Healthcare Marketing: In A Glance (eBook)

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2. CONTENTS Page no 01 Introduction 01 02 Ch 1: Challenges in Healthcare Marketing 02 03 Ch 2: Planning Your Healthcare Marketing Journey 04 04 Ch 3: Conducting Marketing Research & Identifying Your Market 06 05 Ch 4: Identifying Your Target Audience 09 06 Ch 5: Budgeting in Healthcare Marketing 12 07 Ch 6: Strategizing in Healthcare Marketing 16 08 Ch 7: Automation in Healthcare Marketing 19 09 Ch 8: Speeding-Up Your Sales Cycles 21 10 Ch 9: Measuring the Success of Your Healthcare Campaigns 23 11 Ch 10: Healthcare Marketing: The Future 26 12 Ch 11: Overview: Healthcare Marketing 28

3. INTRODUCTION In any industry, change is the only constant. However, in modern mar- keting, the constants are what keep changing. Such has been the rapid growth and development of digital marketing and the possibilities it unfurls. However, the emergence of digital marketing has changed the game. New software such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and marketing automation have transformed industries. Small investments go a long way, with returns on investment coming in under a year, at times. Although the idea is yet to find unconditional backing, it opens the door to new clients and sources of revenue. The internet and social media have transformed how we sell. With ever-changing trends in the way we communicate, it becomes neces- sary for industries to catch up in order to stay relevant. Marketing has taken on new dimensions in the digital era. Once dependent on cold calls and persuasion, the modern marketer must now resort to different tactics. Digital marketing is also extremely efficient as it saves on time and money by automating repetitive tasks. This turns the focus away from completing those tasks to providing quality healthcare. It cuts unnecessary costs, which you can reinvest into generating and nurturing more leads. It also pushes the industry to be more proactive and in touch with patients. This helps foster an authentic relationship between a business and its customer. However, many organizations have been guilty of ignoring these trends and sticking to traditional methods of marketing. This rings true, partic- ularly in the healthcare industry. Marketing in the healthcare industry is still at a nascent stage, when compared to that of other industries. The healthcare industry is in dire need of an image makeover. Digital market- ing may be the solution it’s looking for. Healthcare marketing poses unique industrial challenges. Unlike other industries, where professionals sell products according to demand, healthcare marketers sell products based on necessity. This affects the marketing bandwidth of a product, as experts cannot cross certain ethi- cal lines. Since the product impacts one’s quality of life, marketing is often sober and severe. This eBook incorporates a wide range of topics like: · Planning your digital healthcare marketing journey · Conducting Marketing Research · Identifying your Market & Targeting your leads Healthcare in the USA is among the most expensive in the world. The US government does not have a regulatory body to decide on drug prices, leaving the choice up to drug makers. As a result, the cost of drugs is three to four times higher in the USA when compared to other countries. While the latter have mechanisms in place to enable even the poorest of people to access basic healthcare, we can't say the same for the healthcare landscape of the former. It’s an unenviable situation for the world’s largest economy. · Budgeting your campaign · Planning and running a successful marketing campaign · Reducing your sales cycle · Using performance indicators to measure campaign success 01

4. CH 1: CHALLENGES IN HEALTHCARE MARKETING The healthcare industry of the United States is one of the largest, as well as one of the most expensive. It has inherited an aging population, out of which, one in four adults, and 80% of children get insufficient exercise. Chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes are also widespread, contrib- uting to a public health crisis. Healthcare is also one of the most controversial topics in America. The healthcare system is opaque and indirect, and patients cannot access drugs or care without insurers. High medical costs, higher premiums, and regular controversies make it a constant source of public ire. It isn’t uncommon to hear of patients being denied or given delayed care. As a result, there is a negative public perception surrounding the industry. The USA spends about 20% of its GDP on healthcare. (3 trillion/yr.) OR $1 out of every $5 is spent on healthcare Additionally, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulates the industry massively. Several legal ambiguities have put-off hospitals from marketing themselves. As a result, the industry pays little attention to self-promotion. Small hospitals rarely look beyond their estab- lished clientele, while larger hospitals seek donors. The healthcare industry is also guilty of outdated methods of communication, most of it being paper-based. There is also the issue of who qualifies as a patient. Some may think they need healthcare when they don’t, some are denied it despite being in absolute need of it. All these make healthcare marketing a complicated task, but most of the problems the industry faces are self-inflicted. Digital marketing offers solu- tions for many of them while simultaneously improving the perception of the industry. 02

