offer Advanced Demonstrations of Complex Products 

Some of the medical supplies you sell are complicated. Offering your potential customers a brochure or one sheet for these products will not give them adequate information. These types of materials will not effectively demonstrate all the product’s features, and they have the potential to include outdated information.

To improve your chances of making a sale, you want hospitals and physicians to visualize your products in their facilities. If they can’t imagine this, you will have a harder time closing the sale.

Showing off your products, and even letting your clients experience them for themselves, is one of the most effective selling strategies. Unfortunately, some of your most valuable equipment is large, expensive, and not practical to carry around. Modern technology can help you get past this roadblock. Consider using some of these advanced visualization options:

  • Medical Animation: A medical animation can show healthcare professionals a detailed view of how your product works, even on a cellular level. It can show off the inner workings of a product. This gives information to your clients that they might not know even if they are holding the product in their hands.

Augmented Reality: Augmented Reality (AR) is when digital objects are superimposed on top of real-world objects. It is used in everyday apps, such as with chatting filters that make your face look like an animal. In a medical setting, AR is interactive and can be used with a smartphone, tablet, or virtual reality headset. In a demonstration, AR can show digital details and facts on top of a real-world view.

  • Virtual Reality: Virtual Reality (VR) is similar to AR, except all the images are digital. A VR demonstration of a medical product allows physicians and other medical personnel to try out the product for themselves.

Advanced visualizations like this are a powerful tool that can help bring products to life. Doctors and hospitals can see a clear image of how your products will work in their facility.

This YouTube video shows a good demonstration of how virtual reality works in the medical field.

2. Be Engaged with Customers through the Entire Sales Cycle 

Imagine how easy your job would be if customers were always reaching out to you. Unfortunately, that is not how the medical supplies world works. You need to be fully engaged with all your customers through every step of the sales cycle. This includes continual communication, support, and guidance when your customers or prospects have questions.

When you are making frequent visits, responding quickly to their emails, or staying in contact with virtual meetings, you will have a much more rewarding relationship, whether it ends in a sale or not.

Being engaged with your customers is something you always have control over, unlike other parts of the sales cycle. It is worthwhile to set aside part of each day to connect with and respond to your customers. Make sure you follow through with whatever you say to your customers, so they maintain their trust in you.

3. Create a Personalized Experience for Your Customers 

The modern medical supplies sales cycle includes multiple stakeholders. You no longer deal with one buying representative. Instead, you must convince an entire committee of the benefits of your products. These committees may include surgeons, physicians, hospital administrators, nurse managers, and other support staff.

Before you come to a meeting with these groups, you need to learn as much as you can about the people, their responsibilities, and their goals. The more you know beforehand, the better you can customize your presentation to their specific needs.

During the sales conversation, try to engage each person and ask about their expectations for you and your products. This will create a strong foundation that you can build on for future meetings.

4. Stay Up to Date on Medical Technology

Medical technology is making big advancements year after year. As a medical supplier, you need to stay on top of these advancements and know what is happening in the industry. Keep yourself educated by reading medical journals, attending conferences, and speaking with colleagues. As you learn more about new technology, think of ways to incorporate these updates in your sales strategy.

5. Fully Understand All Your Products

You are the representative for your company and your products. You are responsible for knowing every detail of every product you sell. Without this knowledge, you will not be a successful representative. 

Each person you interact with will have different questions about your products. You need to answer them all with precise information. This could include technical specifications, pricing information, and how it works.

Use whatever resources you have to your advantage so you can effectively address each question with relevant information.

6. Keep the Focus on Patients

Everything you sell is meant to improve the health of patients. Your customers have their patients’ experiences at the forefront of their mind. Every sales decision they make is based on how they think your product could benefit their patients and how it compares to other medical devices.

When you talk to your customers, make sure you keep your focus on the patients. Show your customers how your products can add value to the patient experience, and they will be more likely to purchase from you.

