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5 Freight & Shipping Challenges in the Healthcare Supply Chain

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There are over 2.14 billion consumers around the world who shop online. Even those who shop in a physical store may still order a product online because it’s out of stock. In addition, healthcare and medical personnel are also turning to online stores to make purchases.

To meet the growing demand for shipping products, you also need to meet the accompanying challenges.

Getting healthcare products from medical suppliers to the customer isn’t always easy. Here are five common freight and shipping challenges in healthcare to address for a seamless supply chain.

Key Takeaways

·       Fast and reliable shipping is essential to the healthcare supply chain

·       Costs and requirements for shipping often fluctuate

·       Communication and support should be customer-focused

Continually Changing Costs and Requirements

The added cost of shipping isn’t pleasant for anyone to see, especially in a society where free shipping is becoming the norm. Sometimes, extra high shipping costs are so off-putting to the point that you could lose customers over them.

One reason why the cost is a significant shipping pain point is that it’s unpredictable or unclear. It changes depending on a product’s:

  • Dimensions
  • Weight
  • Location
  • Carrier

In addition, healthcare workers often need special services for their products, such as temperature-controlled shipping or fragile labels. In the end, shipping costs may sky-rocket, leaving customers wondering if the price is fair or the manufacturer is just trying to make a profit.

Your Solution: You can create charts and shipping calculators for your customers to use. These estimates will give your customers a better idea of what to expect and where the added charges came from, so the costs don’t catch your customers off guard when they arrive at the checkout.

You can also do your part to cut shipping costs so your customers aren’t as startled by high prices. Plan your freight routes and location of supplies to cut back on unnecessary shipping charges.

Increased Errors Due to a Lack of Automation

When humans are involved in a process, errors are inevitable. As a result, the more humans do, the more errors will occur. On the contrary, the more tasks you automate – the fewer errors will occur.

Already, 62% of businesses use automation in their workflow. One of the top workflow challenges that automation solves is communication issues.

Errors in shipping lead to returns. In the U.S., returns peak in January at 1.75 million packages returned a day.

Your Solution: Through automated systems, medical suppliers and healthcare facilities can cut down on returns and shipping errors. These systems can:

  • Log inventory needs
  • Communicate purchases
  • Streamline orders
  • Track packages

Lack of Communication within Departments

A healthcare supply chain involves many pieces that link together. However, when one link breaks, the entire chain falls apart.

For example, the healthcare worker ordering supplies isn’t usually the same person who uses the supplies. So, often, what they order and what workers need are very different. In addition, the person doing the ordering may select the wrong shipping speed and either spend too much on fast delivery for unnecessary supplies or neglect to purchase expedited shipping on urgent supplies.

In companies with over 100 employees, miscommunication costs the business an average of $420,000 each year.

Your Solution: Communication is key to keeping your supply chain together with effective supply chain management. While you can’t control a healthcare facility’s inter-company communication, you have one way to help eliminate errors due to communication. Encourage healthcare workers to consolidate their medical suppliers to one or two companies.

In this way, as the medical supplier, you can track their purchasing history and identify errors and inconsistencies. With timely communication, you can save both yourself and the healthcare facility money by confirming flagged purchases. One way to promote consolidation is by letting healthcare businesses know that they save money when only one company ships their supplies versus paying for shipments from multiple locations.

Unreliable Shipping and Handling

In the U.S., over 1.7 million packages disappear every day, resulting in a total of $25 million in lost goods. A lost package is a big deal for healthcare workers, especially if it includes life-saving equipment or time-sensitive supplies.

Healthcare facilities also need to know that when their packages arrive, the contents will be safe. For example, a broken piece of equipment could be life-threatening. Also, many supplies need a temperature-controlled environment or other special shipping instructions.

If a healthcare facility can’t trust that their supplies will arrive undamaged, they will lose trust in the entire medical supplier.

Your Solution: You shouldn’t feel stuck to one shipping supplier. Instead, find a fast and reliable shipping solution that can handle all your special requests and address your freight challenges in healthcare.

Lack of Customer Support for Shipping Challenges in Healthcare

When things go wrong, your customers need to know you have their back through reliable customer support. About 95% say customer service is vital for brand loyalty.