5. Why Use Digital Marketing? It’s simple. Today’s customers are well informed and have easy access to information. This means that old school marketing techniques have become ineffective. It becomes necessary to find a middle ground and not oversell the product. As a result, digital marketing emphasizes equally on product quality as well as a positive customer experience. Digital marketing also cuts down on tremendous amounts of money and labor. Marketing automation software can automate routine tasks, send customized messages, and run full campaigns on its own. This helps to cut costs in an expensive industry, while maximizing marketing efforts. 7% of healthcare organizations plan to expand their use of connected healthcare marketing technologies over the next few years. – HIMSS Study, 2016 Data analysis is something most companies admit they don’t know enough about. Digital marketing systems effortlessly analyze data while also giving detailed insights on marketing performance. Through audience segmentation, you can identify qualified leads and narrow them down quicker. This also implies marketers can abandon unqualified leads. Staying in touch is essential, for both a customer and business. The healthcare industry is notorious for its outdated means of communication. This is unacceptable in an industry where delays can be the difference between life and death. Digital marketing removes this problem from the equation by mandating regular communication between patient and healthcare provider to work. Finally, digital marketing is a proven winner. Returns on investment are often reported in under a year. And according to Salesforce, marketing automation brought about a: 451%increase in qualified leads 14.5%increase in sales productivity 12.2%reduction in marketing overhead (Salesforce Pardot) Get a comprehensive solution to all your healthcare marketing challenges.Read it now 03

6. CH 2: PLANNING YOUR HEALTHCARE MARKETING JOURNEY Planning your healthcare marketing campaign is the first step to any successful marketing campaign. However, healthcare marketing is not straightforward. Marketers must be aware of HIPAA laws and regulations, as well as to ensure their content isn’t offensive. Moreover, the fact that the industry still needs to catch up makes it more difficult to market. Effective planning helps to sidestep these restrictions. Here are seven ways to plan effectively: · Shift focus to creating more value:The industry needs to shift its focus from volume-based care to value-based care. This is because the success of digital marketing is reliant on positive customer experiences. Volume-based care is guilty of reducing customers to statistics, while value-based care helps foster a strong relationship between patient and healthcare provider. Rather than treating people like patients, treating them like members of a select club will build trust and loyalty By the end of 2019, up to almost 15% of global healthcare spending will be in some form of ‘value/outcome-based care’ concept. · SMART goals:SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) goals refer to objectives that are well defined and are realistically possible to achieve. These goals have a sense of direction and are also specific. For instance, a 13% increase in ROI by the end of the third quarter. They are easy to achieve as they do describe a specific goal, and not something vague, like become the go-to healthcare brand in your city by this year · Set clear and segmented goals:Have different, yet aligned goals at the individual, departmental, and organizational levels. This helps marketers focus on short term goals which need immediate attention as well as long term objectives. For example, Business goals: What does the entire company hope to achieve? Marketing goals: How the marketing team must focus on their resources to achieve their goals? Individual goals: How do I maximize the number of leads I convert? · Identify and qualify leads:Marketing automation software helps in filtering-out your sales funnel and identifying those leads that are most interested. Defining Sales Qualified Leads (SQL) and Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL) helps to integrate the sales and marketing departments. This leads to greater efficiency and helps in shortening the sales cycle. 04

7. · Identify the best marketing channels:Depending on your audience, the marketing channel you employ may be different. Use your most effective channel to reach out to as many people as possible. Email and social media are popular channels where content can go far beyond its reach. Identify your most reliable channel, and use it to reach out to your customers. · Budget realistically:Know your limits and stick to it. Marketing automation software may not be expensive anymore, but it is essential to know what you want and spend on the right products. Many businesses are guilty of over-investing in the wrong product, software, or service. It is essential to know what you’re buying and why you’re using it. · Use KPIs:Use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure and understand how well your campaign is progressing. KPI’s provide feedback and statistics that analyze your campaign’s performance. They also help you to understand your strengths, as well as identify the aspects of what you can improve upon “ If I had one hour to cut a tree, I would spend 45 minutes sharpening the ax, and 15 minutes cutting it. ” - Abraham Lincoln A detailed, actionable, and realistic plan is an essential pre-requisite to succeed in your healthcare marketing campaign. “Well begun is half done.” -Aristotle Need an in-depth glimpse into planning your healthcare marketing journey? Get My Whitepaper Now 05

