More and more companies are turning to an Inbound marketing strategy as we approach 2015 and the Medical Device industry is no different. An important aspect to any marketing strategy no matter what industry you're in is learning from your mistakes. There are plenty of them to make when you are designing an inbound marketing campaign that puts your brand out there for all to see. Before you can figure out what strategy works, you have to figure out what not to do.
Inbound marketing covers any Internet-driven campaign or marketing channel and includes any aspect of the following:
Blogs
Websites
Whitepapers
eNewsletters
Videos
Social Media
Marketing opportunities that exist outside of the virtual world like print ads, tv, radio or telemarketing are usually considered outbound strategies. The idea behind inbound marketing is to create an avenue where the customer can find you, explains marketing expert Dev Basu.
It’s a daunting concept if you think about it too hard. That is especially true when dealing with products that can be less than exciting, like a medical device. The good news is that inbound marketing strategies are not difficult to design, especially if you are excited about your product. The key is to avoid common mistakes that can sink your effort.
Developing inconsistent content about your device – Your target audience is medical professionals that live for research. Don’t make the mistake of peppering the Internet with inconsistent data. For example, one page might say your device is sold internationally and another says it is available in only in the United States. One piece of information here is outdated, but potential customers will not know which one.
Keep track of your various pages and keep the information up to date - That will solve many inconsistency problems. Get in the habit of Googling your brand and device name regularly, as well. This will pick up on any erroneous information that you might have missed otherwise.
Failing to consider all the possibilities – Your device is designed for pediatricians, but are they your only potential target? It will be if you ignore any other possible markets. How about hospital pediatric departments or community clinics? Limiting your marketing options means you limit your customer pool.
Not knowing who are your Buyer Personas - a buyer persona is a detailed mock up of your target audience. There are many situations in which you may have multiple buyer personas (Hospital Community Manager versus a Physician versus a CEO, etc...) Understanding your buyer persona's education level, daily work tasks, pain points, needs, etc will help in the development of your content strategy. If you are producing blogs, print materials and ad campaigns without knowing who your targeting, you're probably wasting your time and your campaigns will have poor performance.
Not tracking the data – It is always a mistake to manage campaigns with no way of measuring their success rate. If inbound marketing relies on trial and error, you must have a way to analyze its effectiveness. Set up analytics and a metrics system to keep track of that data. This way you'll know what campaigns are producing and where to re-allocate budget to have the biggest impact on your business.
Leaving out the call to action – You have this great product; you’ve done a fabulous job of promoting it, but now what? Give the reader a push in the right direction with a call to action.
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Tell them what you want them to do, otherwise, they may just walk away.
As I stated earlier, an inbound strategy is all about letting your prospects find and come to you in their moment of need. Prospects are "raising their hands" letting you know now is the time to engage and they are interested in your product/service. Buyers are more in control of the buying process then ever before, which is why inbound marketing has seen such an impact across every industry. As you embark on your inbound strategy in 2015 for your medical device, remember some of these mistakes and do your best to avoid them. In the end, your company will be waiting for your prospects with open arms.