Digital Marketing for Life Sciences
by Hannah Cox-Schroeder
Casey Rush
- Mar 17, 2022
Digital Marketing for Life Sciences
Life sciences companies want to stay connected to their buyers and ahead of their competition.
With more competition than ever—and customers who are shopping online more than ever before—life sciences companies that want to stay connected to their buyers and ahead of their competition are embracing digital marketing for B2B and B2C product campaigns.
In life sciences industries, marketing has historically relied on in-person sales calls, with representatives encouraging the decision-makers at hospitals and doctors’ offices to purchase their products or promote them to patients who could ultimately buy them themselves. The reps leave brochures and branded swag to share information with stakeholders and keep the product top of mind. These very tangible, in-person marketing methods are tried and true, and they aren’t going anywhere, but in today’s evolving consumer landscape, they aren’t enough, either.
In life sciences industries, marketing has historically relied on in-person sales calls, with representatives encouraging the decision-makers at hospitals and doctors’ offices to purchase their products or promote them to patients who could ultimately buy them themselves. The reps leave brochures and branded swag to share information with stakeholders and keep the product top of mind. These very tangible, in-person marketing methods are tried and true, and they aren’t going anywhere, but in today’s evolving consumer landscape, they aren’t enough, either.
Why Is Digital Marketing Important for Life Sciences Companies?
In recent years, both B2B and B2C customers in all industries—and life sciences is no exception—have been shifting their browsing and buying preferences toward digital platforms, from their laptops at home to their smartphones on the go. And the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accelerated that shift, making the in-person marketing strategies that life sciences industries had long relied on impossible in many cases
Now, more than ever, life sciences brands need to be able to reach their audiences—buyers, end-users, and influencers—via a variety of channels, including (and often most importantly) digital. It is vital to have dynamic landing pages, social media accounts, and email marketing systems in place. In the best of times, it means reaching a broader audience more frequently and at lower costs than any brand could with rep visits alone. And in times of disruption, such as the pandemic, it means that when in-person is impossible, that all-important connection between brand and buyer isn’t lost.
On the flip side, both businesses and individual consumers want to research potential purchases on their own time, whenever and however is convenient. Consumers expect brands to have information—about products, pricing, promotions, etc.—readily available at their fingertips via websites, social media accounts, and email newsletters. And with so many alternatives on the market, if potential buyers can’t readily find information about one brand, they’ll move on to the next.
Which Digital Strategies Should Life Sciences Brands Implement?
Life sciences brands can embrace a bevy of digital marketing channels, and in our always-on world, the more robust their multichannel marketing campaigns, the better. We recommend starting with these three:
- Microsites & Landing Pages: When most consumers—both B2B and B2C—need to find a new product or service, the first place they go to find and research their options is a search engine. The stronger your online presence, in terms of content and information available from your website, the more likely they are to find—and choose—your life sciences brand.
Life sciences brands can provide value to potential customers by offering e-books, newsletters, and online courses and sharing contact details, pricing, and insurance information. Landing pages should use automatic lead capture so you can continue the conversation even after the initial session has ended. - Social Media Campaigns: Social media may not be the first place doctors, hospitals, or even individual consumers looking for information on medical purchases. However, social media channels are an incredibly potent way to build brand awareness that strengthens email, direct mail, and even in-person marketing campaigns. For example, one OneTouchPoint client saw a marketing ROI increase of over 200% when combining their direct mail and Facebook campaigns.
Why is that? Recent surveys have found that social media users spend an average of 58 minutes per day on Facebook, 53 minutes per day in Instagram, and 49.5 minutes a day on Snapchat. This content is where consumers are introduced to countless brands and what they offer. Ultimately, all this exposure breeds familiarity and trust—the first steps on the road to purchase. - Email Marketing: Finally, email marketing is key to guiding prospective buyers through the marketing funnel from awareness to purchase. Engage them by sharing valuable content that illustrates how your offering fills their needs. Then, offer to talk brass tacks with your most promising leads, providing virtual or in-person product demos, sales conversations, etc., to close the deal.
