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6 Actionable Tips Every Healthcare Marketer Needs to Try Out Right Now

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Marketing is a must for any company that not only wants to keep its head above water but wants to thrive in any economy. 

But like the economy, marketing best practices don’t remain static. There is ebb and flow, depending on: 

  • The age of your target market
  • World events
  • The goals of your customers

To ensure you get the growth you want and avoid wasting time and money on ineffective marketing techniques, we’re sharing six tips in healthcare marketing. These tips will help you stay at the top of your customer’s minds and attract new ideal customers. 

6 Up-to-Date Tips in Healthcare Marketing

The advertising and marketing tactics of the 1950s and 1960s are not as effective in the 21st century. But even the tactics of the past few years can prove to be ineffective and make your company seem outdated, which is why it’s vital to stay up to date on the latest marketing trends.

Here are some of the best tips in healthcare marketing for 2021. 

1. Focus on Quality Rather Than Quantity 

Yes, posting often is helpful. It can move your content up the Google chain and help put your content in front of your audience more often on social media. 

However, if you post sub-par content just to post often, you risk your reputation. Potential customers might think that if healthcare suppliers are not willing to post quality content, why would they make quality physician office supplies, equipment, or PPE products?

Taking care to create quality blog posts, videos, and social media posts that are educational, informative, and appeal to your customer’s wants and needs can make your content stand out. 

2. Address the Changes/Advances in the Healthcare System 

Each year, we hear of incredible innovations like AI assisting (or completely performing) with certain medical procedures, as well as technology that helps doctors and their teams educate patients in-office. Or next-generation applications like Infervision, which utilizes AI to help radiologists/doctors diagnose lung conditions faster, including cancer and COVID-19. Downloads of apps like this are expected to reach nearly 300 billion by 2023. 

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Source: Cisco – Next-generation application downloads are expected to rise. Use this knowledge to improve your healthcare marketing efforts.

Your customers are interested in this technology. They know that utilizing it in their practices or hospitals can help them improve patient care and even see more patients each day. 

Blogs, videos, or social media posts about the advancements in healthcare can help you attract attention. Plus, you can impress your customers by providing useful, educational information about the technology they’re interested in, especially if it’s in easily digestible increments.

3. Utilize Videos

According to Hubspot.com, 97% of marketers state that video posts help them explain their products in a way that’s easier for their audience to understand. 

Another benefit of video is that many people are visual learners. Reading blogs is helpful but when they see videos, they’re more likely to retain the information. 

Video is also a fast way to show the benefits or superiority of your products.  

4. Incorporate Multi-Channel Marketing Initiatives

Your customers are omnichannel. They shop from their desktop computer, tablets, and phones. The more initiatives you can provide, the better. Options include: 

  • Contact forms
  • Your phone number prominently displayed
  • Text messaging
  • Chatbots

All these options help create a unique user experience and promote engagement. You appeal to people who love to do things the old-fashioned way (telephone calls), as well as those who love to reach out to their favorite brands on various social media platforms. 

5. Regularly Refer to Your Brand Pyramid

A brand pyramid answers questions about your brand and audience. The visual can be shared with your entire marketing team or organization to make sure everyone is on the same page. 

Referring to your pyramid regularly during your content strategy sessions can help: 

  • You come up with content ideas
  • Make sure your posts are on-brand

If your messaging is consistent, you’re more likely to build a loyal following – individuals and companies who are more likely to invest in your products. 

Your pyramid will include five levels: 

  • Functional benefits: What are your customer’s problems or pain points? Why would a potential customer be interested in your product? How does it help them? What kind of results can they expect?
  • Emotional benefits: How will your customer feel after using the product?
  • Brand/product persona: If your brand was a person, what values would be important to them? How can these core values be expressed in your marketing materials? 
  • Brand idea: This is why your customers care about your brand. It’s the DNA of your brand – what you stand for and what sets you apart from similar companies. 

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6. Manage Your Online Reputation 

It’s estimated nine out of 10 consumers check online reviews before making a purchase. If you don’t have a good online reputation, you can bet that you’re losing out on some sales. 

Thankfully, you can remedy this situation by managing your online reputation. One way to do this is to respond to comments on social media or review websites. If the feedback was negative, make sure to be gracious. Thank the person for their honest feedback. Show that you’re willing to discuss the matter further in private, either to offer them a refund or otherwise help them. 

You can also answer customer questions on social media platforms. Again, if you receive a negative comment, thank them for their feedback, apologize for any inconvenience, and try to work out a solution. Not only will this improve their opinion of you and build trust, but it will also impress others who are watching the conversation unfold. Customer service is incredibly important to your reputation and ultimately, to your bottom line.

How to Cut Through the Noise with the Latest Marketing Best Practices

Have you done a Google search lately? If so, you might’ve found it a bit disconcerting. For just about every search, it seems there are thousands (if not millions of options). You might feel even more discouraged knowing that a lot of people won’t take the time to scroll past the first page of results.

Keeping yourself and your marketing team up to date on the latest marketing practices can help improve your visibility. Implementing modern tips in healthcare marketing – like incorporating voice search or click-to-call options – can make you more attractive to your target audience, too.

It will take some time and effort to learn the latest best practices – but ultimately, it will be worth it!

Interested in boosting your visibility? Share Moving Media is a full-service media company that works with medical and healthcare suppliers. Contact us to receive your free visibility analysis and see how Share Media Media can take your marketing to the next level!