8. CH 3: CONDUCTING MARKETING RESEARCH & IDENTIFYING YOUR MARKET A full-fledged marketing campaign requires extensive planning and a thorough understanding of both product and audience. Research helps a marketer understand the behavior of his/her audience, narrow down who he/she can target, as well as plan for future campaigns. Studying your market helps you to: Understand the customer’s decision-making process $ Understand patient experience and expectations Determine product advantages & disadvantages compared to that of a competitor Set a realistic budget Pinpoint the cultural, structural, environmental influences in the decision-making process Be aware of health policy rules and regulations in diferent parts of the world Before defining your market, you need to set objectives for your healthcare industry. Once your objectives are set, establishing a market becomes more manageable. By answering these four essential questions, you can determine your healthcare market. 1. Competition Analysis: Who are your Healthcare competitors? Who are your competitors? Who are they targeting? Who are your current customers? Should you explore new markets? Are your com petitors overlooking a niche market?  Analyze your competitor’s advertisements, website, and join their email subscription list. This gives a good understanding of their strategies, target audi ence, as well as their grip on the market. Competitor analysis also helps you understand whether your product is a niche or for the masses. It helps decide the quality and pricing of your product with respect to that of your competition. Based on competition levels, you can also outline the brand image you wish to portray. 2. Product Analysis: What sets you apart from the competition? Compare your product’s USP with your competitor’s product. List out what benefits it provides. Since your product impacts one’s quality of life, you should be sure of its quality. 06

9. You already know your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Compare them against those of your product. This helps you assess if your product solves an existing problem or a new one. This also enables you to understand the range of products in the market and prepare accordingly. It is necessary that your product stands out. Most products/services always have alternatives in the market. A good marketing plan hinges on glorifying what makes your product different. 3. Target Audience: Who are your buyers? The medical industry consists of: Pharmaceutical companies Medical devices, equipment and supplies providers Primary and secondary care facilities (hospitals, nursing homes) Healthcare providers (doctors, pharmacists, nurses) Patients For a clear picture of who your healthcare audience is, you must segment the market in four different categories: Geographic Segmentation:This segmentation defines ‘where’ your target audience is. Country, state, city, metro, density, etc. are elements of geographic segmentation  Firmographic Segmentation:This defines ‘what’ your target audience does. Consider factors such as industry sector, revenue, market posi tion, investors, etc. for audience differentiation  Role Segmentation: This category determines ‘who’ makes the decisions. Various factors like the executive, sales, finance, marketing, research, etc. determine who will make the purchase decision Behavioral Segmentation:This segmentation determines ‘how’ the target audience makes a buying decision. Taking into consideration user status, usage rate, and attitude to product, etc. when analyzing their behavior 07

10. 4. Trends: What are the latest trends in the healthcare industry? The healthcare industry is moving towards Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technological solutions. By the end of 2019, the medical technology application market will cross $1.7 billion. This will be the best time to test the AI-based healthcare product/services. AI will particularly aid imaging diagnostics, drug discov ery, and risk analytics application. “35% of adults go online to identify and figure out the medical condition.” - Pew research center The future will see a preference for digital healthcare solutions over traditional ones. Expect an estimated growth of 30% in the global market of up to $25 billion in 2019 for digital health tech solutions. This means that the ‘out of hospital’ settings are going to gain popularity. The shifting inclination of the healthcare industry has a direct impact on the target market. With more companies coming at par with the latest trends, you should be aware of the same; designing your marketing campaigns around them. Become a master when identifying your target market Learn More Now 08

11. CH 4: IDENTIFYING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself”- Peter Drucker Identifying your B2B target market helps you determine your next steps. After conducting market research for the target market, you should delve deeper to identify your target audience. Your B2B medical target audience may include details of many healthcare professionals. It would contain surgeons, general physicians, nurses, or pharmaceuti- cal researchers in it. But, be specific, accurate, and relevant in identifying your B2B medical target audience. Here are seven steps to identify your B2B medical audience: 1. Develop a data strategy: It’s impossible to know your audience without data. Incomplete data, data silos, and lack of analytic tools are the most common reasons for analysis failure. Conduct practical data analysis using automation. “74% of companies with advanced data strategies have a better market position than their competitors.” – Harvard Business review on B2B data strategy 2. Define your target audience:Define your audience concerning some common attributes. The more particular you are, the higher your chances of better prospects. Post regular surveys on social media to study your existing audience. Following that, use the help of your sales team to draw seller personas. “20% of the total population of the B2B customers dominate business sales at 80%.” 80-20 sales rule in B2B 3. Segment by similarities: Segment the target audience using common factors among them. These include professional specialization, decision-making power, demographic traits, experience, and psychographic differentiators. “92% of B2B marketers segment their target market.”-B2B barometer Define segments specifically Employ market-focused teams working towards a market focused model Execute analysis and research before targeting a global audience General email rate has only a 3 percent click-through rate. However, the segmented click-through email rate is 8 percent - Direct marketing associa tion, HubSpot 09

