The medical device industry has grown tremendously in the past few years, and the global medical devices sector is projected to become a $671.49 billion industry by 2027. However, there’s fierce competition, and medical device manufacturers face unique challenges, especially when it comes to developing an effective marketing plan.
If you want your medical device company to attract new customers, increase sales, and continue to be successful, it’s essential to use powerful marketing tools and stand out among other brands.
To build a solid marketing strategy, consider the following five steps that will help you create enough impact to be remembered and capture more of the market.
Know Your Audience
Knowing and understanding your audience is one of the main components of an effective marketing plan. It’s often an overlooked step as companies feel the rush to get in front of their audience. Identifying your audience and specifying buyer personas may seem redundant but they are very important.
If you’re looking to market your medical device, you’ll be happy to know that most of the information required to build a buyer persona already exists within your organization. Market research should have specified who you will be selling to, whether it’s a hospital, a patient, a doctor, or a private practice, as well as the pain points that you are to solve. Use this and identify the most important person your marketing efforts should be aimed at.
Even though you may think that a doctor is the most critical person to convey your message to, do not stop there. Building buyer profiles for office administrators, hospital procurement managers, or nurse practitioners can also allow you to reach other people who have a say in the buying process, from research to purchase.
Leverage Instagram
It’s no secret that social media can help you tremendously to strengthen your brand, market medical devices, and build relationships with both current and future customers. With 1.3 billion users, Instagram is one of the leading social media platforms that allow businesses to engage with prospective clients and build brand exposure.
When it comes to incorporating Instagram into your marketing strategy, one of the best moves you can make is to leverage user-generated content. However, first, you must attract real Instagram followers who are genuinely interested in the products you offer. This will allow you to create a strong following around your brand and gain credibility. Don’t chase fake follower numbers on your account as this won’t create loyal customers.
Focus on Your SEO
We all know that an easy-to-use and informative website is crucial for a medical device company to capture the interest of a potential audience. However, having a web presence isn’t enough. A company’s website must be optimized for keywords that draw potential buyers in and then provide them with the information necessary to make a purchase decision.
This type of search engine optimization process for a website should include research into keywords for your niche. This could lead to rewriting certain pages for better organic ranking on essential search terms. You should also remember to look at and evaluate search terms used to find a medical device site. SEO helps you understand what your visitors are searching for. You will understand what keywords they use to find your website and what pages they have visited. For instance, if you are selling hearing aid devices, chances are that your target audience uses search terms such as ‘hearing aids near me’ when looking for what they need.
Better search engine visibility will boost your brand and instill trust in it. Also, organic results are more likely to result in conversions compared to paid ads.
Develop Your Value Proposition
Another important part of a good medical device marketing plan is developing a unique value proposition. The key to a strong value proposition is to start with your customers’ needs and the challenges they face. By making it clear which challenges you help them solve and how you add value—rather than just trying to sell your medical devices—you increase the chance of reaching and convincing the person you want to influence.
Explain how your products differ and are better than the products of your competitors and try to develop a unique value proposition for different buyer personas. Although your products may be very much the same, you have to tailor your messages based on which prospect you’re addressing.
Be Clear About the Sales Process Steps
To improve your sales process, you will need more than just a simple comprehension of the methods your sales team employs and the challenges they face regularly. You should take the time to clearly describe each step in the process and then attach any questions, concerns, and goals linked with the particular step.
After carefully mapping out the sales cycle, focus on creating content that will help guide those leads down the direction toward conversions before interacting with them. In simple words, determine the type of content that will direct those prospects toward each conversion point.
Conclusion
Considering the competition in the medical device industry, it’s crucial to create and implement an effective marketing plan for your company. By defining your ideal target audience, attracting prospects using the power of Instagram and SEO, and developing a value proposition, you’ll be able to sustain loyalty in an ever-growing market.