Lean Marketing in Healthcare: 5 Strategies to Help Small Suppliers Beat Big Brands

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The healthcare industry is a highly competitive market. In the United States alone, 784,626 healthcare companies are vying for consumers. Small healthcare suppliers have a big challenge ahead of them when competing with big brands. They don’t typically have the marketing budget that large companies do, so they don’t have the same brand recognition and visibility. But that doesn’t mean that small suppliers can’t compete in the industry.

Through lean marketing in healthcare, smaller companies can maximize their budgets to earn more success with potentially smaller funds. Lean marketing allows room for adaptability, allowing small suppliers to adjust their efforts along the way for more impactful results and a higher ROI. 

While big brands have several advantages when it comes to marketing, they’re not unbeatable. To compete with big brands, small healthcare suppliers must develop lean marketing strategies that yield big results.

What is Lean Marketing in Healthcare?

The lean philosophy began in the automobile industry with Toyota Manufacturing Systems (TMS). They believed that, through a framework of efficiency, repetition, testing, and quantifying metrics, they could outperform their competitors. 

Although the lean philosophy was initially used in terms of manufacturing, businesses in other industries began adopting it into their marketing plans. It’s especially helpful in the healthcare industry, where multiple departments often have to work together on complex projects with a shared budget. 

Lean marketing allows for departments to work seamlessly together, helps to simplify complicated projects, and provides flexibility for a smooth project workflow of continuous improvement.

With lean marketing, small businesses in the healthcare industry can:

  • Improve delivery time: Larger tasks are broken up into smaller pieces that are easier to manage. This lets you test and launch campaigns more quickly, seeing results sooner. Additionally, by performing a task repeatedly, you can make improvements each time for a more efficient and effective marketing plan.
  • Better connect with members of their team: To become lean, staff must meet daily to give status updates on the projects they’re working on. Such transparency not only keeps everyone on the same page. It helps identify potential pitfalls and provides an arena for peer-to-peer problem solving, continual learning, and growth. 
  • Narrow their focus on single tasks: Multitasking takes focus away from several projects at once. In lean marketing, people are encouraged to focus on one thing at a time. This helps people work more efficiently and yields a higher rate of productivity.
  • Pivot their strategy mid-stride: By constantly measuring your efforts, you can see what parts of your plan are working and what needs improvement. Workers are encouraged to make data-driven adjustments to ensure they’re working as proficiently and effectively as possible. Pivoting a strategy mid-stride helps to reduce waste of time and resources on a plan that simply isn’t working.

5 Lean Marketing Strategies for Small Healthcare Suppliers

Through careful strategy, small companies in the healthcare supply chain can gain a foothold in the industry’s marketplace. Whether you’re a hospital distributor, a member of a group purchasing organization, or in charge of purchasing physician office supplies, here are five lean marketing strategies that can help you beat big brands.

1. Set SMART Goals 

To function more efficiently, it’s important to know what you’re aiming for and how well that plan is working. By setting measurable goals at the onset of a project, you can stay on track while adhering to your budget. SMART goals help define your intentions and keep you driven toward success.

SMART goals are:

  • Specific: A narrowed scope yields higher rates of efficiency.
  • Measurable: Metrics and their reassessment will reveal areas of accomplishment.
  • Attainable: A series of smaller goals gain more success and propel you forward to more rewards.
  • Relevant: Objectives should be in line with your long-term plans.
  • Timely: A realistic deadline helps prioritize your course of action.

Setting manageable and achievable targets will launch you and your team toward success while maximizing your work efficiency.

2. Amplify Your Strengths 

It’s common for companies to invest marketing dollars into a campaign that just doesn’t work. They try to capitalize on too many products, services, and promises. This leads to wasted money, time, and effort, and that’s not what the lean philosophy is all about. When developing your marketing strategy, think about the things your business does well. Focus on those aspects and use them to create your marketing plan. 

With lean marketing, quality is more important than quantity. Invest your resources into whatever will make the most impact. Avoid tactics that aren’t performing and focus on what yields results. It’s better to focus on a few things and be exceptional than several things and be mediocre.

3. Leave Room in Your Marketing Plan for Adjustments 

From acquisitions and medical research to government policies and technological advancements, the healthcare industry is constantly changing. That’s why flexibility is so important to a marketing campaign. Through constant evaluation, you’ll know which of your marketing tactics is underperforming. With lean marketing, small suppliers have the opportunity to adjust as necessary. 

When you set your marketing plan, remember it isn’t chiseled in stone. Allow opportunities for creative solutions and new directions so you can pivot freely without hesitation.

4. Constantly Review Your Budget 

Lean marketing encourages constant assessment of what is and isn’t working in your marketing plan. This should also apply to your marketing budget. Set long-term goals for the year, but make frequent assessments as you determine the effectiveness of your marketing strategy. Find areas in your budget that need to be adjusted, eliminated, or reconfigured to meet the needs of your flexible marketing goals.

5. Outsource Projects to Save Resources 

It’s not always most efficient to do your own marketing. If you don’t have a dedicated promotional team, balancing those responsibilities can take time and focus away from other projects that need your attention. This goes against the lean philosophy. Consider outsourcing some of your projects to a medical manufacturer marketing agency.

Hiring an outside expert can sometimes be more efficient and cost effective than trying to manage it all yourself.

Rely on Experts for Lean Marketing in Healthcare

Lean marketing can give small healthcare suppliers the competitive edge they need to surpass big brands. Share Moving Media is a full-service media and content company that specifically helps businesses in the healthcare industry meet their marketing goals.Contact us today to develop a lean marketing strategy that can help increase your market share.

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.