According to a Forrester study, buyers are 70-90% down their sales journey before they reach out to a vendor. Consumers are doing more research before they reach out to a company. How can you optimize your B2B healthcare marketing plan to make the best use of these long sales cycles?
Old school sales tactics need not apply in 2020. Your average consumer is savvier than ever in our digital age. B2B healthcare companies should offer consumers an individualized experience through a multichannel approach.
The adoption of new technology hasn’t been a priority in the health industry. Plus, health companies have a tough time adapting to evolving consumer preferences. Your stakeholders need enough impactful information to make an informed decision. It’s simpler than you think.
Your efforts will pay off with the use of a robust content marketing strategy. Whether your health company uses blog posts, white papers, case studies, or ebooks are up to you. All in all, your content needs to be relevant and useful to the consumer at every step.
Use Video as a Healthcare Marketing Strategy
Want to get the highest return on your marketing investment? Use video. Videos help you connect one-on-one with your audience. And, it allows you to present solutions to their problems. Video is always evolving. B2B healthcare companies should evolve right alongside it.
Brand awareness can skyrocket through the use of this medium. The consumer’s confidence will increase as they trust that you have their best interest in mind. Healthcare companies who use video on their homepage can have a high rank on Google.
How can video work for your healthcare company? Through the use of storytelling. Hospitals today are using video to add a personal touch using heartwarming stories. This builds trust and confidence in the health system.
Unbounce reports that video is the best way to increase conversions and engage with your audience.
Video marketing can help you:
- Achieve a 49% higher conversion rate. (Aberdeen Group)
- Reach the consumer who already watches tons of videos.
- Stay on top, 60% of B2B and B2C marketers use video (Content Marketing Institute)
Now you know how powerful videos can be for your B2B healthcare marketing strategy.
Personalize to Win
Personalization does not start or stop with a hello and a name. In fact, according to Mckinsey Analysts, personalization boosts ROI up to 8x and increases sales by 10% or more. B2B healthcare companies should take advantage of this opportunity. Offer content that is relevant, helpful, and intentional.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach here. Approach your potential customers as unique individuals and customize their experiences. You can tap into the power of Big Data to unlock all that you need to know about your audience.
In this way, you can micro-target the audience that you hope to convert into fans of your brand. Your content needs to fit the individual persona of your potential buyer. What type of content fits this personal approach to marketing?
Make Content Marketing Work for You
Whynn Hansen, SmartBrief’s Publisher for Healthcare, said: “It doesn’t matter how good your content is if you are not getting it in front of the right people.” Large amounts of content won’t do your company any good if your content isn’t distributed. If your goal is to build your brand and extend your reach, you want a lot of eyes on your content.
An average health consumer is looking for evidence-based advice. They want to stay clear of misinformation. Health care providers are no different from consumers seeking health advice. Use high-quality content that resonates with health care providers.
Where does your target audience hang out? It’s no surprise that LinkedIn is the best way to connect with businesses. LinkedIn accounts for more than 80% of business leads.
You can maintain relevance by engaging your audience with insightful and informative content. This simple strategy will build your company’s credibility over time. Most companies know, consumers buy from people they trust.
Don’t forget to link your content to sites like LinkedIn and Twitter. Don’t hoard your work, put it out there. Also use keywords as you see fit, to get a high ranking on search engines. Here’s the thing. Staying top-of-mind for your consumer will guarantee success.
Let an Influencer Back Your Brand
An influencer isn’t anything new. Influencers are people who the public trusts to provide insights on particular issues. Leaders have led others’ decisions forever. In a simpler sense, an influencer is a term used for modern-day leaders.
You can witness this in action when you hear a name drop. Someone might say Dr. Joe Schmo recommends this treatment over others and so on. If someone is a loyal follower of this doctor, hearing this doctor’s name can boost confidence in an instant.
What’s the first step to connect with an influencer? First, engage physicians and health advocates with a large and active following. Choose influencers who interact with their readers’ comments.
It’s best if the influencer is active on many social media sites. Influencer marketing will increase ROI 11x compared to other kinds of content. How can an influencer support your B2B healthcare marketing strategy?
Measure to Improve
You might have two burning questions: Why do you need to analyze what’s working? What tools are out there?
Let’s cut to the chase, data measures what you’re doing right and how you can improve. Getting likes and comments is the first layer of the cake.
In B2B healthcare marketing, it’s crucial to track what you did well and what channel did you use to achieve your goals. Tracking metrics such as customer acquisition cost, return on marketing investment (ROMI), lead-to-close conversion rates from emails, social media, and search would be an excellent starting place. This might seem overwhelming. But, it becomes easier when using software solutions like Hubspot to help analyze the results for your company.
It’s good practice to have data analytics in place before you begin your marketing campaign. Robust data can help you make the necessary adjustments to increase ROMI and gain high-quality leads.
Wrapping It Up
Several strategies can be used to optimize your B2B healthcare marketing plan. Now the way you wield these strategies has to mesh with what your specific audience wants.
Use a mix of these strategies for the best results. Maintain relevance through on-time content for a targeted audience. Successful marketing can lead to an increase in sales and enhanced business relationships.
What new marketing tools will you use to grow your business?
doctor handshake – DepositPhotos
