Five Things to Keep in Mind When Marketing Your Medical Device

1. Know that Marketing Your Medical Device is a Unique Endeavor 

Traditional marketing strategies are simply not designed for the unique life cycle of a medical device. A product can spend years in the testing phase of production. Patient privacy is a top priority and cannot be compromised. Regulatory compliance demands careful attention to what you say, and how you say it. Regardless of whether you are taking your product to market for the first time, or looking to improve the performance of a product already in circulation, understanding each one of these unique factors is key in helping you determine when and how to market your product to maximize its success.

2. Determine Who Is Making Consumer Decisions

When we think of medical devices, we think of the patient and the transformative power of advances in medical technology. But the patient isn’t always the consumer. Some products need to be marketed directly to physicians before they ever interface with a patient. It is important to research and understand which demographic you are marketing to because the decision-making process for a physician or health system is very different than that of the patient. Doctors, medical practices and health systems have more organizational factors to consider, while patients are making much more personal decisions. Health care professionals want technical details, but a patient will likely be lost if they must wade through lots of medical jargon. By tailoring your approach to speak to these different purchasing processes, you are much more likely to be seen and heard by the appropriate audience. 

3. Demonstrate a Thorough Understanding of the Problem Your Device Aims to Fix

Choosing a medical device can be an emotionally-weighted decision for patient consumers and their loved ones. Demonstrating genuine understanding and empathy towards the challenges faced by your target audience goes a long way in fostering trust and brand loyalty. It’s the difference between telling consumers what your medical device does versus speaking to how much better patients will feel. By truly understanding pain points, you make the most compelling campaign for your product.

Same applies to healthcare professionals, who are looking to pass on the best technology and value to their patients. Health systems and providers are also invested in positive patient outcomes, and the better you can demonstrate benefit to your medical device’s end user, the more successful you will be.

4. Adhere to Your Core Branding to Create Trust

Patients and providers alike need to trust that a company’s medical device will perform as promised. Two key factors in establishing consumer trust are familiarity and consistency. Your branding needs to be easily recognizable and highly visible because frequent impressions are what breed familiarity. Familiarity is furthered by consistency in messaging and appearance. 

5. Understand How to Leverage the Multitude of Tools Available To Help You Grow Online Visibility

There are a number of avenues to success in the digital marketing space, and some of the best approaches combine multiple paths simultaneously. But, invariably, one of the best ways to grow your organic reach is to leverage search engine optimization (also known as SEO) content to increase visibility and reach. Using generic terms draws in consumers who were not specifically searching for your medical device by name, creating more first impressions and a much wider audience. A potential buyer may have to interact with your website multiple times before making a purchase decision; it’s important to stay top-of-mind with relevant content. 

Certainly, this can be a lot to sort through as you work on marketing your medical device. From maintaining regulatory compliance to leveraging the nuances of SEO content, AirTank has supported medical device companies every step of the way as an experienced digital marketing partner and industry leader in the medical technology space. Want to learn more? We’re ready to talk to you today; you can connect with us right here!