Digital Is Just One Piece of the Life Sciences Marketing Puzzle
Digital marketing is critical for life sciences companies that want to maintain (and grow) their market share, but don’t ditch those traditional strategies, either! The key is to integrate strategies into a holistic, multichannel marketing campaign that reaches buyers and influencers where they are and when they need you. In-person rep visits—and the print marketing materials and swag—remain integral parts of your toolkit.
OneTouchPoint prides itself on supporting the life sciences industry by embracing digital marketing strategies that build brand awareness, drive sales, and enhance the bottom line. Adding digital outreach and developing a multichannel communication strategy can feel like quite the juggling act, but OneTouchPoint is here to help. Contact us or request a quote on your next project to learn more about how OneTouchPoint can transform your life sciences marketing efforts.
Casey Rush
- Mar 10, 2022
Marketing for Medical Devices: 3 Steps to a Winning Strategy
Medical Device manufacturers need to execute an engaging, multichannel marketing campaign that speaks to buyers in the right place at the right time.
Medical device makers face a steep uphill climb when introducing potential buyers to their innovations. The proliferation of devices—and competition—on the market, the unpredictability of in-person marketing and sales calls in the wake of COVID, and changing buyer behavior in the face of shrinking budgets and economic uncertainty present challenges to effective product marketing in the medical device field.
The solution? Medical Device manufacturers need to execute an engaging, multichannel marketing campaign that speaks to ideal buyers in the right place at the right time. It sounds like a tall order, but these three steps—and help from the right marketing management partners—will get you on the road to success.
Step 1: Know Your Primary and Secondary Audience
The first step in marketing a product is identifying who you’re trying to sell it to, then tailoring your messaging and outreach to their specific needs and values. For example, you’ll communicate with hospital systems differently than you’ll communicate with doctors, differently than you’ll communicate with individual consumers.
In marketing for medical devices, however, there’s an extra layer of complexity because no matter who your buyer is, there will be other parties exerting significant influence over that buyer, and you have to market to them, too. Say your buyers are the hospital systems. You’ll create messaging and outreach that speaks directly to their values — operational efficiency, increased margins, etc. But you also know that the doctors, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare professionals will significantly influence what the hospital purchases. So, you’ll have to develop messaging for them — focusing on patient outcomes, quality of care, etc. — that inspires them to be a champion or an influencer of your product to the decision-maker – or ultimate buyer.
Or maybe your devices are sold directly to patients, but you know their healthcare providers or even insurance companies will guide their purchase decisions. Similarly, you’ll create two layers of messaging: one geared to the consumer’s purchase and the other to help influencers encourage their patients to make the purchase.
In short, the first step to creating a powerful marketing campaign is to understand who you’re targeting and why, so you can speak to the needs of both the ultimate decision-maker and the major influencers.
In marketing for medical devices, however, there’s an extra layer of complexity because no matter who your buyer is, there will be other parties exerting significant influence over that buyer, and you have to market to them, too. Say your buyers are the hospital systems. You’ll create messaging and outreach that speaks directly to their values — operational efficiency, increased margins, etc. But you also know that the doctors, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare professionals will significantly influence what the hospital purchases. So, you’ll have to develop messaging for them — focusing on patient outcomes, quality of care, etc. — that inspires them to be a champion or an influencer of your product to the decision-maker – or ultimate buyer.
Or maybe your devices are sold directly to patients, but you know their healthcare providers or even insurance companies will guide their purchase decisions. Similarly, you’ll create two layers of messaging: one geared to the consumer’s purchase and the other to help influencers encourage their patients to make the purchase.
In short, the first step to creating a powerful marketing campaign is to understand who you’re targeting and why, so you can speak to the needs of both the ultimate decision-maker and the major influencers.
Step 2: Develop & Execute a Multichannel Marketing Campaign
Once you know who you’re targeting — and you’ve crafted the messaging that will capture their attention and drive them down the funnel from awareness to purchase — it’s time to identify where you’ll meet those buyers and influencers.
This strategy will include the traditional, in-person sales calls that come to mind right away when we talk about medical devices and pharmaceutical marketing. Still, those will be just one part of a proper multichannel marketing campaign. You’ll devise materials—brochures, informational packets, and swag—for sales reps to put in doctors’ hands. You will also develop online outreach, direct mail campaigns, and signage for retail pharmacies and drugstores (for a B2C audience).
