Share Moving Media

Standing Out Among the Rest

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Consumers are constantly surrounded by media and advertising influences. As a result, navigating marketing efforts as a healthcare company can be daunting. So, how can brands create unique, consumer-focused marketing campaigns? And what exactly makes a brand stand out from its competitors?

Mayo Clinic Health System may provide a blueprint. Mayo is a brand proven to be very successful at healthcare marketing, and was recently nominated as an Academic Medical Centre (AMC) brand for the second year running by Brand Finance, the world’s leading independent brand valuation consultancy, in its second annual AMC Global Brand Ranking.

44% of healthcare professionals note Mayo Clinic’s leadership in integrating technologies such as robotics, digital imaging, and AI into its healthcare services, a key driver of the company’s reputation and brand strength, according to the AMC Global Brand Ranking. The Global Brand Ranking also recognized that Mayo Clinic’s brand overall is getting stronger, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score increase of 1.2 points to 86.9/100.

So, what makes Mayo Clinic so successful at marketing? And how can your brand emulate their strategies and tactics to succeed?

Highlight successes

A large aspect of Mayo Clinic’s brand building success has to do with its transformative research and technological innovation in the field of medicine. Those aspects of the company serve to intrigue consumers, and in turn, drive the company’s overall brand reputation, according to Brand Finance.

As a brand navigating advertising in the supply chain industry, you should highlight any technological assets or groundbreaking research that your company has been involved in within advertising campaigns. Customers nowadays are looking for brands that are trustworthy, groundbreaking, and future oriented. Focusing on how your brand aligns with these topics in advertising campaigns will help your brand to stand out.

Brand awareness

U.S.-based brands claimed seven out of the top ten spots due to widespread recognition, according to the AMC Global Brand Ranking.

Brand awareness is critical to a company’s ability to gain customers and to sell. Widespread recognition is when a brand name is broadly recognized, and companies should strive to increase their own recognition through its marketing efforts.

Companies can learn from others’ successes when planning a marketing strategy. If your  company in the supply chain industry could use assistance creating content that both stands out and increases awareness, contact John Pritchard at jpritchard@sharemovingmedia.com to set up a time to brainstorm your company’s marketing success strategy.

The Benefits of Outsourcing Content Marketing: Why Your Company Needs an Expert

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Having a solid marketing strategy is key to successfully promoting and selling products. All companies in the medical supply chain industry should be spending time and effort on marketing to increase brand awareness and customer following.

Marketing strategies have continued to rapidly develop, as technological advancements, changing consumer preferences, legal changes, and more has recently greatly impacted the industry, according to Forbes. Options are extensive when companies are deciding how to best promote their products. Companies today are, in fact, allocating more and more of their annual budgets toward marketing campaigns. According to Forbes and a Taradel marketing survey, 94% of small businesses have plans to boost their marketing spending in 2024.

While marketing is a critical component to a business’ success, there is no doubt that content creation can be time consuming and requires expertise to properly master. That’s where outsourcing content marketing comes in— your company doesn’t have to produce its marketing content all by itself. By outsourcing marketing, your team can focus its time on what it does best.

The goal of your company should be to make a profit, maximize sales, and make lasting, trustworthy connections with customers, not to get sidetracked by marketing. Read on to learn more about how your business can outsourcing marketing:

What is marketing outsourcing?

Marketing outsourcing is delegating a company’s marketing tasks to external professionals. Outsourced marketing professionals will assist a company in creating campaigns, content, marketing strategy, determining a target audience, and more. Outsourcing allows companies to focus on its day-to-day operations while hired professionals take charge of marketing responsibilities.

According to a study from Sagefrog, a marketing agency, 59% of companies decide to outsource marketing. The primary reason is that outsourcing is more cost effective, and because marketing professionals can assist companies in implementing new, innovative strategies.

What are the benefits of outsourcing?

  1. Trusted experts

External marketing professionals/agencies are well-versed in the nuances of the industry. They thoroughly understand industry trends and how to best utilize new technologies. They can also come up with more successful tactics and navigate any potential changes or challenges. External marketing professionals, with extensive experience, are much better equipped to give your brand a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Outsourcing, therefore, allows employees to spend time and resources elsewhere while professionals take care of marketing efforts.