Healthcare providers need to know they can count on you when their package is lost, damaged, or wrong. However, all too often, customers can’t get ahold of someone capable of remedying the mistake. Alternatively, customers end up struggling to find a solution through an automated phone system.

Your Solution: You can build trust with your healthcare customers by offering easy-to-access customer support. Providing 24/7 support is essential in the healthcare industry as many medical workers are on duty around the clock. They need to know they can count on your support no matter when their product issues arise.

One way to eliminate many issues is by creating a patient-centric supply chain. In this system, you provide a reliable tracking system that alerts your customers where their package is, along with updated arrival predictions and a way to give customized delivery instructions.

Contact us to learn more!

Digital Marketing in Healthcare E-Guide: Using Facebook to Target GPOs

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Whether you’re targeting hospitals or distributors, our Digital Marketing in Healthcare E-Guide can help you harness the power of Facebook to:

We will also go over some marketing mistakes we see manufacturers of healthcare products make all too often – and advise you what to do instead.  

And if you’re having second thoughts about whether it’s a good idea to spend what could be a sizeable chunk of your marketing budget on a Facebook campaign, consider this: Facebook is still the world’s most popular social network. As such, it really ought to play a big part in your broader online marketing strategy.

Quick Takeaways

  • Facebook is the world’s most popular social media network. If you don’t develop a Facebook marketing campaign, you may miss out on many business opportunities. 
  • That said, generating leads through Facebook is only half the work. You should then nurture them by engaging with them and addressing their unique needs. 
  • When it comes to Facebook marketing in medical device sales, what you don’t do may be just as important as what you do. Avoiding common mistakes could be critical for the success of your marketing strategy.

Share Moving Media’s Digital Marketing in Healthcare E-Guide: How to Use Facebook Marketing in Medical Device Sales 

Without further ado, let’s take a look at our tried-and-tested tips on Facebook marketing in medical device sales.

1. Set Measurable Goals and Draw Up a Plan

Social media content may come across as informal and spontaneous – and sometimes, it is. However, if you want to maximize the ROI on your Facebook marketing strategy, you shouldn’t approach it like throwing wet spaghetti at a wall in the hope that some might stick.

Don’t leave things to chance. Define your goals, make an action plan, and stick to it. To quantify your goals, use metrics such as:

  • Click-through rate
  • Number of prospects converted to leads
  • Number of leads converted to paying customers

It’s also a good idea to create a content calendar to ensure you publish consistently. You should aim to post frequently and at the optimal time of day, based on the number of views and click-throughs. Share Moving Media can help you set up and manage a content calendar across all platforms.

2. Get to Know Your Audience 

If you haven’t already created your ideal buyer’s persona, do so before progressing any further with your Facebook marketing. The goal is to reach the right customers – namely, GPOs – with the right message. You won’t be able to do that if you don’t hone in on your target group, or if you publish irrelevant content that doesn’t address their pain points.

That said, you may want to connect with patients themselves, too. While they may not be your target demographic, many patients these days are familiar with healthcare brands and products and may leave reviews and ratings on Facebook. This, in turn, could influence the purchasing decisions of your direct customers: GPOs.

3. Consider Carefully What Types of Content to Post

As a general rule, any marketing content you post on Facebook should be informative, helpful, up-to-date, and focused on improving patient care. Beyond that, you should consider what formats to use – and when to use them. Examples include:

  • Company updates
  • Information about new products
  • Answers to frequently asked questions
  • Links to your blog articles
  • Links to landing pages with promotions and special offers
  • Market surveys or questions to start a conversation
  • Case studies, success stories, practical tips, statistics, and other educational content

Don’t forget to throw in some photos, infographics, and short videos for good measure. 

In any case, any content you publish on Facebook should be consistent with the rest of your marketing and your brand image.

4. Look Into Paid Facebook Ads

Don’t overlook the opportunity to use paid Facebook ads. One of the platform’s biggest advantages is its targetability. Your market may be a relatively small niche within the healthcare supply chain, but paid ads can ensure that you zero in on the GPOs you want to reach.

5. Direct People to Your Website

The ultimate goal of your Facebook presence is to generate leads and increase sales. To do that, use irresistible offers and relevant calls to action (CTAs) to bring your followers to specific landing pages within your website.

