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How Can Inbound Marketing Help Medical

Device & Diagnostic Companies

Rethink Digital Marketing?

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What is unique about the Medical Devices and Diagnostics (MD&D) industry?

o Most laws prohibit the promotion and use of MD&D products that are not currently approved. Any misstep in this area can be costly in terms of penalties and fines.

o Most countries have privacy laws restricting the gathering of patient information without their expressed consent. This is especially sensitive for information pertaining to children. Violations of privacy laws can have serious consequences.

o Most countries have regulations and controls on what can be disseminated as “marketing materials” to the healthcare provider (HCP). All marketing materials must normally be reviewed and approved by the companies’ regulatory manager.

o MD&D Marketing is classified as B2B – because the end-user patient does not usually make the purchase decision. The HCP often advises or influences the use of the MD&D in a procedure, and may or may not, consult the end-user patient.

o Traditionally, the most effective method of sales and marketing is through the sale representative who meets the HCP in his clinic or hospital. Most hospitals or even HCP today restrict or limit this access.

o Endorsement of the product by top practitioners is critical to the success of new MD&D products. The

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Product Introduction cycle often begins with a clinical trial with key opinion leaders (KOL) in the market.

o The market is often dominated by larger hospitals and a few global competitors with relationships that span decades. New companies often find this a significant barrier to entry.

o Different classes of MD&D products have different channels of purchasing. Products that are considered routine and less risky are purchased through central purchasing tenders. Specialized implants such as heart stents are decided by the surgeon or specialists. High technology capital equipment may be purchased through an technology evaluation committee.

o To the HCP, the most trusted sources of information about MD&D products can be found in peer journals and company website. The HCPs rarely consider the sales representative as reliable clinical sources.

o HCP conventions and meetings are often used by companies to promote their products. They can purchase exhibition booths or sponsor speakers to talk about their products.

o Generic MD&D products commands very little price-premium. Normally only products that offer a unique benefit, are well-established and/or patent protected can command premium pricing.

o Distributors normally serve the logistic and supply chain function, and may not be involved in the sales and promotion of products actively.

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o Most MD&D companies conduct in-services and professional education as part of their sales and marketing process. In some cases, professional education are conducted in purpose build institutes and taught by experienced professionals.

o Because of continuous product improvements, new releases and line extensions, unlike the Pharmaceutical industry, patent expiry are less important to the lifecycle of the product. In many case, brand performance and loyalty is an important factor. For example, ETHICON Inc. still dominates the suture market even though most of its products are off-patent and can be easily copied by competitor.

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What is changing in MD&D market?

o Regulatory bodies in most countries are getting more stringent in the enforcement of sales and marketing of MD&D – this is particularly true for ASEAN countries.

o In almost every category of MD&D products, competition is getting more intense in terms of quality, price and features.

o Access to HCPs to sell and promote MD&D products are getting more restrictive and more HCPs are not willing to spend their valuable time seeing sales reps.

o Traditional channels of promotion are getting more costly, including exhibitions, salesforce, clinical trials, dry and wet-lab skills workshops, journal publications, sponsorships, speaking engagements, etc.

o Most companies have spent millions in their websites but have had limited success in driving the right traffic to their sites or use them effectively to increase their product and brand awareness.

o More HCPs are using mobile smart devices and tablets to access information on-demand and moving away from the PC.

o Webinars and videos are increasingly important in training of HCPs due to their reach and cost effectiveness (compared to the traditional “live” workshops or preceptorship).

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Why Digital Marketing?

o The internet is now ubiquitous in healthcare – from electronic medical records to high-tech surgical simulators.

o Digital technology including live webinars can reach hundreds or even thousands of participants at the same time, it is highly cost effective per-participant and totally scalable.

o Central planning and control of a digital event ensures better compliance, and possibly reduce the cost of compliance as learnings from such events are repeatable.

o Digital technology using live webinars can today deliver rich media high-definition videos and can have various options to interact live with the instructor or speaker.

o To participate in such seminars, HCP are required to register their names and email addresses – during this phase, you may request them for the required marketing permission.

o Social media such as Facebook, Tweeter or Linkedin, can help HCPs promote your event to other HCPs – and can multiply your reach quickly.

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What is Inbound Marketing?

o Inbound Marketing is customized and targeted, and based generally on permission from the customer to receive materials digitally from the company. Unlike interruption or mass marketing, Inbound Marketing does not spam or intrudes into your customers’ time and attention unwanted.

o Inbound Marketing is about “marketing that your customers’ love”. By offering the right product information, entertainment, offers, free-to-download-content or communications at the right time, your website can be a “magnet” for visitors and prospects.

o Inbound Marketing is about “getting found” digitally. With millions of websites already “live” and almost a billion Facebook accounts, “getting found” is half the battle. By creating the right quality and quantity of content, your website will generally rank higher in organic searches – without having to pay for digital advertising.

o Inbound Marketing is about attracting quality visitors, filtering them into prospects, and converting into leads and then closing the sale – and making them customers. It does not stop here – a good Inbound Marketing strategy wants to make a happy customer an “evangelist” for your company or product.

o Inbound Marketing is a process of continuous improvement through trial-and-error. By taking the time to analyze the large amount of data generated,

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an Inbound Marketer can make timely changes to campaigns and strategies.