  1. New perspective

Outsourcing offers a company a new marketing perspective. Businesses that conduct their own marketing campaigns often fall into routines and run the risk of reusing lackluster campaigns. Marketing agencies are experienced with what it takes to create successful campaign tactics, and can bring new ideas, innovative strategies, and a fresh perspective to the table to better promote your company.

  1. Cost reduction

Outsourcing can produce results similar to hiring in-house, but it may be more cost effective for your company to outsource its marketing. Outsourcing allows a company to reduce training costs and save time by not hiring new employees. Your business can instead allocate resources where they are most needed, saving time and money in the long run.

If your company in the medical supply industry could benefit from outsourcing its marketing efforts, look no further than Share Moving Media. With over 30 years of experience in the medical supply chain industry, our team of experienced staff have extensive knowledge of industry trends, changes and challenges, terminology, strategies that work best, and more. We can assist you with marketing responsibilities, from determining a successful campaign strategy to helping your team with content creation. Contact Scott Adams today to set up a brief meeting to discuss the benefits of outsourcing your company’s marketing.

ROI – What Really Matters (And What Doesn’t)

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Gaining value from investments is the main goal of any well-functioning business. However, industry challenges such as supply shortages, staff turnover, and pandemic disruptions have impacted the profitability of businesses in the medical distribution industry.

Practically all business decisions require an understanding of how the decision will impact return on investment (ROI), especially when it comes to creating marketing tactics. Focusing on ROI strategies can guide a brand in the right direction and refocus its overall goals. So, what is ROI, and what aspects matter (and don’t) when it comes to ROI?

Return on investment is a calculation of the value of an investment versus the cost. ROI is a useful measurement to assess the profitability of a particular investment. ROI can be calculated using the formula: (profit minus cost)/(cost).

Many professionals consider ROI tracking extremely important to overall businesses success. Marketing ROI, specifically, is a measurement that attributes profit and revenue growth to the success of marketing initiatives, according to a Marketing Evolution blog.

Calculating return on marketing investment allows organizations to determine the degree to which marketing efforts as a whole, or on a campaign-basis, contribute to revenue growth. Traditionally, ROI is used to justify budget allocation and future campaigns and initiatives. So, what really matters when it comes to marketing ROI?

  1. Determining Marketing Budget

There are a myriad of marketing mix combinations, especially with the recent increase in online marketing. Any form of marketing campaign requires a budget, and that is why having a complete understanding of the profit that marketing generates is important.

  1. Measure Campaign Success

Measuring the success of specific marketing campaigns is crucial to establish a baseline for future strategies. Understanding the impact of individual campaigns on overall revenue growth can help marketing professionals identify the strategies that were most profitable.

  1. Competitive Analysis

Monitoring competitors allows advertisers to understand how their company is performing in marketing compared to other businesses in their industry. Many factors impact marketing success within the medical distribution industry, and so knowing how competing companies compare can guide advertising tactics.

Marketing decisions require a knowledge of ROI trends to ensure that business decision are profitable. What matters most is that a business consistently tracks these statistics, whether it be through Google Analytics/ads, a CRM software, call tracking software, online campaign tracking software, etc.

Keeping track of ROI gives a business valuable insight to use toward a successful marketing strategy. If your business could use assistance with its marketing strategy, Share Moving Media has extensive supply chain industry marketing experience and expertise. With decades spent navigating the industry, SMM can create content for your business that is engaging, creative, and relevant. Call John Pritchard at jpritchard@sharemovingmedia.com to set up a time to speak more about how SMM can help your company improve its marketing ROI.

Podcasting 101

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Podcasts are a popular form of media, especially as a way for listeners to gain audio information while multitasking — such as driving in the car, exercising, cooking, etc.

Podcasts are also an advantageous marketing tool. Businesses in the medical supply chain industry can leverage podcasting as a marketing tool in a variety of ways to increase market share.

Podcasts are a media form consisting of digitally recorded audio, often with a series of episodes that relate back to a specific theme. Businesses in the supply chain industry, for example, may produce a podcast with episode titles such as “How to Improve Healthcare Sales” and “Healthcare Industry Trends in 2023,” which would be brought to life through detailed audio information shared with the audience on each of the topics.