Don’t forget that the process works the other way around, too: always encourage website visitors to join you on Facebook to learn more and get in touch.

Mistakes to Avoid When Developing Your Facebook Marketing in Medical Device Sales 

Some healthcare product manufacturers shoot themselves in the foot when they make these common but preventable mistakes.

1. Failing to Engage with Your Followers

Engaging with your audience is crucial to building trust and brand loyalty, and getting to know your customers better. This includes:

2. Not Following Up on Leads

Generating leads through Facebook is only half the job. What you should be doing next is nurturing them. Usually, this involves providing them with a personalized and timely engagement process that addresses their specific needs.

3. Using Inappropriate CTAs or Hashtags

Irrelevant or improper CTAs and hashtags do more harm than good. A wrong hashtag can cause you to target the wrong audience, and a confusing CTA may result in your customers not doing what you want them to do.

4. Not Optimizing for Mobile

98.8% of users access social media using a mobile device. That means one thing: if you fail to create mobile-friendly content – including ads – you will not reach as many people as you otherwise could.

Facebook Marketing in Medical Device Sales: The Bottom Line

We hope that you found our Digital Marketing in Healthcare E-Guide informative. However, there’s a lot more that goes into building a successful Facebook marketing strategy. 

Share Moving Media is a full service media organization designed specifically for healthcare suppliers. We write blogs, produce podcasts and webinars, host live events, publish magazines, white papers, case studies, articles, and produce video and online training modules. We do all of this in context to the audience you want to reach.

To learn more tips on how you can use Facebook marketing to take your business to the next level, contact our team. We’d be more than happy to help! 

How to Use Customer Feedback to Improve Healthcare Product Marketing

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You are a vital component of the healthcare supply chain.

But if you are not providing what your clients need, you’ll soon be left out of the loop. 

Thankfully, you can prevent that from happening by not only offering high-quality (products) but also by marketing those supplies in a way that appeals to your customers. 

How can you do this? By paying close attention to customer feedback, you receive in your healthcare product marketing campaigns.

Customer Feedback in Healthcare Product Marketing: Just How Important Is It?

Customer feedback is valuable information that you get from customers about whether they like or dislike a product they purchased from you. They can also provide feedback on their customer experience: 

  • While evaluating items on your website
  • At checkout
  • With your customer service team
  • When returning or replacing items

Hearing from your customers is vital to the success of your business in multiple ways. 

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Source: ReveChat.com

Image Alt Text: Most consumers are more likely to invest with a company if the company pays attention to customer feedback to improve their product or the customer experience. 

  • Better products: You sell physician office supplies because you know that doctors (in private practice or a hospital setting) need these products to better serve their patients. You had an idea of what your customer needed before you even sold the product. Once it has sold, however, you can get feedback from your customers that tells you what changes are needed to make the product even better. Take that information and use it! Improve your product. Doing so will impress your customers and encourage them to become loyal to your company. 
  • Better service: Similarly, if the customer experience leaves something to be desired, hearing suggestions about how to improve is immensely helpful. You might learn that your employees need some training in sales and customer service skills. Or they might need some training on the ins and outs of the products you sell. If your sales and customer service teams are as knowledgeable as you are about these things, they will help make the customer journey more enjoyable. 
  • Improved marketing: As was mentioned, you have an idea of your customers’ needs. But customer feedback in healthcare product marketing can help you create marketing content that speaks to their needs. Potential clients who read/watch/listen to your materials will likely feel more understood and appreciate that you have taken the time to comprehend how they feel and what they need.
  • Everyone loves feeling appreciated: Asking for feedback in the first place is a great way to improve customer loyalty. When healthcare suppliers ask for feedback, customers feel appreciated, like their input/opinion/experience is valued. If you make them feel that way, they will be more likely to invest with your company not just now but also long-term. Additionally, customers are now more inclined to choose companies that value customers over profits. A recent survey found that 71% of consumers would lose trust in a brand that puts profits over people. 
  • Improve your reputation: Even companies with good reputations need to work on making sure they retain their good name in the healthcare sales industry. If your reputation could use some improvement, getting feedback from customers will help. You’ll learn where your company or products’ weak points are. You can take steps to answer questions and address unfavorable reviews. Doing so will help you start rebuilding trust with customers and potentially improve your medical sales. 
  • Better decisions: Customer feedback can help your company make better business decisions. You work in a competitive market. Making business decisions based on a guess or a hunch is not a good path to travel. Instead, look at what customers are communicating. Their feedback can help you decide whether you should keep selling a certain product. It can also tell you how you should sell products. For example, more consumers than ever before are making purchases online – and that number is expected to rise. Can customers buy from you online?