This strategy will include the traditional, in-person sales calls that come to mind right away when we talk about medical devices and pharmaceutical marketing. Still, those will be just one part of a proper multichannel marketing campaign. You’ll devise materials—brochures, informational packets, and swag—for sales reps to put in doctors’ hands. You will also develop online outreach, direct mail campaigns, and signage for retail pharmacies and drugstores (for a B2C audience).
Why is this holistic outreach so important? Because people are busy. They don’t always read that email, save that postcard, or click the link in that tweet, but it starts to stick as they’re exposed to the same messaging on various platforms. And the research proves it: According to Swrve, an integrated multichannel marketing program can deliver revenue uplift in the range of 15 to 35 percent, and according to Heinz Marketing, marketers who integrate multiple channels are more than twice as likely to report higher marketing effectiveness vs. using those using fewer channels with less integration. (Learn more about the “why” behind multichannel marketing campaigns in part 1 of our two-part series.)
Creating a central, digital asset repository is imperative to preserve brand integrity and empower every marketer to reach their unique audiences. Of course, when there are lots of cooks in the medical device marketing kitchen — reps covering different territories, storefronts across the country, etc. — coordinating a consistent, effective multichannel marketing campaign can be easier said than done. Stocked with the latest pre-approved collateral and easy-to-customize templates, a platform like OneTouchPoint’s U.Connect makes it easy for every marketer to take ownership of these campaigns — without national marketing leaders having to micromanage every single communication on every single platform.
Step 3: Produce & Distribute Printed Materials and Promotional Items
A multichannel marketing campaign does include all the printed materials that come to mind when we think about medical marketing—plus more. And it’s just as critical to ensure these are produced and distributed in a way that highlights, rather than undermines, the meticulous quality standards that have gone into researching, approving, and manufacturing your medical device.
Here’s the good news: no medical device manufacturer needs to take on that production and distribution in-house or alone. Outsourcing print production to a single-source vendor is a powerful way to save money, minimize waste, and ensure regulatory compliance at every turn. And OneTouchPoint understands the importance of sourcing promotional items to meet safety standards. We make everything from trifold brochures, and appointment cards to trial protocols, diaries, water bottles, tote bags (fully closable for confidentiality, of course), and other swag reps will leave with doctors’ offices and hospitals.
A lot goes into successful marketing for medical devices, and with all of the other hoops manufacturers are jumping through — from research and development to approval and production — finding the resources and bandwidth to design and execute multichannel marketing campaigns can seem like an impossible task. Fortunately, OneTouchPoint is here to help. As a single-source distributed marketing partner, we are dedicated to empowering our clients to streamline all the logistics involved in medical device marketing and communication – all while keeping data secure. We handle the medium so that you can focus on the message.
We invite you to peruse our website to learn more about our U.Connect platform and print and digital marketing execution capabilities. When you’re ready to learn how OneTouchPoint can transform your medical device marketing efforts, contact us, or request a quote on your next project.
Casey Rush
- Mar 03, 2022
5 Benefits of Outsourced Printing for Healthcare Insurance Providers
For health insurance companies, building trust with customers starts with quality print communication. Outsourcing can help.
In many ways, health insurance companies are gatekeepers to medical care. So, understandably customers desperately want to trust the insurance company that affords them access to care—and the means to pay for it. That trust begins with the way health insurance companies communicate with their clients, from recurring monthly mailers to plan selection details, explanations of coverage (EOCs), and explanations of benefits (EOBs).
And yet, from managing changing customer expectations, updating coverage of new drugs and procedures, and staying compliant with the latest state and federal requirements, health insurance companies face a wide variety of business challenges. It can be too easy to let patient communication slip through the cracks in the chaos.
How can these organizations make communicating — and building trust — with customers a priority, no matter what else they’re juggling?
Health insurance marketing and communications leaders have too much on their plates to effortlessly manage the logistics involved in producing and distributing printed customer communications—from promotional postcards to explanations of benefits. They need a partner who can take care of the details, leaving them free to focus on what they do best: supporting customers through their healthcare journeys.