Podcasts are a powerful marketing tool, allowing advertisers to share content with wide audiences. Podcasts are relatively simple to create, and the creator can record and edit any digitally recorded content to share with audiences themselves. Once created, podcasts can be published on a company’s website, audiences can subscribe to the podcasts (and be informed right when new episodes are released), promoted on social media, and more. Podcasts allow a company to broaden its reach through new forms of media.

Read on for steps on how to start a business podcast:

  1. Identify a podcast theme

What does your brand want to communicate to its customers? Select a podcast title based on the goals of your brand’s marketing efforts, and tailor each episode to that theme. Determine the “why” behind the podcast, the audience, and how you will make each episode stand out, then create a podcast name based off those details.

  1. Record, edit, and publish podcast

The next step in podcasting is to record the information to be consumed by already existing customers and new audiences. Structuring podcasts in an educational, interview, or conversational format is a good way to start when conveying business information over a podcast. Once recorded, edit the podcast, and publish it to an easily accessible site so customers can continue to access it.

  1. Market your podcast

The final step is proper marketing. Podcasts create an opportunity for a business to have valuable, shareable content. Post the podcast on company social media accounts, send out the podcast in an informational email, post it to the company website, all with the goal of increase its circulation as a marketing strategy.

Below are a few examples of healthcare industry-related podcasts produced by Share Moving Media, Repertoire Magazine, and The Journal of Healthcare Contracting on topics including:

Increase Your Lab Sales in 2023

Sustainability in Medical Manufacturing

Marketing Minute Podcast: Omni Channel Marketing in Healthcare

Creating marketing content during the busy day-to-day business world within the supply chain industry can be a challenge. If your business could benefit from help creating marketing content such as podcasts, written content, blogs, webinars, etc., contact Scott Adams at sadams@sharemovingmedia.com to set up a time to meet to discuss improving your company’s marketing tactics.

Leadership and Marketing Strategy

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Reliable leadership within the marketing of med/surg products is a must have in today’s dynamic industry. Brands must have a marketing strategy they can count on to promote their brand, and implementing that takes strong, trustworthy teams.

In order to get noticed by supply chain executives and to set your brand apart, team members must practice and display leadership skills when conducting marketing efforts. Marketing leadership plays an important role in the strategy of attracting new and existing customers.

Leadership as defined by Harvard Business Review, is “the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants, a great leader is one who can do so day after day, and year after year, in a wide variety of circumstances.”

Leadership is a universal business skill and should be practiced not just by the C-Suite and managers, but by all employees within a company. Marketing teams especially can benefit from the critical leadership skills of taking initiative, compelling team action, strong communication, and task delegation.

  1. Taking Initiative

Taking initiative, including exhibiting autonomy, drive, and capitalizing on opportunities are essential leadership qualities for all employees within a business. Encouraging teams to take the initiative will keep each employee on top of current trends, and better ensure that they are best promoting your brand.

  1. Compel Team Action

Marketing teams must encourage and challenge each other to form new ideas, create new content, and continue improving campaigns. This allows marketing teams to stay up to date on industry trends, changes, and ways the business could improve to stand out from competition.

  1. Strong Communication

All team members should actively communicate with each other within the workplace. Clear and concise communication is a crucial skill for all team members whether they are cold calling, writing content marketing articles, brainstorming new ad tactics, etc.

  1. Task Delegation

Delegation, or transferring authority or responsibility to another team member, can result in better decision-making, autonomy, and increased teamwork and understanding. In the workplace, delegation allows smaller tasks to be completed more efficiently while allowing for increased focus on the overall marketing campaign.

Strong leadership is essential to a marketing team’s success, and individual leadership encourages more efficient work, increased focus on marketing campaigns, and the delegation of important tasks such as content marketing. If your brand could use assistance with the creation of marketing content that stands out in the medical distribution industry, contact John Pritchard with Share Moving Media at jpritchard@sharemovingmedia.com. SMM has over 30 years of experience working with brands to market their products to health care supply chain leaders.