The Customer Feedback Loop: How to Use Feedback to Improve Your Marketing Efforts

To fully utilize customer feedback in healthcare marketing, you may find it helpful to incorporate the customer feedback loop. The loop consists of four steps. 

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Source: Survicate.com

Image Alt-Text: The three phases of the customer feedback loop.

1. Ask for and Gather Feedback

There are multiple ways you can gather customer feedback, including: 

  • Customer feedback surveys
  • Customer contact forms
  • Emails
  • Live chat
  • Customer interviews
  • Social media posts
  • Website analytics 

Taking a proactive approach to customer feedback will help you build trust and ensure that your marketing messages never stray too far from what your customers want and need. 

2. Learn from the Feedback

Now, it is time to analyze the feedback you get. You’ll need to determine: 

  • The customer’s motivations
  • The volume of the feedback (do you only have one negative review, or are 80% of the reviews negative?)
  • Whether issues faced by customers are repetitive or new

Based on what you learn, you can start brainstorming and action planning. What needs to change? How can you make those changes? Are they cost-effective? If not, what can you do to make the changes and the product more affordable without lowering product quality? 

If the feedback you get pertains to customer service, consider whether you need to implement some training programs or if you need to hire more staff.  

3. Apply What You’ve Learned

This is the phase where you start taking some action. You and your team can implement the changes and start a marketing campaign around the adjustments you’ve made and how they’ll benefit your customers. 

4. Repeat

You’re in a loop, so you’ll need to continue asking for and analyzing feedback – even after you’ve made adjustments. But that’s a good thing because it will help your company to continually improve.

Your Customers’ Voice is Priceless 

As a healthcare supplier, you are in a unique position. You provide products that can help make patients’ and medical workers’ lives easier. What you supply may even help save lives. You are in a rewarding industry. 

To ensure that your business continues to flourish so that you can help those in the medical industry and their patients, you need to make a profit. 

Having amazing products is not enough. You need to listen to your customers. Make it a practice to ask your customers for honest feedback. And make sure you listen carefully and do something with the information they provide. Doing so can help you improve your profitability now and into the future. 

Find out how a unique targeted messaging campaign from Share Moving Media can boost your online visibility. Contact us today for a free analysis to learn more.

5 Insider Tips to Get Valuable PR for Healthcare Product Launch Campaigns

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To compete in the marketplace and stay ahead of the competition, companies must foster an environment of innovation based on collaboration. New products keep current audience members engaged, attract new customers, and help establish companies as leaders in their field. Working together to develop new ideas builds morale and leads to corporate success. Approximately 78% of managers who make collaboration a priority in their company see low product failure rates.

Launching a new healthcare product is big news for your business and the community at large. The key is to spread the word with an effective public relations strategy so people know about it. In today’s world of digital marketing, there are more ways than ever to reach a broad target audience and promote the launch of your new product. PR for a healthcare product launch is relatively easy, highly effective, and completely necessary.

Why is PR Especially Important for Healthcare Suppliers?

PR (public relations) is more than raising awareness about a new product launch. It’s about delivering the right message that helps to build a strong brand reputation. An effective PR strategy can instill trust among followers by establishing brand credibility and solidifying a company’s reputation. Articles and press releases can drive traffic to the company’s website for the opportunity to increase conversion rates. As a result, PR can help strengthen a company’s online presence.

All of these are instrumental in the success of any business, but especially so for companies in the healthcare supply chain. The medical industry is constantly changing, from advancements in technology to medicinal discoveries to governmental regulations. People regard their healthcare very seriously, and they need to feel they can trust their healthcare suppliers.

A strong PR campaign keeps consumers in the know about industry trends, company updates, and product launches. PR helps gain the community’s confidence and enables people to feel comfortable doing business with your healthcare company.

