Medical Devices Marketing With Word-of-Mouth
Posted by Todd Buckton on Fri, Dec 10, 2010
How a medical mobile tour used medical devices marketing to create brand advocates in over four-fifths of surgeons who received the marketing communication
Throughout the history of commerce, the sales person was the information source for an undecided consumer. Whether you were looking to buy a flat of paper for your small business, a sweater for your daughter, or deciding which hospital to have your surgery, you went to the person providing the product or service for information. Not only information about how they would deliver, but how to make the decision.
Their information was often slanted as one can imagine. Regardless of how much of your best wishes they had in mind, they wanted to make the sale.
Medical Device Marketing Today
Today, we know things are changing at a rapid pace. We go online for information. We are connected to our network of friends and trusted associates more today than at any point in history. Whether your marketing is B2C or B2B, word-of-mouth is more powerful and more important than ever before.
And this is certainly no different for the medical devices marketing challenge. An industry as intrenched as any other in the “sales-professional-as-residential-expert” model. How does a company leverage this evolving sales model to generate positive word-of-mouth among highly educated target consumers? Namely, how do you get surgeons talking about your product to other surgeons. Not because they're paid to do so, but because they love the product?
The answer.. you show them why they should love the product in a hands-on, fun, safe environment and allow them to decide for themselves.
This is exactly what the latest Promotional Management Group (PMG) medical mobile tour did. As experts in medical devices marketing, PMG knew that the right design was one where surgeons would want to come out of their office, into the hospital parking lot, and experience the medical devices marketing for themselves.
Medical Devices Marketing Case Study Results
As written up in the recent Global Healthcare Products industry case-study, surgeons were asked to rate their likelihood to recommend the products demonstrated as they left the event. An overwhelming four-fifths majority of surgeons (83%) reported that they “Definitely” or “Probably” would recommend Product A to a friend or business associate (read “fellow surgeon”). In addition, when asked about a lesser known and more specific device, a still large three-fourths (76%) majority reported that they would “Definitely” or “Probably” recommend.
In fact, half (50%) of surgeons reported that they “Definitely” would recommend. With average positive word-of-mouth reaching as high as 4.3 people per person (see Keller Fay, 2006), this “recommend” factor has the potential to increase the medical devices marketing impact of up to 430%.
What is the recommend intention of your medical devices marketing? How do your results compare? Use the comments area below to tell us what you are seeing.
Source: “Single-Source WOM Measurement”, Ed Keller & Brad Fay, Keller Fay Group, LLC, November 2006, pg. 4
At PMG, we have extensive experience with medical device marketing. From program strategy to final ROI measurements, we provide you with the mobile tour that allows your prospects to experience your product in a way that increases top line sales. Contact PMG today to talk about your specific challenges and how other companies have found the way to “Drive Their Brand Experience”.