Want to learn more? Contact Share Moving Media today to get started! 

Healthcare Expos & Trade Shows in the Post-Pandemic World

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In 2020, most conferences, conventions, expos, and trade shows – any large in-person gatherings – were postponed or canceled. Today, many expos and similar events are still not what they once were. People are cautious, still masking up and keeping their distance from others in large-group settings. Healthcare expos and trade shows are no exception.

However, people are also eager to get out and network again – even if they must do so from behind a computer screen. So, what’s the state of healthcare expos and trade shows today? We’ll cover how the pandemic has changed these types of events and what we can expect from them moving forward.

Quick Takeaways:

  • Today, many are still cautious of large-group gatherings, while others are eager to get out and network again.
  • In 2019, 9,400 B2B trade shows and exhibitions took place in the U.S., contributing $101 billion to the nation’s GDP.
  • While virtual events have downsides, they also help decrease our carbon footprint, reduce travel expenses, and offer the convenience that in-person events can’t.
  • Some companies saved money they’d otherwise have spent on booths, collateral material, sponsorships, and traveling costs.
  • We can expect to see advanced technology and better customer service at trade shows in the post-pandemic world. Event organizers will have contingency plans, stricter health and safety standards, and use hybrid expo models.

How Has COVID-19 Changed Trade Shows and Other Large Events?

It’s no surprise that the pandemic has changed the way many organizations run. The virus has negatively impacted our daily lives and the economy – on an individual, business, and country-wide level. In 2019, 9,400 B2B trade shows and exhibitions took place in the U.S., contributing $101 billion to the nation’s GDP. 

Medical suppliers, like many other businesses, have had to adjust their sales strategies. Companies that share new products with healthcare organizations at trade shows have had to get creative to maintain exposure. Many events have gone virtual, which has been disappointing in many ways, although it also comes with advantages like decreasing each attendee’s carbon footprint, reducing travel expenses, and saving time.

The Future of Healthcare Expos and Trade Shows

According to Forbes, many companies have saved money that they’d have otherwise spent on booths, collateral material, sponsorships, and traveling expenses. Regardless of those savings, trade shows and expos offer participants benefits that might be too good to pass up. 

As a medical supplier at a trade show, you can drive sales by maintaining current customers and selling to new buyers looking for better products. The best part about attending in-person events is talking one-on-one and setting up future client meetings.

Here are several ways trade shows could look different in the post-pandemic world (and how they’ve already begun to change).

1. Advanced Technology

In addition to connecting on social media platforms and using online marketing to promote events, trade show hosts and attendees incorporate new technology to communicate with and impress new buyers. Event organizers use live streaming technology, virtual reality, and other tools to collaborate in innovative ways with participants online.

2. Higher Health Standards

We can expect to maintain rigid health guidelines and regulations, such as not attending events if sick, self-isolating for a set amount of time after being sick, and using hand sanitizer regularly. Remaining aware of potential health threats and implementing COVID-19-specific safety practices may be vital to limit the spread of the virus and avoid future cancellations.

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3. Contingency Plans

Businesses now know to think ahead and remain flexible in case something unexpected happens. Considering how a future disaster might affect your event is critical to avoiding a massive financial setback when planning significant events. Organizers may draft stricter contracts and rework cancellation policies.

4. Hybrid Models and Virtual Events

Hybrid events have already become normalized. Many events today offer participants the option to attend either in person or virtually. Hybrid models must juggle in-person and online experiences simultaneously, which may prove complex. Getting remote attendees to feel as involved as those attending face to face can also prove challenging.

Forbes predicts that hybrid models may include educational sessions and webinars that occur primarily online in the future. In-person expos should focus on reaping the benefits of networking. This gives medical suppliers attending live events the opportunity to “up their game.”

Greet people who pass by, so they know you’re approachable. Provide outstanding customer service while maintaining professionalism and proving quality. Prepare what you want to pitch to potential buyers and be ready to set up future meetings to continue conversations after events.