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You Are Just 5 Steps To Inbound Marketing ….

1. Review your overall marketing plan and make sure your digital marketing goals are completely aligned to what you want to achieve. Digital Marketing must be aligned and supports your business, sales and marketing plan. You need to also ensure that your compliance requirements are met.

2. If you have an existing website, complete the SEO audit (you may wish to consult an SEO specialist) and make sure it is optimized for major search engines. The most important part of Inbound Marketing is “getting found” and involves a thorough site review.

3. Getting visitors to your website is a start but qualifying them as prospects and leads is an important part of managing the “funnel”. You can do this by creating quality “call to action” and effective “landing pages”. Once your leads are qualified, you may want to pass them to your sales team to complete the buying process.

4. Once you have happy customers, get them to be “evangelists” and tell others through their social network. Keep them engaged with content that interests them and maintain their loyalty.

5. Analytics is a critical part of the process. Select a powerful, cost effective and easy-to-use integrated inbound marketing software to ensure flawless and coordinated execution and analysis of

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all your digital assets – from e-mail, website, blogs to social media. The right tool will help you with call-to-actions, emails, landing pages, CRM, blogs, content management, website tracking and analytics. (Optimal e-Marketing recommends Hubspot – click here to learn more).

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Free Offers or Content Suggestion for MD&D Inbound Marketing

TOP-OF-FUNNEL (TOFU): o Non-product related

surgical or procedure e-book

o Registration for a non-product related online training program

MIDDLE-OF-FUNNEL (MOFU): o Invitation for a “live”

Webinar on product used in a procedure.

o Request a product demo kit or product package

BOTTOM-OF-FUNNEL (BOFU) o Request a

demonstration or sample from a representative

o Request to be trained in the product.

POST-FUNNEL (POFU) o Follow-up email

asking for feedback or suggestions.

o Follow-up email to ask HCP to recommend other HCPs

o Follow-up email to see if he is interested in other procedures using the same product

Note: o The objective at the TOFU is to qualify the visitor to a

prospect who has an interest in the procedure/surgery.

o In the MOFU stage, we separate a prospect to become a lead – someone who has expressed an interest specific to your product.

o The BOFU is where you have now an open invitation to contact the HCP – this would certainly be more productive than a cold call.

o The POFU post-sales can help build loyalty and also gain referrals.

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What is holding many MD&D companies from taking full advantage of Digital Marketing?

o Multi-layers and slow review/approval process for content has caused many marketers to stay away from the internet. After all, if it takes 60-90 days to review and approve content from medical, legal, regulatory and compliance – what good is the internet?

o Marketing managers are often expected to create materials to support the sales force. Traditionally, these are printed brochures and manuals.

o Lack of regulatory resources is often noted as an issue because most of the resources are already supporting print materials.

o As an industry, MD&D is more sales oriented than marketing. And this is something that will change as the costs structure changes.

o Few digital agencies understand the special compliance and ethical requirements of MD&D companies and the agencies have to undergo steep learning curve.

o Some MD&D companies have tried digital marketing years back but did not see encouraging results. A lot has changed. Most of the evolution today is in mobile and cloud computing – and this is driving down costs and creating access to more companies. Time for another try.

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Suggestions to Consider o Automate your compliance and content approval

process by using software driven content management system (CMS) – this will significantly improve workflow and reduce paperwork.

o Have your overall internet strategy (even if it is just a website) assessed. Often, agencies will do this free-of-charge.

o Select an agency who can not only provide you with the technology, but one that also knows your industry and how to avoid the painful pitfalls.

o Take baby steps forward, if you are not confident about Inbound Marketing. Begin with a segment that is not effectively covered by the sales team (for example, junior surgeons undergoing their surgical rotation).

o Same as above, try out Inbound Marketing for secondary goal – such as building brand loyalty in a product category or to position the company as “expert” in a specific procedure.

o Consider a 2-year pilot program (like brand building, 12-24 months would be the right length of time for a pilot) with a nominal budget – getting started in a smaller scale may costs as little as $5000 per month (the costs of a sales personnel).

o When working with an agency, always use SMART goals and track progress. Set up time for regular review.

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o Do not be afraid to make changes in strategy and execution, as and when, needed.

o Consider retraining your marketing team in Inbound and Digital Marketing – lessons and concepts change quickly. But your team will remain the expert in MD&D marketing – not the agency.

o You will not likely have to create new content. Most MD&D companies have great content that were never “pushed” out. For example, a 4-part training series would make a good content source for a whole year (one each quarter).

o Recycle digital pre-approved content for use on the internet – this saves you time and money.

o Using an integrated software system like Hubspot, you will be able to capture and manage e-mail contacts in a “customized” manner. Even a basic CRM tool using email can be highly effective.

o Try out the use of “live” Webinar using KOLs – this can be your best content of value to convert prospects to leads.

o If nothing else, contact an Inbound Marketing agency to learn about your options.

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Please feel free to contact us for more information or if you would like to provide some comments or feedback. Thank you for downloading this e-book. Please share this link with your friends to download additional copies. If you have any suggestions on topics that may be of interest to you, we would also like to hear from you. Lester Lee Optimal eMarketing