MedTech: 7 tips to build a sustainable growth engine
As a marketer, you may have been permitted a short period of adjustment following the global disruption of the last few years. These days, I am sure your mission has pivoted from survival to growth as the C-Suite looks to you to champion an expansion in revenue.
Driving an increase in scale may require new product launches, moving into new geographies or even shifting an existing range to an entirely new category or market sector – or indeed all of the above.
The challenge is to summon a crack launch team to harness the increasingly complex digital communication scene and achieve traction that will deliver results. In many cases, marketing departments have become depleted and are a stretched resource with limited bandwidth to exploit new opportunities.
This is a typical moment for clients to reach out to Kredo.
As a team of content marketers, we are specialists in the generation of awareness and converting interest into the traction you need for glowing ROI reports.
We use a full marketing toolkit to support the activity that is delivered by an experienced international team.
The Method
Permit us to ‘tune’ you into Kredo’s method. The first thing is to explain the use of the term ‘sustainable’ and as we are on the topic let's add ‘organic’ to the list! We reject the notion that one single mechanism will provide a successful outcome. In some ways, we don’t believe in ‘digital’ magic wands. Ultimately, we target our efforts on the message first. It must address the customer's dilemma and reveal the features and benefits of our client's product or service in the best light. That means carefully formulating the strategic advantages (strengths and weaknesses). This is an important first base often overlooked by more tactical agencies.
So, our campaigns are sustainable because they are researched and crafted to offer value to the recipient – your prospective client. Organic in the sense that meaningful dialogue leads to the organic growth of a database of prospects. Sounds simple – let me explain…
Tip 1: Trust
Of course, technology comes in all shapes and sizes. Some innovations are benign, and some are potentially life-threatening. For instance, our recent work around autonomous vehicles aims to win over the general public to climb into a driverless car ‘capsule’. Hence a great deal of reassurance is required.
Medical Technology sets one if not the highest bar on customer trust. The introduction of a new MedTech device for instance is by design tackling an issue involving the well-being of a patient. This is why we have regulatory controls based on stringent testing.
Setting this aside, there are many instances during the marketing journey of a product where it needs to emphasise certain features and how they ‘trump’ the competition.
Here we need to utilise the trust-building tools that only PR can deliver. Any alternative view must of course be based upon fact. However, a relative comparison of performance is opinion-based. Therefore, it requires validation from an expert third party.
Through experience, the Kredo team have become accomplished at recruiting what we call ‘Third Party Endorsement’. As you will know, this is not always simple – it can be painstaking. Several techniques can unlock even the most reticent medical community – it is all a matter of framing the question with a methodical (respectful) approach. We are happy to share the process with you.
Once armed with a validation in the form of a quote your product launch is on a winning trajectory. Pitching media and converting coverage from a strongly endorsed story is the strongest single tool. Seeing your product within the pages of a well-regarded industry publication is the holy grail and beats any paid-for publicity.
After all, the implied validation of being ‘news’ has a huge value; compared to a claim within a paid advertisement. We always pose the ‘you would say that wouldn’t you’ test. It's pretty obvious why editorial beats paid hands down in terms of traction.
Tip 2: Finding the Edge
Finding a winning angle for a message is the most significant step in the marketing process. In the MedTech marketplace there is a high ethical standard and reputations are carefully nurtured. Making wild claims that cannot be substantiated is hugely damaging for Brands that carry such a burden of responsibility.
Beyond the hard data, other product and service benefits colour customer perception. Let’s call these the ‘soft’ features which are similarly based on facts. A high level of customer service is a great differentiator in a competitive market – who can resist attentive and responsive service? Swift turnarounds, fast sampling and a commitment to quality all have a bearing on sales growth and they are worth celebrating.
Naturally, these decisions start with the Brand philosophy. One of Kredo’s clients is Japanese and has introduced ‘Ikigai’ to our approach. Put simply, Ikigai is a concept that translates to "a reason for being.” It is often represented as the intersection of four elements: what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. When formulating competitive benefits for products it is important to reflect on what key company attributes have shaped the nature of the offering. This analysis will reveal authentic soft benefits.
Tip 3: Awareness
Building awareness is often perceived as a lengthy and costly business. Advertising and other paid-for media are seen as the key vehicles to build recognition amongst a target audience. Critically, people make a relationship with a brand when seeking a connection. Often this is generated by a need to find a solution. In a business-to-business arena, potential buyers develop a mental map of the key actors in their supply market – akin to players on a theatrical stage. Hence, building a persona over time with persistent advertising has a place in the plan.
If advertising has a valid place in the schedule of marketing activities, there is a need to optimise effectiveness and also to maximise spread. At Kredo we advocate coordinated campaigns between editorial coverage and advertising. An advertising schedule must always be coordinated with news and features within the trade media to secure value.
Tip 4: Crossing Borders
Launching your existing range of products or services into new territories is a highly accessible way of growing sales. Building recognition within a region is more than just employing translation services. Every market has a unique landscape to comprehend from magazines, trade events and professional institutions. Certainly, we recommend an initial programme of intelligence gathering and in some cases the recruitment of independent and non-aligned experts (we call them free radicals). A PR programme, running simultaneously with this exercise provides additional indicators that informs the plan. You discover where your friends and likely supporters are within the area. The development of case studies from established territories provides useful assets to reassure potential buyers who are unaccustomed to your brand. After this initial phase, trade shows and paid-for media can be introduced after both the messaging and media selection have sufficient focus.
Additionally, it is important to emphasise that messaging must be adapted to different regions. In reality, the world has different protocols and customs in terms of communication. This has been demonstrated in ‘The Culture Map’ by Erin Mayer as a spectrum across high and low-context language. In the US it is customary to emphasise by saying something once, illustrating once and then as a final step summarising the point. In a low-context world like the US market, this mechanism is accepted. However, in a high-context audience like Japan – such repetition would be ill-received – it would potentially be interpreted as patronising or even an insult. High-context audiences expect you to assume a level of acumen and to communicate with them accordingly. The world can be split into context regions and messaging written to optimise approval.
Tip 5: Forming a Bridgehead
It is better to exploit an achievable target in the first instance and then expand from a position of strength. Despite the market potential of your product or service – focus your investment on a niche that is most likely to receive your messaging positively.
Forming a bridgehead either on the shores of a new country market or within a new industry should be the first phase of attack. The product or offering that has the richest source of case studies and customer validations is often the best candidate. Similarly, part of your range that has had early adopters trial your device in the target marketplace would be a favourable indicator. The customer testimonial is the key weapon in eroding scepticism and suspicion; they are a golden ticket to growth. Alternatively, concentrating on the job functions within customer organisations that will see the benefits rapidly is an ideal place to start.
Regulations are a prominent feature of the MedTech and Biotechnology markets. Recent global changes in the number and scope of institutions internationally have added complexity for both the OEM and the customer. Naturally, it is an absolute rule that all regulated product details are adhered to without exception. However, the complex nature of tests, trials and product standards is an opportunity to engage customers proactively.
Tip 6: A Word on Regs
Tip 7: Conversions
In this digital age the centre of all campaigns is the customer database. In complex sophisticated markets, the customer requires many ‘touches’ even beyond the customary seven! The guiding principle in all communications – especially when requesting data from a potential customer – is value. Whitepapers, Infographics and FAQs must be of tangible benefit to the target customer and be balanced in terms of corporate self-interest. Generosity is the watchword – even to the point of mentioning your competition as a positive option.
In the development of all messaging it is essential to ‘climb’ into the customers' dilemma. If you provide insight into solving key issues that face your customers – your target audience will attribute great value to your marketing materials.
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