5. Keeping Things Interesting

Running a virtual event may sound simpler than organizing all the logistics surrounding in-person events. But virtual can require just as much work and attention to detail. On top of bringing in suitable suppliers, virtual events must go above and beyond to hold online participants’ attention. Organizers must make the event entertaining, interesting, and deeply engaging. Otherwise, attendees could quickly become distracted and tune out.

Upcoming Healthcare Expos to Consider Attending

Here are several upcoming healthcare trade shows to consider attending or participating in throughout the rest of 2021 and in 2022.

  • HLTH Conference: October 17, 2021, in Boston, MA
  • HCD Healthcare Design Expo & Conference: October 23, 2021, in Cleveland, OH
  • Medical Design and Manufacturing (MD&M) Show: November 3, 2021, in Minneapolis, MN
  • Total Health Virtual Global Conference: November 15, 2021
  • Biotech Showcase: January 10, 2022, in San Francisco, CA
  • Medtrade Conference & Expo: April 4, 2022, in Phoenix, AZ
  • MD&M West: April 12, 2022, in Anaheim, CA
  • International Biotechnology Meeting & Exhibition (BIO): June 13, 2022, in Boston, MA
  • Texas Pharmacy Association Conference & Expo: July 15, 2022, in Austin, TX
  • HIMSS Conference and Exhibition: March 2022
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Strategic Marketing for Healthcare Suppliers

If you need help with the marketing or promotion for an in-person or virtual healthcare expo, Share Moving Media is here to help. As a leading content creation, communications, and publishing company for medical suppliers – manufacturers and distributors – we provide full-service products and services for our clients. 

We would love to help you increase market share through compelling and timely content your prospects seek. Contact us to learn more.

How Qualified Web Traffic Improves Sales in Healthcare

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As a medical supplier, you can spend anywhere from $2,000-$20,000 a month on content marketing.

Content marketing is creating online content that leads to sales. However, it’s pointless without a return on investment (ROI). That means you want to be making more money from sales than you are putting into marketing.

Here is the basic strategy of content marketing, known as the sales funnel:

  • Attract web traffic
  • Turn the traffic into leads
  • Convert the leads into sales

However, qualified web traffic, or visitors who are likely to turn a sale, takes out the middle step – giving you a straight line from your web traffic to sales. This means less work for you and more sales for your team.

Here is how web traffic improves sales in healthcare and a few ways you can generate qualified web traffic.

Key Takeaways

  • Qualified traffic is more likely to lead to sales than regular traffic.
  • You can increase your qualified traffic through content optimization.
  • Qualified traffic leads to a greater conversion rate.

The Benefit of Website Traffic for Medical Suppliers

Your website traffic is the people visiting your site. Your goal is to make a sale from that traffic. You can generate this traffic by creating content that ranks well in searches, shows up through paid ads, or shares on social media.

The problem is – not everyone who visits your site ends with a sale.

You could spend thousands of dollars to gain traffic, but if none of that traffic includes healthcare companies, the traffic is pointless. It would be equal to owning a pet store, but only non-pet owners visit your store.

Web traffic isn’t enough for generating sales. But, by customizing your content and marketing techniques, you can rank higher for people who may make a purchase instead of ranking highly in general searches.

These potential leads are called qualified web traffic.

How You Can Gain Qualified Web Traffic to Your Medical Website

Here are five ways to customize your content and gain qualified web traffic that double your sales.

Create Lead-Specific Content

Your content is at the top of your marketing funnel. It’s what attracts leads to your website. If you want only to attract qualified traffic versus all traffic, gear your content towards your audience.

You can target your content by addressing a specific audience (like this article addresses medical suppliers), using relevant market research, and covering healthcare trends. This strategy appeals to the interests of your target audience and positions you as an expert in their field.

Optimize Your Content for Healthcare Professionals

When you optimize your web content, you can target a specific audience. For example, if you want healthcare professionals to find your website in their searches, create headlines and content using standard healthcare search terms.

