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The Advantage of Brand Awareness within the Medical Industry

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If you’ve shopped at the grocery store and decided to commit to buying the brand-named product such as Colgate, Nestle, or Betty Crocker, then you’ve experienced brand awareness.

Brand awareness is the extent that consumers associate with and recognize a specific brand. Brand awareness embeds itself into consumers’ lifestyles. When a brand is well-advertised, a consumer makes purchasing decisions automatically without having to weigh the decision against another similar brand.

It is important for companies in the medical distribution industry to set themselves apart when marketing their business or products, so consumers choose your company over other options.

So, why is establishing brand awareness important? And how can your brand implement it?

Brand awareness fosters trust

With so many companies to choose from in today’s marketplace, healthcare industry consumers especially want to make purchases from brands that they know well and trust.

Consumers can do extensive research on a brand online and read about other consumer’s opinions of the company before ever making a purchasing decision of their own. Companies can leverage technology as an advantage and do extensive online marketing to reach more customers. When consumers are familiar with a brand and have experienced it many times in advertisements, they are more likely to trust the company and continue to make purchases.

Creating brand awareness

Strategically placed advertisements aimed toward a company’s target audiences attract a consumer’s attention and create an awareness of the brand.

Health systems can advertise through social media, event sponsorship, magazines, newspapers, and online, etc., which all creates visual imagery of a brand and fosters increased awareness among consumers.

Through online, social media, and event advertising, consumers view and interact with content, thus learning about the brand and creating customer recognition. Targeted ads on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn allow consumers to interact with posts, comment, and provide feedback, all of which spread the word about a brand.

Brand awareness builds equity

Brand equity is the value of a brand. Equity is determined by positive consumer experiences and brand perception. Effective brand awareness tactics create repetitive positive experiences with a brand for a customer.

When a customer is aware of a brand, they recognize it, make purchasing decisions, and start to prefer it over other similar brands. This preference over other brands for consumers indicates high brand awareness and will help to build a brand’s long-term equity.

Brands within the medical distribution industry can greatly benefit from increasing their brand awareness. Share Moving Media, with over 30 years of experience working within the medical supply chain industry, can help your brand create the content that is needed to foster consumer’s trust and increase brand awareness and equity.

Keys to a Successful Marketing Campaign

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Successful marketing campaigns have the potential to increase brand awareness, boost sales, and promote brand engagement. Determining how to best navigate the digital and print marketplace can ensure a company develops the most effective option to promote a product or service.

An example of a very successful marketing campaign that went viral on social media in 2014 was the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The social media challenge featured individuals who voluntarily drenched themselves in ice water and posted a video of it online to raise money for ALS research. Once they filmed the video and posted it to social media, participants then tagged their friends to challenge them to participate also. The challenge went viral across social media, with celebrities and politicians participating such as Taylor Swift, Ben Affleck, and George Bush.

According to the ALS Association, the campaign increased annual funding for the organization by 187% in 2014. Successful marketing campaigns from the past can be used by companies in medical distribution as a learning tool to integrate similar tactics in their marketing design. So, what aspects of the campaign made the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge so successful?

  1. Simplicity: The ice bucket challenge was easy to emulate at home using only a bucket and water. Participants thought of the campaign as being simple and easy to follow, and they were more likely to participate, tag their friends, and spread the word.
  2. Shareability: The campaign went viral because of the ability to tag friends and encourage them to participate, which increased overall media circulation.
  3. Emotional and logical appeal: The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was a highly interactive way to raise awareness and encourage donations toward an important cause. Participants felt like they were making a difference in a simple way.

A business can utilize these marketing campaign tactics and translate them to the specificities of their own brand to create successful marketing campaigns. Share Moving Media is experienced with the creation of marketing campaigns that increase SEO searches for companies within the medical distribution industry. We can assist your brand in creating content that is simple, shareable, and that appeals to emotion to effectively promote your company. Visit www.sharemovingmedia.comto learn more.

3 Benefits of Online Training for Medical Sales Reps

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Medical sales reps are always looking for an edge. Even the smallest detail could mean the difference between a successful client encounter or a missed opportunity. What one feature or benefit of a well-established product could you provide that would convince a physician office of its value? What new CPT code out there could make a difference for reimbursement? What new products from medical device manufacturers are coming out that promise to change the game in the med/surg market?

Research suggests that online learning has been shown to increase retention of information, and take less time, meaning the changes coronavirus have caused might be here to stay.

The following are 3 reasons that reps should consider investing their time and energy in online training.

What you need

A fine-tuned, industry tailored training site can give you the information you need in a digestible format. Training modules can provide all the necessary features and benefits of the product, why it is used, who to target, CPT codes and reimbursement, promotions, and links directly to the manufacturer.

Learn at your own pace

Distributor sales reps are incredibly busy – visiting clients, taking calls, working with internal team members and vendor reps. Online training allows the rep to schedule to learn about products when it fits their schedule, and even go back to items when they need to.

One location

According to the research, in 2022, 83 percent of 515 surveyed learning leaders said the shift to a hybrid environment forced companies to rethink how they handle corporate learning. Now instead of teaching in a room full of people, online learning has become a necessity. And that’s why 59 percent of the surveyed learning leaders believe traditional in-person learning will end.

Having a single portal for training on the products you sale that meets your needs is invaluable and saves you time. Rather than having to jump in and out of a myriad of websites, trying to remember which username and password goes to what platform, an effective training platform allows reps access to many different products they talk with clients about on a daily basis, across countless product categories that are used in physician offices, long-term care facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, hospitals, health systems and IDNs.

