Many small healthcare IT company CEOs and leaders I speak to believe marketing only comes in one form. They don’t realize there are different kinds of marketing firms and different kinds of marketing. I often have to specify that Healthcare Service Consultants follows a product marketing approach.
You might be wondering, “What is product marketing?” Here’s what it is and why it is important.
It’s Not Only About Specific Channels or Tactics
Most people think of marketing in individual terms. It’s either “public relations” or “social media,” but not both. This is because consumers view them as delivered separately from each other.
Fundamentally, product marketing integrates the overall strategy. Also, it draws from a wide array of channels and tactics to connect customers with your brand.
It’s the Foundation for Inbound and Outbound Marketing Tactics
To articulate a cohesive product marketing message, you should integrate the following:
- public relations
- trade show messaging
- digital marketing
- sales collateral
- all other content
All marketing tactics should describe the benefits of the product functionality. It should be able to evolve as the product evolves. Marketing should also reframe the product capability benefits in terms of specific use cases. This is particularly important in healthcare IT. Purchasing decisions are often made by a team of individuals representing different clinical and operational functions within the healthcare system.
Marketing, Not Management
Product marketing as a concept is not well understood. It is often confused with product management. While these functions are distinct, they are complementary rather than exclusive.
Product management…
- focuses on driving new product development
- bridges the gap between customer problems and the solutions created by engineering and design
- brings the customer’s needs into the development process
Product marketing…
- focuses on bringing customers toward new and existing products.
- bridges the gap between the commercially available solutions and customers who need them
- communicates the product’s benefits out to customers
It Connects Products, Sales, and Marketing
In my experience, product marketing connects the product with sales opportunities and prospective customers. It does so by developing an integrated set of marketing tactics. For a small company that doesn’t have a product manager, this type of marketing function informs the product developers and sales staff about the needs of the market. In a company that does have product managers, it connects product management with sales and the overall marketing effort. Product marketing requires an understanding of the product’s function and how that functionality satisfies market needs.
It’s Our Expertise
There are very few healthcare IT consultants or marketing firms that focus on product marketing. As someone who has held many such roles at large healthcare IT companies, HSC specializes in connecting products, marketing, and sales to drive your company’s success.
If you are a healthcare IT company, please feel free to view some of our case studies and testimonials. Explore what product marketing can do for you.