Regular SEO research tells you common searches. You may gain a large amount of traffic by using standard search terms. But, by taking the extra time to know what healthcare professionals specifically want and need, you can narrow your search focus to qualified leads.

Reach Out Through Social Channels

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Social media is a powerful tool for gaining traffic. While 87% of marketers claim social media increases their brand exposure, nearly 80% say it also increases their traffic.

Use your social media strategically by sharing and tagging content that relates to the medical field. Then, instead of all social media users seeing your posts, you are targeting niche channels. That means those most likely to see and click on links to your medical supply website will be healthcare professionals.

Link to Relevant Articles

Whenever you create web content, use links to gain exposure both in searches and within other sites. For example, healthcare providers will learn to associate your brand with healthcare supplies by linking to other relevant medical websites.

Nearly 74% of websites will receive a reciprocal link. So with that in mind, when you link to those popular websites, you are leading qualified traffic back to your site through those reciprocal links.

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Initiate Contact with Potential Leads

If you want qualified traffic, don’t wait for them to come to you. Instead, find the traffic you want and invite it to your website. You locate these potential leads through:

  • Market research
  • Email lists
  • Online feedback and comments
  • In-person connections

How is Qualified Traffic Measured?

Your website’s success is more than the number of traffic you receive. It is also measured by:

  • Length of time spent on your website
  • New versus returning visitors
  • Your conversion rates

You don’t just want dozens of visitors to click then bounce from your website. You need to generate content that retains visitors to your website and encourages them to browse your products.

You also want those visitors to end with a sale.

For example, if 100 people visit your website a day, that’s a good level of web traffic. But, if only one healthcare professional makes a sale, your ROI is unsuccessful.

On the other hand, if 10 out of 20 visitors ended in a sale, you would have a positive ROI. This ratio is your conversion rate. In the first scenario, your conversion rate is 1%, while your conversion rate is 50% in the second scenario.

If you want to increase your conversion rate, focus on retaining customers instead of attracting new traffic. Your chance of selling to a previous customer is 60%-70%, whereas selling to a new customer is just 5%-20%.

Using Qualified Web Traffic to Improve Sales in Healthcare

Here are four ways you can encourage your qualified traffic to make a sale:

  • Offer an incentive along with a purchase
  • Add a call-to-action at the end of each content piece
  • Gather contact information to follow up with potential customers
  • Make your website easy to navigate and make purchases

Share Moving Media has a staff of editors and writers to help create “content in context” for the audience you want to reach. Over the past year, Repertoire’s site traffic has jumped from 80,000 clicks to 307,000 clicks. Let us help you grow your traffic and sales!

How a Website for Sales and Marketing Helps Medical Suppliers

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Do you feel like dozens of other competing online businesses are burying you?

As a medical supplier, building your online presence is your foundation for success. However, success is not guaranteed when there are almost 2 billion other live websites attracting traffic.

Reevaluate your marketing strategies so healthcare providers notice your website for sales and marketing of medical supplies.

Key Takeaways:

  • Medical suppliers should use a website to gain more customers
  • Websites are easy to build but hard to use successfully
  • Including quality content and SEO helps your website gain visibility
  • Social media use, product ads, and customer engagement are effective marketing strategies

Why You Need a Website for Your Healthcare Manufacturing Business

Nearly 90% of households have a personal computer – which contributes to the growth of the internet. Online content is accessible by almost anyone and for any reason, from contacting friends to online shopping.

Healthcare providers are no exception. At least 51% of consumers prefer to conduct online research before purchasing products. To expand your healthcare market, start developing your online presence through a marketing and sales website.

5 Strategies to Use with Your Website for Sales and Marketing

Here are five website marketing strategies for growing your online visibility as a medical supplier.

1. Publish Regular Content Through a Blog

A blog is a page of your website with regularly updated content. Here are a few types of content you could publish on your medical blog.

