Marketing to healthcare professionals is never easy. Not only are they constantly bombarded with information — making it hard for software companies to stand out from the crowd — but they’re also under increasing pressure to do more with less and make sound fiscal decisions. Add in strict regulations, and that means trust comes at a premium —and entering the market as a new contender is inherently challenging.
To market your healthcare software, you’ll doubtlessly need to engage multiple stakeholders at different levels of the organization, then maintain their interest and buy-in throughout a long sales cycle. Let’s dive into how to market software in the healthcare industry, looking at some tips and techniques to get your software in front of the right people, generate more leads, and keep your bottom line in the peak of health.
Step one of any software marketing strategy is always to understand your market thoroughly. Especially true in the healthcare industry, where you may be targeting multiple buyer personas within any given client account. For example, if you're targeting hospitals, you'll need to position your product as a solution for both doctors and purchasing departments alike — and demonstrate how you solve problems in a way that is both cost-effective and medically safe.
Trust matters in healthcare. Lives are literally on the line. Healthcare providers must assess and process ton of information — whether it’s the latest medical news, regulatory updates, or marketing collateral. To stand out, you must establish trust and authority — which can be hard to do as a new market entrant.
As a marketer, that means you not only have to attract your leads in the first place (never easy) – you have to keep them interested during a purchasing process that may last weeks or even months.
Due to the highly regulated nature of the market, healthcare providers can be slow to change – for instance, one survey by Accenture found that healthcare providers were failing to keep pace with their own patients' demands for digital solutions. That being said, latest trends point to more acceptance for innovative technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare context — showing some promise for accelerating adoption of advanced solutions.
So what can marketers do to generate and convert more leads in the healthcare sector? Here are our four top tips:
While having a clear grasp of your buyer personas is essential for any software marketing strategy, it's especially critical if you're marketing to healthcare professionals. For one thing, you need to make sure you're reaching all the stakeholders involved in the purchasing decision. Having a clear understanding of the challenges and priorities for each buyer type will ensure that your content, website, and campaigns cover all your bases — and that your sales team has the right enablement materials for success.
Once you've built thorough, data-rich buyer personas, you need to develop a digital "journey" for each profile. You can start with the standard "always-on" pathway that can be readily automated. For instance, you can offer a high-value whitepaper or another lead magnet with an email gateway, leading into an email nurture sequence that guides your prospect from cold to warm — ending with an invitation to a sales call.
However, to stand out in this crowded market, you might also want to consider a higher level of personalization, such as journeys based on trigger events that you can identify from your knowledge of your target audiences.
A prime example of a personalized journey would be a content series aimed at healthcare providers affected by a new type of regulation. The strategy could start with an educational article on how the regulation might affect your specific target, offer a free webinar to provide more detail, and then use the email addresses from the webinar to deliver a highly targeted email series explaining how your software can help them avoid any compliance pitfalls or risks.
While these automated sequences can be programmed manually, you might find it easier to use your customer reputation management (CRM) software to help you segment your contacts more thoroughly, then tie content delivery to their online behavior — rather than more general data points (such as company size or job role.)
It’s clear that high-value content is a must-have for software marketing in the healthcare space. Despite the doom and gloom painted by news outlets about AI’s disruption within content marketing, recent evidence suggests most people still want humans involved in creating the content they turn to for answers.
That being said, marketing to healthcare professionals with content requires some significant considerations. For one, a June 2023 survey discovered that most healthcare providers have little time to read “all the professional content they want.” So, to catch the attention of healthcare professionals who will hopefully use your software platform, consider creating content that streamlines information delivery with aspects like key takeaways sections, summaries, and engaging videos.
Content is also a great way to build your authority as a trusted provider — and authority is fundamental in this highly regulated environment. By creating valuable, useful content (including original research, e-books, "how to" guides, or other helpful materials), you can demonstrate your company's understanding of unique needs and challenges when marketing to healthcare professionals.
Norm Phillips, the CMO of Biopharm Communications, argues that content becomes even more compelling to the healthcare market if promoted via an established brand:
"My experience has repeatedly shown that engagement rates and impact of third-party campaigns are significantly higher than campaigns from a first-party source. So, wherever possible, utilize trusted third-party communication vehicles, meaning promotional messaging coming from a source that is not owned by the manufacturer or promotional marketer of the product."
For instance, consider building co-marketing campaigns with a strategic partner, a related (but non-competing) service provider, or even a key client – case studies are a powerful way to build trust in the healthcare market. Additionally, remember to invest in earned media strategies as part of your larger content marketing vision to build out your third-party validation history.
The healthcare industry can be tough, crowded, slow, and conservative. So, if you’re in the position of understanding the root of how to market software in healthcare, there a few things to consider. Getting ahead in this industry will require software companies to:
If you'd like our help to build a compelling marketing strategy for your healthcare software, click here to schedule a time to chat with us.