There are many benefits to outsourcing printing to the right partner—all in the service of building trust with customers through secure and effective compassionate communication. Here are the top five.
And yet, from managing changing customer expectations, updating coverage of new drugs and procedures, and staying compliant with the latest state and federal requirements, health insurance companies face a wide variety of business challenges. It can be too easy to let patient communication slip through the cracks in the chaos.
How can these organizations make communicating — and building trust — with customers a priority, no matter what else they’re juggling?
Health insurance marketing and communications leaders have too much on their plates to effortlessly manage the logistics involved in producing and distributing printed customer communications—from promotional postcards to explanations of benefits. They need a partner who can take care of the details, leaving them free to focus on what they do best: supporting customers through their healthcare journeys.
There are many benefits to outsourcing printing to the right partner—all in the service of building trust with customers through secure and effective compassionate communication. Here are the top five.
Consistent Quality to Exceed Your Standards for Excellence
Have you ever received a mailer that’s flimsy and poorly produced, with dull colors or printing errors? It probably didn’t give you much confidence in the business.
Customers pay a lot of money for health insurance, and to trust that their investment is sound, they need to see evidence that their providers are putting care and effort into what they do. The quality of printed communications is a powerful first impression — if a provider can’t produce quality materials, how can clients trust them to deliver quality healthcare results?
Unfortunately, it’s easy for even the most well-meaning marketing and communication leaders to fall prey to poor or inconsistent print communication, often in a (very understandable) effort to save time and money. Whether this means printing on subpar in-house equipment or working with a third-party print procurement broker, the result is often a low-quality product that costs more in wasted time and effort (and potentially damaged reputation) than it saved in the first place.
The smarter choice is a single-source partner for consistent print quality that highlights an insurance provider’s dedication to excellence. Choose a partner who will centralize print marketing execution and ensure quality and consistency by producing materials on world-class equipment rather than outsourcing to the lowest bidder.
Perhaps more than in any other industry, healthcare companies have to be laser-focused on protecting their customers’ privacy, and the stakes—financial and reputational—of noncompliance or breach of privacy are often perceived as an insurmountable obstacle to outsourcing print production. After all, health insurance companies frequently need to communicate sensitive information via direct mailings throughout the year. How could they possibly trust an outside source to do it right?
Still, the stakes don’t overrule the need for efficiency and cost containment. The notion of appointing one person to print, stuff, address, double-check and send every piece of mail individually is unsustainable. So, how can healthcare companies ensure their mailings won’t put confidential information at risk?
Customers pay a lot of money for health insurance, and to trust that their investment is sound, they need to see evidence that their providers are putting care and effort into what they do. The quality of printed communications is a powerful first impression — if a provider can’t produce quality materials, how can clients trust them to deliver quality healthcare results?
Unfortunately, it’s easy for even the most well-meaning marketing and communication leaders to fall prey to poor or inconsistent print communication, often in a (very understandable) effort to save time and money. Whether this means printing on subpar in-house equipment or working with a third-party print procurement broker, the result is often a low-quality product that costs more in wasted time and effort (and potentially damaged reputation) than it saved in the first place.
The smarter choice is a single-source partner for consistent print quality that highlights an insurance provider’s dedication to excellence. Choose a partner who will centralize print marketing execution and ensure quality and consistency by producing materials on world-class equipment rather than outsourcing to the lowest bidder.
Perhaps more than in any other industry, healthcare companies have to be laser-focused on protecting their customers’ privacy, and the stakes—financial and reputational—of noncompliance or breach of privacy are often perceived as an insurmountable obstacle to outsourcing print production. After all, health insurance companies frequently need to communicate sensitive information via direct mailings throughout the year. How could they possibly trust an outside source to do it right?
Still, the stakes don’t overrule the need for efficiency and cost containment. The notion of appointing one person to print, stuff, address, double-check and send every piece of mail individually is unsustainable. So, how can healthcare companies ensure their mailings won’t put confidential information at risk?