  • Business updates
  • New products
  • Educational articles
  • Testimonials from your clients

This content helps build trust among your clients and boosts the rankings of your website.

A blog’s extensive library of content gives more information for Google to pull from when people search online. It is also a sign that your website is still active and relevant – boosting your brand’s reliability. 

A blog offers another form of engagement with your clients. While you provide medical supplies for a cost, information on a blog is free. Many customers and clients will come to your website just for that free advice and information but stay because of your quality products.

2. Integrate Social Media with Your Website

If your marketing website for a business is not attracting traffic, consider building more roads to your site. You generate these roads through clicks on ads and links. Social media is a gold mine of leads. 

Some of the top social media sites are Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Do not restrict your marketing strategies to your website. Share your content on those social sites. You will have regular content to share on your social sites if you take the advice from the first tip and create a blog.

Social media also gives another way to interact with potential clients. Nearly 88% of businesses use social media. By creating a profile on social sites, you can network with healthcare providers on those platforms and boost your brand awareness.

3. Use SEO Strategies to Increase Your Search Rankings

Ranking well on Google is essential to get noticed. If your website has that coveted first spot, over 25% of people will click on your website. Each of the following places then receives fewer clicks.

Gaining a high position requires a strong SEO strategy. SEO uses keywords, link building, and content marketing to optimize web pages for searches. The words you use and links you add tell Google what your content is about and why you are a reliable source. Websites that have the most relevant and dependable content receive the highest rankings in search results.

Websites that use SEO when creating blog posts and web pages drive more traffic than those using paid ads and other means for attracting visitors to their sites.

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4. Sell and Promote Medical Products Online

One in four people shop online. Online shopping is more convenient and often cheaper. As a distributor, you save on the costs of store space and employees, while shoppers save on gas when they shop online.

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Use your social media accounts and online network to post your products around the web through paid ads. Then online healthcare shoppers see what you offer. Your products will drive customers to your website, increasing your traffic and sales.

5. Develop a Personal Connection with Customers

Trust is essential for medical providers who purchase equipment. They need to know your products are reliable and meet the necessary safety requirements of the medical field.

You build trust through forming personal connections and demonstrating a history of positive feedback.

Online interactions can lead to a personal connection with customers. For example, if people mention your business on social media or in blog posts, take time to respond to them and let them know you are listening and want to connect.

Generating positive feedback is also key as most consumers rely on the recommendations of other consumers when deciding which products to buy.

 Over 92% of businesses say they are more likely to purchase from another business with positive reviews.

Getting Started with Your Next Website Marketing Strategy

Creating a website for sales and marketing is relatively easy – attracting traffic is not. So, if your website is not helping your business, find outside help. Hiring marketing agencies to optimize your content and engage with your customers makes a difference!

With the right website optimization techniques, some businesses start seeing a jump in web traffic and sales within 24 hours.

For an SEO consultation, contact Scott Adams and redeem this $10,000 value for free!

Digital Marketing Budgets: A Channel-Wise Digital Marketing in Healthcare E-Guide

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As the COVID-19 pandemic rolled across the globe, the healthcare industry came away forever changed.

One of the biggest adjustments from the pandemic came in the form of virtual health options. With this push for online access to doctors and other health services, health marketers have had to adjust their strategies as well.

If you, as a health marketer, are looking for innovative ways to create a digital marketing budget for healthcare, we are here to help. Read through this digital marketing in healthcare e-guide to help steer your marketing department in the right direction.

Key Takeaways

  • Healthcare marketers need to understand their marketing goals to adjust their budgets to the new digital landscape in the healthcare industry.
  • Focus your marketing budget on the channels where you can most effectively reach your customers. This may include email, blogs, and social media.
  • Make sure your company’s website loads quickly and is optimized for mobile users.