12. 4. Choosing the right influencers or partners Tap into healthcare communities and social media channels. This is a way to target influencers in healthcare marketing — partner with companies having a higher amount of target audience. Some facts about influencers in healthcare marketing: Local health companies utilize micro-influencers. Micro-influencers have followers from 1000 to 100,000 Use social listening tools and B2B healthcare marketing platforms to reach out to more significant influencers Based on your goals involve public figures, qualified peers, and subject matter experts 5. Building a strategic contact plan Developing a strategic contact plan is a necessary step before you set a target. You make a detailed outline plan to target your customers. Strategic contact plan is a calculated course of action of a segment’s situation. A strategic contact plan is a planned course of action in a segment’s particular situation. It is necessary before you can begin targeting. First, you make a detailed outline of how you plan to target your customers. Things a strategic contact plan includes: Means of reaching a target audience:Means through which the online audience can reach you. It includes LinkedIn, other social media channels, emails, phone calls, etc. Messaging frequency: The number of times the targeted prospect or lead messages. It analyzes the online messaging patterns of the target audience. Types of messaging: It mentions if the target audience prefers to interact through chat, chatbots, phone, emails, and so on. Creative Executions: It involves the strategies to interact with the target audience creatively. You build these plans based on their messaging behavior. Assessing results:It involves focusing on customer engagement metrics online.  It measures the responsiveness of your target audience to your sales pitch. 10

13. 6. Research competitor strategies Market opponents teach you the best lessons when identifying a target audience. By watching how they respond to a situation, you can avoid the same response in a similar situation. “74% of marketing professionals afrmed competitor analysis to be important. Fifty-seven percent admitted that they were not good at it.” – A recent study from research firm Conductor on competitive analytics search. 7. Experimenting targeting techniques Finally, apply several targeting techniques to maximize brand impact. Now, test different combinations of targeting techniques. Some targeting techniques: Contextual: Providing messages relevant to the topic search Behavioral: Delivering content to those who expressed interest in your product Profile or registration: Reaching people who shared their information with you List matching or authentication: Getting target list from third-party data vendors Identifying YourTarget Audience Is an Art. Show Me How 11

14. CH 5: BUDGETING IN HEALTHCARE MARKETING As with any other industry, effective budgeting is a core component of a successful marketing campaign. By acting as a financial road map, a budget helps you stick to a plan, identify, and mitigate risks. Budget planning for the healthcare sector is something only talked about at seminars. An excellent medical budget strategy can put you on the right path. Planning a healthcare marketing budget is not easy, but it is also something you cannot overlook. Statistics indicate that up to 85% of small and mid-size companies have a budget without a written plan. This limits marketers as they focus on spending a defined budget rather than the planning of goals and strategies. Why you need a comprehensive budget A reasonable marketing budget gives direction to your spending. It helps you measure and manage your investment and the returns you get. A budget can also guide your marketing plan towards result-driven strategies. Here are four ways in which a budget helps you organize and implement better:  1. Helps to strategize:Like personal finances, budget pinpoints where you might be overspending, and where you need to spend more. This requires you to think twice before making any financial decisions. 2. Your competition does: To succeed in a competitive market, it’s necessary to stay up-to-date. Your message needs to be more relevant, recogniz able, and appealing when compared to that of your competitors. A well mapped-out budget gives you a considerable edge over those competitors who don’t budget well. If they already do, why not learn for them? 3. Promotes sales-marketing collaboration: A company’s sales and marketing teams have identical goals but are often at odds with each other. A well-made, transparent budget reduces hostility between the departments. This encourages them to work with each other, instead of against. It also increases the chances of a successful campaign. 12