5 Tips to Get Valuable PR for Your Healthcare Product Launch

The key to spreading the word about your new product launch is to reach people where they are. You must set a solid foundation for your PR campaign. The average person spends nearly 7 hours a day on the internet, so an effective PR campaign should include a digital marketing strategy. However, some people prefer to conduct business in person, so your PR strategy should include a multi-faceted approach as well. Here are five tips to get valuable PR for your new healthcare product launch.

1. Distribute a Press Release

The obvious first step when announcing a new product is to draft a press release. This document should include essential details like date, location, and who to contact for more information. Press releases should follow a uniform format to meet industry standards, which makes them easier for media contacts to work with. What you may not have considered is where to send this release.

In addition to local media outlets, you should submit your press release to your trade publication media contact. These publications are good for helping with for content ideas, and most would be glad to share the news about a ground-breaking product that could serve association members. See about giving an interview to discuss the product, the research behind it, and its anticipated impact.

Part of a trade association’s mission is to provide educational opportunities to its members. This article could be just the thing to fit the bill.

2. Give Something Away

Everyone loves a free gift. In order to generate buzz about a new product, you need to plant a seed of interest in your audience’s mind. Offer to give something away in correlation with your product launch. It could be a free sample of the product itself, a piece of the material used in its construction, or a coupon for a discounted purchase.

If you can get a small group of people interested in your product, they will become your megaphone. They’ll share your information and help spread the word about your launch with their contacts. This helps to broaden your reach exponentially and gains awareness about your news.

3. Grab a Partner

If your new product complements the offerings of another company in your industry, consider partnering together to gain more visibility. A mutually beneficial partnership can expand the reach of both companies, as you’ll attract each other’s audience and help establish yourselves as leaders in your field. It can also help solidify your reputation as a company that cares about your customers.

By eliminating a sense of competition, your partnership strengthens your brand image and encourages people to entrust their business to you. You also develop a good relationship with other businesses in your field and can become resources for each other down the road.

4. Attend Events

Live events are an effective way for people to talk to you face to face about your product and get a close firsthand look. Attend your industry trade show and hold a panel discussion. Give a demonstration, allow people to handle the product, and lead a question and answer session to address any questions or concerns. In addition to creating excitement and awareness about your product, you can also get instant feedback from people on the initial launch of the product.

This candid information can be helpful in not only determining what is or isn’t working with the product itself. It can provide insight into your packaging as well as your marketing efforts. When you know what your audience is looking for, you can shape your campaign to meet their specific needs.

5. Create Videos

Videos are an effective way to generate brand awareness in an engaging way. Not only are videos fun and eye-catching, but they also give people a firsthand look at how a product works without having to leave the comfort of their computer screen. Videos are also highly shareable, so they’re great for social media posts.

A video can feature you or your team discussing the new product launch. It could use hired actors to demonstrate a real-life scenario of who would need your product and how it would impact them. Or it could simply be a slideshow presentation highlighting the key points of your launch.

Develop an Effective PR Campaign That Yields Results

Whether you’re in hospital purchasing, hospital distribution, or medical sales, a new product launch can be highly beneficial for your business. Creating an effective PR campaign is essential to spreading the word and getting you the visibility you need for sales growth and success.

Contact us today to discuss a PR campaign that raises awareness, drives traffic, and closes sales for your healthcare supply business.

Social Media for Healthcare Providers: A “Clinically Proven” Strategy

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Social media has changed the face of digital marketing. It is a platform where people share educational articles, engaging videos, and interact in real-time through chat features, likes, and comments. For around 71% of Americans, it’s also a source of news information. Healthcare providers who want to connect with their customers, build deep relationships, and drive business should develop a social media strategy that delivers valuable information on multiple platforms.

People turn to social media for professional insight as well as personal recommendations. Investing your time and resources into social media for healthcare providers is a must in today’s marketplace. It helps you build trust, reach a wider audience, and share more quality information about products, services, and trends in the healthcare industry. Position yourself as an authority in your field with a clinically proven social media strategy.