Indeed, online training can get you up to speed, and even ahead of the pack, if you’re willing to invest the time to make each client encounter great. In a recent survey, 87% of distribution reps said they will not bring up a product if they haven’t trained on it. In the same survey distribution rep said they give on average 12-15 sales presentations following online training.

Fortunately, you don’t have to spend the time looking for those keys to success. SMM delivers training in multiple ways:

  • 2-Minute Drills, which are short videos that teach the rep how to start a conversation around a product.
  • EOL training modules, which are more in depth 8-12 minute trainings on a product or service.
  • Live videos with manufacturers going over their products and services. 
  • Podcasts on topics manufacturers want distribution reps to know as they call on their accounts. 

Share Moving Media is a market leader in designing programs to help train distribution, manufacturers, or end-users on market trends or products. For more information, click here.

Best-in-class examples of Niche Marketing from retailers, manufacturers, and service providers in the medical distribution industry.

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Today’s marketplace is saturated with numerous forms of advertising. For companies in the medical distribution industry, finding a niche within the busy marketing space has become challenging. How can your company stand out among other medical suppliers?

Niche marketing is the promotion of a product or service to a specialized segment of the market. With niche marketing, businesses target specific audiences to promote their brand. Niche marketing allows a business, such as a healthcare supply company, to understand the specific needs of the consumer and tailor their marketing strategy to meet those needs.

A brand can determine subsections of the market to target by considering demographic information, attitudes, values, geographic location, and more, of specific market groups. In the healthcare space, that could be hospitals, health systems, IDNs and GPOs.

Read on for examples of successful niche marketing campaigns from other sectors of the economy:

  1. Whole Foods

Whole Foods grocery stores target a niche market of affluent, conscious consumers who focus on health and well-being. Many Whole Foods products are organic and environmentally conscious, which targets a very specific audience that desires a high-quality and luxury grocery store experience.

  1. Casper

The online mattress brand Casper targets specific market segments through creative online media content that encourages customers to interact with the brand’s site. Content including blogs, social media posts, and an extensive website engage consumers with the goal of them making purchasing decisions.

  1. Square

Square is a payment system for small businesses, non-profit organizations, and independent companies that can be used by plugging the system into phones or tablets to process credit card transactions. The niche market of small business owners may not have the resources to pay high credit card fees and Square targets this small market segment with their unique technological solution. Share Moving Media can assist you with determining the marketing tactics that will set your brand apart. With over 30 years of experience in the healthcare and medical distribution industry, we can help you develop the content your brand needs to stand out.

Sponsored vs. Earned Media

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In the healthcare industry, marketing strategies that stand apart from competitors are integral to navigating today’s saturated marketplace. Content creation can have numerous positive impacts in Med/Surg sales. There are many forms media can take when consumed by customers, and it is paramount to know the differences so they can be utilized to benefit your company.

Consumers often respond well to omni channel marketing strategies.

Omni channel marketing is a brand’s presence across multiple channels. Online channels include websites, apps, social media, and email. Medical suppliers increase their exposure through creation of a consistent brand experience. Omni channel marketing a is customer-centric form of brand promotion, meaning customers can interact with a business on their own terms, resulting in a better overall experience.

Having multiple forms of content increases the likeliness that a customer will be exposed to your brand and make purchasing decisions.

Sponsored media

Sponsored media is exposure that a company pays for. This content can take any form and is considered paid media as long as there is a financial component to publishing it. It can include blogs, articles, infographics, videos, websites, webinars, social media posts, etc.

Sponsored media can be created by the brand themselves, but typically companies pay for content creation to be outsourced. Share Moving Media has extensive experience creating content for clients in the medical distribution industry. Our knowledge of medical distribution, medical manufacturing, ambulatory surgery centers, GPOs, RPCs, supply chain executives, IDNs and health systems in the United States allows for an understanding of the content that will gain your brand recognition such as through blogs, podcasts, and articles that stands out among competitors.

For instance, Repertoire Publisher Scott Adams interviewed NASCAR driver Will Rodgers on his Liver Health Foundation, whose collaboration with OraSure Technologies provided individuals with free HCV testing from CLIA-waived healthcare professionals using the rapid point-of-care OraQuick HCV Rapid Antibody Test. The interview was presented in a podcast, as well as a story in a print and online issue of Repertoire Magazine. The multiple formats gave the sponsor increased visibility among the med/surg audience.

This format was also used on the IDN supply chain side in an interview with Quidel’s Doug Bryant on respiratory season, both in a podcast and article in The Journal of Healthcare Contracting

Earned media

Earned Media is brand exposure from methods other than paid advertising. Earned media is usually seen in the form of mentions, shares, reposts, reviews, recommendations and content picked up by third party sites.

Great content in the form of press releases, articles, podcasts, blogs, and more is crucial to share online and in print so your brand can receive the value of earned media. Each weekday, Repertoire’s and JHC’s Daile News often include earned media via press releases and reposts of information critical to medical distribution stakeholders

Share Moving Media has been creating marketing content for the healthcare industry for over 30 years. With trusted publications such as The Journal of Healthcare Consulting and Repertoire, we can assist you with any marketing content creation needs you may have and ensure great content to boost your marketing strategy. For more information, visit www.sharemovingmedia.com.