15. 4. Pinpoints unexpected expenses:A budget is never final; there are always unforeseen expenses to any project. A budget helps you to expect and plan for them realistically. Some common unpredictable costs include: Cost of giving a customer a discount or an offer Designing and production resources The energy and time that goes into the campaign A budget accounts for these overheads and helps you to plan. Four Key Questions A well-planned budget has clear, concise answers to each of these questions. You need to thoroughly know what you want to implement and execute before you begin. What are your Healthcare marketing objectives? What is your B2B HC market? Do you know your audience? What are the latest healthcare marketing trends? It is essential to analyze what kind of marketing budget suits your company better. To help you determine where to allocate your budget and time, we’ve got some critical insights from our healthcare marketing research. Here are two ways to budget your healthcare marketing campaigns: 1. Overall marketing budget:Marketing is a collaboration of both online and offline efforts. As a healthcare marketer, you need to strike a balance between both online and offline budgeting like television ads, print ads, and other traditional outlets. Since 2009, marketing budgets have continued to consistently rise. For a healthcare marketing budget, the optimal range would be 12-20%, of the annual income for small business and 6-12% for mid-sized to larger ones. Under this kind of budgeting, you will consider all aspects pertaining to marketing, both online and offline. Traditional channels of marketing haven’t fared well in recent years. Investment in print, radio, and TV have been reducing all but gradually. The allocation of the budget will purely depend on the nature of your business. As of today, online marketing has the upper hand. 13

16. 2. Online Marketing Budget: Online marketing or digital marketing budgets include different aspects of marketing online. Search engine optimization, website development, paid ads, social media, and email marketing are all a part and parcel of online marketing. Online marketing platforms have changed the idea of marketing itself. There is a considerable investment in it, and more marketers see it as beneficial to their business. Digital Marketing Channels For the healthcare sector, there are four primary online marketing strategies that help allow you to allocate appropriate marketing budgets: Content Marketing:Healthcare is a very personal topic that generates high search engine traffic and engagement. 8 out of 10 experts rely on search engines as their primary source for information. Voice searches for health queries are also on the rise. It is time for healthcare mar keters to invest in providing consum er-friendly content. 36% of B2B healthcare marketers have increased their content marketing budgets, understanding the need to give more value to their products. As a B2B healthcare marketer, you must allot at least 28% of your total online marketing budget towards content marketing. Social Media Marketing: Social media has surfaced as one of the top channels for healthcare marketing. According to a survey, 30% of healthcare marketers revealed social media to be one of their most important marketing channels. Close to 80% of Americans are on social media, making it one of the most accessible marketing channels. Social media acts as a viable option for your busi ness to make a real impact as well as to communicate with your customers. An amount close to 15-25% of your online marketing budget is optimal to enhance your brand’s reputation on social media. Search engine Marketing:Even though most people first seek answers to their health problems online, B2B healthcare marketing pays very little attention to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Luckily, it’s never too late. On the bright side, you have a chance to rank high on search engine results by allotting 25% of your overall marketing budget towards search engine optimization. According to research, SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate. Today, almost 56% of adults in America own a smartphone and are online. These statistics alone highlight how crucial it is for you to rank high on search engines. 14

17. Email Marketing: Email marketing is the best form of online marketing. It is simple and drives maximum results. It sees the highest return on investment and lead conversion rates when compared to other channels. To run a successful email marketing campaign, all you need is a list of potential customer email ID’s, and you are sure to get results. “Email marketing has an ROI of 3800%.” – DMA “Marketers have noted a 760% increase in revenue from segmented campaigns” –Campaign Monitor For a healthcare email marketing campaign, you should always use a reliable database. 70% of your existing database becomes stale within a year. Therefore, you need to possess a database to run a successful email marketing campaign regularly. The results for email marketing are better than ever before. About 94% of Americans rely on emails as their choice of immediate and on-time communication. Budget Your Marketing Campaigns with Ease Discover More 15

18. CH 6: STRATEGIZING IN HEALTHCARE MARKETING Planning your marketing strategies in the healthcare industry is quite different from planning your healthcare marketing journey. The former includes planning your goals, objectives, vision, challenges, budget, and trends. The strategy remains in the background throughout. A strategy is not the first step. It is the previous step to execute your campaign goals. Strategizing for B2B healthcare marketing include the following steps. 1. Content specific to buyer persona B2b healthcare campaigns demand a specific content strategy for each buyer persona. Your customers may be a general physician, a surgeon, dentist, or even a psychiatrist. Your aim should be to retain your customers by using interactive content. Hospitals have purchasing committees. These committees decide on B2B purchases. The first step for you is to prepare a buyer’s persona and to map-out their journey. Your content strategy must depend on each unit of the target audience. For Instance, content meant for a general physician will not be appropriate for a surgeon. 2. Customer Experience Most healthcare B2B buyers expect a B2B experience. They demand consistency through all channels, making it essential for you to be available on multiple platforms. It is necessary to be versatile and to adapt to personal requests from a customer. Hence, it is better to use all channels regularly than to use just one exclusively. Less isn’t always more. Plan your customer experience strategies with that thought in mind. 3. Make an impact with influencer marketing and thought leadership Healthcare is a distant subject for most audiences. However, influencer marketing and thought leadership have begun to find their feet in the B2B healthcare industry. Taking their help is a great way to improve your visibility and credibility. Look for influencers with a more engaged audience, not a broader one. If your customers have had a positive experience with them or your brand, it helps increase the number of sales achieved. Keep in mind The influencer’s expertise on the subject Suitable media channels for marketing your services Content engagement 16