Define Your Marketing Goals

While you may wish you had an unlimited budget for your digital marketing, you must be realistic about how much you can spend and where to spend it. To make sure you choose the right channels, you should ask yourself these questions:

1. Where Do My Potential Customers Spend Their Time Online? 

Depending on the type of healthcare organization you work for, your customers might be individual patients, doctors, hospitals, or even large healthcare conglomerates. Focus on your customer demographic and figure out how to reach them online.

You can brainstorm ideas and talk with other team members. You will likely be able to connect with customers on social media, but you must choose the right platforms. If your customers are other businesses, can you reach them through email or other types of messaging?

2. How Can I Generate More Leads? 

Once you know where to reach your potential customers and how to communicate with them, look for ways to generate leads from those channels. Do you already have marketing on these channels? If not, can you start? If so, is there room to do more?

3. Where Can I Invest If My Marketing Budget Increases? 

As we travel into the post-COVID world, many healthcare marketers may see an increase in the amount of digital marketing money allotted to them. The pandemic showed the healthcare industry that it can connect with people virtually, and that method is here to stay. If your marketing budget increases, focus on your company’s goals to spend your money strategically.

4. Where Will I Get the Best ROI? 

The simple answer to this question is that you will get the best ROI on the most popular channels used by your customers. However, you have to use the right kind of marketing on those channels. Different platforms require different types of content. Make sure you have a solid overall marketing strategy.

For even more things to consider, this video from Philip VanDusen has some great digital marketing tips.

Where to Spend Your Digital Marketing Budget for Healthcare?

The pandemic drastically shifted the healthcare industry toward digital resources, whether it wanted to it not. Many healthcare marketers are adjusting their marketing goals and spending patterns based on the effects of the pandemic.

In a recent survey, healthcare marketers indicated that one of the top marketing goals for 2021 was to build brand awareness. Respondents also said they were increasing marketing investments in search engine optimization and paid social media, among others.

top digital marketing investments healthcare organizations are making in 2021

Now, you get to figure out the best way to use these digital channels to connect with your customers and get successful returns. We recommend these key digital channels to maximize your marketing budget.

1. Create Bold Brand Messaging Through Your Website

The most important digital channel to focus on is your company’s website. This is the place where most customers will ultimately connect with you. You want it to look sharp, have an easy-to-understand layout, and load quickly. In fact, a website that takes too long to load may cost you a sale.

According to Neil Patel, the longer a site takes to load, the higher the chance a visitor will abandon your site.

Finally, don’t forget to optimize your site for mobile use, as about half of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices.

2. Trust Email Marketing to Reach Businesses 

Email marketing is a highly effective way to reach potential customers. It also offers an incredible ROI with an average return of $38 for every $1 spent. Email is an easily customizable channel you can use to communicate directly with your customers. 

You can use email to gradually convert a lead, offer new solutions to current customers, and even reactivate old customers. Email is one of the most personalized methods of connecting with customers. However, you must have a good email marketing strategy, so you don’t waste your marketing dollars.

3. Use Social Media Marketing to Engage with Customers 

Our modern world is connected through social media. More and more often, businesses use social media to connect with and find customers. With so many social media platforms available, your company can find the ones best suited to you.

While the main goal of social media is to share information about your company brand, it is also an effective tool for monitoring the activity of your customers. You can use relevant hashtags to draw attention to your industry. For example, if your company sells mammogram machines, you can join in the conversation with hashtags during breast cancer awareness month in October. 

4. Share Your Expertise Through a Blog 

You know your company and industry well. Share that expertise with others through a company blog. When you set up your blog, you should plan on publishing something new at least once a month, but once a week is even better. Focus on creating quality content with good SEO value that will attract more customers in your market.

Share Moving Media Can Help You Maximize Your Digital Marketing Budget

At Share Moving Media, we’re experts in creating high-quality content for the healthcare industry. We work with healthcare marketers along with distributors and manufacturers in the healthcare industry. If you want to put our expertise to work for your healthcare company, we are ready to help.

Contact us today to learn more about our company.