It seems like every day there’s a new marketing technology or service. Companies promise superior awareness, higher engagement, and tons of new leads. It’s easy to get swept away by the allure of these new, shiny marketing tools.
Don’t be fooled!
When it comes to healthcare IT product marketing, the key to success lies not in the glitzy artificial intelligence-powered distractions. Rather, it’s grounded in the ability to authentically connect with your target audience. This not only requires content and outbound strategies that resonate with your audience. It also calls for product marketing leadership that understands the clinical workflows and problems facing your key decision-makers.
In this blog, we discuss why hiring a product marketing leader or agency with a deep understanding of your healthcare specialty is a crucial differentiator; one that can enable meaningful and effective business results.
Beware Shiny Toys
In the context of product marketing, a shiny new toy could be:
- hiring a big agency with an impressive client roster
- employ a successful executive with impressive credentials from outside healthcare
- adopt the latest conversational AI tools
These elements may seem enticing. Yet, they can all fail if you don’t form a meaningful connection with your target audience.
It’s easy to get distracted by the allure of a big-name agency or an executive from a big-name company. What matters in healthcare IT is the ability to understand and convey a depth of understanding that resonates with a risk-averse, critical, and educated healthcare audience.
You can only accomplish this by developing messaging and content that reflects your target audience’s lived experience. Content needs to build the credibility necessary to move prospects beyond awareness and build genuine interest in your products and solutions.
Evaluating Internal Gaps
Your company might already have a marketing leader. In this case, it’s important to evaluate gaps in their clinical or technical understanding related to the healthcare specialty your products address. In some cases, the company’s CEO may mistakenly assume their clinical knowledge is enough to close that gap. Or, young companies may prioritize impressive leadership resumes over direct experience to impress potential investors. This can be a mistake.
In healthcare, appearances don’t matter as much as demonstrating that the organization understands the clinical and operational context within which your solutions are used and the problems and goals of your end user and decision-maker personas.
For instance, a marketing executive from a big tech company could be an expert in operational leadership strategies. Yet, they might lack the clinical knowledge to develop strategies for effectively communicating the value propositions of your products and how they fit into clinical workflows or integrate with peripheral systems and devices. To bridge this gap, it’s essential to address the need for healthcare expertise and augment your team with a marketing professional or agency that understands your specific clinical area.
Outsourcing for Clinical Understanding
Smaller companies looking to outsource their marketing functions face another common mistake: selecting an agency based on their digital marketing experience or focus on content development or public relations (PR). While these skills are important, all-purpose marketing agencies and those lacking healthcare expertise don’t have the critical clinical and workflow knowledge needed to effectively articulate the value of complex solutions within the healthcare industry.
An agency with knowledge of your specific clinical specialty and the associated workflows saves you time having to explain what you do and why it is important. Such knowledge can also ensure the development of higher quality and more credible content.
For instance, a small company focusing on medical imaging should prioritize hiring a product marketing agency with a deep understanding of this specific clinical domain. This ensures that the messaging is effective and resonates with the target audience. This avoids the pitfall of generic, lackluster content that fails to stand out.
Initiating the Snowball Effect
A healthcare IT marketing expert who possesses the ability to translate complex clinical or technical concepts into language understood by various stakeholders is invaluable. They work independently, needing minimal guidance to generate high-quality content. Their expertise can also have a snowball effect across your organization.
By transferring critical knowledge of your clinical specialty and personas across your teams, an experienced healthcare IT marketing leader can:
- help inform product strategy
- steer pilot and commercialization activities
- extend the knowledge and credibility of customer-facing personnel
Thought Leadership as a Strategic Product Marketing Tool
Shiny marketing tools and trends may be tempting. But remember, the heart of successful healthcare IT marketing requires the ability to form a genuine connection with your target audience. Whether you already have a marketing leader or are considering external agencies, prioritize a deep understanding of your clinical specialty to ensure meaningful and effective content development. In doing so, you will not only save time and resources in the long run, but you will also stand out in the crowded healthcare landscape.
Are you interested in augmenting your marketing team with an expert in clinical workflows and technologies? Our healthcare IT product marketing experts can help you craft effective strategies and develop content that resonates and builds credibility across your target personas. Contact us to learn more.