Here again, outsourcing print production to the right partner enables healthcare insurance providers to rest easy, knowing their customers’ most sensitive information is safe and secure. We recently broke down the qualifications healthcare companies should look for in a HIPAA-compliant provider. In short, you’ll want to discuss data management practices, personnel training, quality control systems, certifications (such as SOC II, ISO, HiTrust), and materials disposal processes with any potential print partner to understand whether you — and your customers — can be confident in their security and regulatory compliance capabilities.
On-Time, Accurate Delivery
As a customer, you know there’s nothing more agonizing than waiting on information about your healthcare coverage. Can I pay for my prescription? Will my daughter’s lifesaving surgery be covered? Can we afford in-home care for my aging parents?
A customer’s trust that their health insurance provider will be there for them in the most challenging times starts with the provider’s track record of timely communication even in the best of times. Do customers receive information about plan options in plenty of time to make informed choices during the open enrollment period? Do they receive updates about the drug formularies in time to work with their doctors to swap out no-longer-covered prescriptions for new ones that won’t break the bank?
On-time delivery of information is critical for empowering customers to make informed decisions about their well-being in the best of times — and for assuring them that their insurance provider will be there for them when the going gets tough.
So, as you’re looking for a print provider, pay special attention to their distribution and fulfillment practices to ensure they’ll produce quality print materials and deliver them to patients on time, every time.
A customer’s trust that their health insurance provider will be there for them in the most challenging times starts with the provider’s track record of timely communication even in the best of times. Do customers receive information about plan options in plenty of time to make informed choices during the open enrollment period? Do they receive updates about the drug formularies in time to work with their doctors to swap out no-longer-covered prescriptions for new ones that won’t break the bank?
On-time delivery of information is critical for empowering customers to make informed decisions about their well-being in the best of times — and for assuring them that their insurance provider will be there for them when the going gets tough.
So, as you’re looking for a print provider, pay special attention to their distribution and fulfillment practices to ensure they’ll produce quality print materials and deliver them to patients on time, every time.
Efficient, Cost-Effective Processes
As healthcare costs continue to skyrocket and margins shrink, it may initially seem impossible to contract with a quality print marketing and communication partner. But with the right partner, the cost (and time) savings far outweigh the investment — starting with the headaches saved by streamlining several vendor contracts into just one point of contact (and one contract) for all your print marketing needs.
At OneTouchPoint, we pride ourselves on helping clients minimize print costs by cutting waste and finding savings through bulk postage discounts, paper procurement, and other system efficiencies. Our six nationwide production facilities reduce shipping time and costs by allowing strategic choices from where materials are printed and shipped.
And it’s not just the upfront costs that the right partner can minimize. Our processes save money on bulk printing (and reprinting and reprinting) information that’s liable to change quickly. We deliver cost savings by reducing waste, offering print-on-demand capabilities to eliminate minimum print quantities, minimize storage requirements, and empower healthcare insurance providers to keep pace with industry changes.
At OneTouchPoint, we pride ourselves on helping clients minimize print costs by cutting waste and finding savings through bulk postage discounts, paper procurement, and other system efficiencies. Our six nationwide production facilities reduce shipping time and costs by allowing strategic choices from where materials are printed and shipped.
And it’s not just the upfront costs that the right partner can minimize. Our processes save money on bulk printing (and reprinting and reprinting) information that’s liable to change quickly. We deliver cost savings by reducing waste, offering print-on-demand capabilities to eliminate minimum print quantities, minimize storage requirements, and empower healthcare insurance providers to keep pace with industry changes.
Beyond Print: A Marketing Communication Ecosystem
Finally, print materials are just one of the many ways healthcare insurance companies communicate with customers. The right partner understands that and can partner with you to manage and execute holistic, multichannel marketing campaigns, going beyond printing to ensure quality, security, and timeliness of the whole marketing communication ecosystem, including digital and print. With a team like that on your side, it’s easy to reach customers with consistent, timely messaging wherever they are, whenever they need you.
Healthcare insurance providers have enough challenges to face—customer communication shouldn’t be one of them. Fortunately, OneTouchPoint is here to help. As a single-source print marketing execution partner, we are dedicated to helping our clients streamline patient communication. We handle the medium so that you can focus on the message.
When your healthcare insurance organization is ready to find a trusted, single-source marketing execution partner, we invite you to contact us to learn more or request a quote on your next project.
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