How Social Media Impacts Your Business

Social media is a highly effective and powerful tool when it comes to building an audience and generating revenue. The average person has eight social media accounts. By publishing content and sharing information on these platforms, you have multiple opportunities to reach them on any given day. This helps build brand awareness and recognition.

Because the very nature of social media is to be more interactive, you can further customize your messaging. Candid conversations reveal wants and needs, and you can use that insight to publish content that solves problems and answers questions.

People love to share information. From reviews and endorsements to negative experiences and warnings, people use social media as a platform to connect and help guide people to the products and services they need. Promoting your business on social media through ads and posts helps increase referrals and gain more customers.

Social media provides numerous long-term benefits to your business. Make the most of this opportunity by developing a social media strategy that sets you up for success.

Develop an Effective Social Media Strategy for Healthcare Providers

To maximize the numerous marketing opportunities social media affords companies in the healthcare supply chain, include these platforms in your digital marketing strategy. Map out a plan for how to most effectively use social media to your benefit as you aim to reach your audience and boost sales growth.

1. Employ Social Listening 

Before you can fully meet the needs of your audience, you must first understand what those needs are. People turn to social media to share information about their lives. Engage in social listening to find out what people are saying about their wants, your organization, and your products. Not only can you learn about customer satisfaction, but you can also gain insight into trending topics that matter to your audience then use that information to develop content that provides resources for their benefit.

You can use software tools to gather this kind of data, or you can simply conduct your own research. Either way, start monitoring this information now. With these tools, you discover what’s on the mind of your consumers and leverage that into content that boosts your business and solidifies your following.

2. Engage with Industry Leaders 

Form relationships with influencers in your industry. These people could be advocates, physicians, experts, or public figures. Industry leaders usually have a large following on social media platforms. They’ve already established themselves as a trusted resource and when they speak, people listen. This is especially true in healthcare. Navigating healthcare can be challenging, so having a trusted leader to share valuable information is a huge asset to followers. 

By engaging with these leaders, you not only tap into their audience but also gain a level of credibility and legitimacy that is important in the healthcare industry. If you build a solid partnership with these influencers, you can share information on each other’s pages, co-market your businesses, and further strengthen your reputation as a leader yourself.

3. Establish Authority with Multimedia Sources 

In the healthcare industry, it’s easy for misinformation to spread. It is a confusing market, and people need reliable sources of accurate information. Social media affords companies the ability to easily share multimedia posts from reputable sources. Through video interviews, downloadable whitepapers, and slideshow presentations created by industry experts, healthcare suppliers can distribute factual information from trusted sources. 

This helps allay audience concerns and perpetuates the spread of reliable information. As users see factual articles, they’ll share them with their contacts, and the reach grows exponentially. Compelling graphics and videos are eye-catching and easier for people to digest and remember. There’s an increasing need for accurate information in healthcare. Social media grants you the opportunity to serve as a reliable resource for your target audience and beyond.

4. Educate Your Followers 

Social media is a perfect platform to spread the word about your business. Not only can you create custom messaging to teach viewers about your company, but you can pinpoint your audience with highly targeted ads that reach specific demographics and needs. Social media enables you to build your brand identity. Posting authoritative articles in your voice, style, and tone help teach people what your business is all about. 

The type of content you publish also educates people about your brand. Informational articles, for example, reveal your expertise. Similarly, engaging videos show your company’s personality, and shared sources alert your audience about your connections within the industry. Your social media strategy tells people a lot about your business.

5. Collaborate on Healthcare Policies and Issues 

One of the unique attractions to social media is its fundamental encouragement of open communication between people of different backgrounds on various issues. In healthcare, social media allows physicians, healthcare workers, manufacturers, suppliers, and consumers to discuss policies and issues that are unique to the healthcare industry. Social networks give people a voice to talk about their concerns and work together to find common solutions.

Collaboration enables regulation agencies, researchers, and healthcare suppliers to reach customer-centered decisions. This helps to solidify trust and results in optimal customer satisfaction.

Develop an Effective Social Media Strategy for Your Healthcare Business

Every healthcare professional, from medical sales and hospital purchasing to hospital distribution and manufacturing, can benefit from an effective social media strategy. Reach a wider, targeted audience, gain market share, and drive more business to your website.

Contact us today to discuss how social media marketing can benefit your healthcare business.