19. 4. Use LinkedIn LinkedIn is the most engaging and direct way of connecting with healthcare professionals. By the end of 2013, there were over 4.4 million healthcare practi tioners, executives, and thought leaders on Linkedin, a 30% increase from 2012. Make use of sponsored updates to reach out to high-value accounts. The sponsored updates feature lets you target your audience according to some param eters. LinkedIn is the best tool to target the pain points of healthcare professionals. You can use it to segment your list and generate personalized content. 5. Smartphone-first strategy The healthcare industry has long been guilty of paying little attention to new marketing channels. However, that is slowly changing. B2B healthcare profes sionals are gradually moving towards a mobile-first strategy. Sixty percent of physicians access their email on a mobile device. Ninety percent of physicians use mobiles in their work every day.”- DMD internal research report, 2014 According to an IMS study conducted in 2013, there were more than 43,000 mobile apps. Fast-forward to 2017 there were more than 325,000 mobile health apps. The number of mobile health apps rose even further during 2017-2018, by 78,000 to be exact. Things to work on with respect to a seamless mobile experience Size Placement Text for call to action Content fitting smaller mobile screens Images for slower and quicker mobile networks Personalized and interactive digital experience Hence, it is essential to put smartphones on the top of the list. Mobile-optimized and voice-friendly content can lend you a higher search engine ranking. Most SEO strategists are transforming their approach to a mobile responsive, voice-friendly one. Planning for these elements can improve you as a professional healthcare marketer. As you prepare for these strategies, your dreams begin to turn into a reality. 17

20. Planning has never been this efcient Learn More Now 18

21. CH 7: AUTOMATION IN HEALTHCARE MARKETING As discussed earlier, healthcare marketing is anything but easy. It is no surprise that marketers are reluctant to join the industry. They are significantly constrained by creativity, complex legislation, and public mistrust towards the industry. However, the emergence and popularity of marketing automation platforms are changing things. There is plenty of evidence regarding its effectiveness in carrying out campaigns in other industries. Moreover, it also helps in cutting down precious hours by automating routine manual tasks. As a result, employees get more time to spend on actual marketing. A study by Aberdeen reveals that most companies that engage in marketing automation have a 107% greater lead conversion and 40% bigger average deal sizes. It also ensures 17% better forecast accuracy, proving the value of marketing investment in any industry. These are five major problems in the healthcare industry that marketing automation software can solve: Cost:The healthcare industry is guilty of enormous expenditure and are one of the highest spenders in America. Most of these expenses are avoidable, but the unusual market structure of this industry makes this challenging to achieve. This is moreover complicated by the lack of funding that marketers in the healthcare industry receive. “One in every $5 spent in the USA goes towards healthcare” Marketing automation changes that. It cuts cost by automating the entire marketing process, and analyzing the data, saving much time and money in the process. This means marketers can spend more time marketing and less time on analysis. Research by Focus Group reveals that “75% of companies that used marketing automation reported ROI coming in less than a year.” This statistic is proof of the value of digital marketing investment. Marketing automation can help cut down on spending. It can also increase revenue through effective marketing. Communication: Communication is another challenge for healthcare marketers that can be overcome with automation. Despite being in the age of smartphones, most communication in the industry is paper-based. This is unacceptable in an industry where a delay could be the difference between life and death. Marketing automation software solves the problem of communication to a large extent. Making smartphones a marketing priority can help in building an active, loyal customer base. This increases engagement with customers and nurtures better loyalty and trust. It also helps them to get new leads and win more customers. 19

22. Performance Indicators: Another one of the challenges for healthcare marketers is the absence of performance indicators. KPIs can help providers identify their strengths and weaknesses, as well as suggest future actions. However, the industry is also plagued by a general lack of care for metrics. This makes it harder for the industry to evaluate itself. Marketing automation uses reliable KPIs, which helps to understand best practices and habits. It is also useful in identifying what tactics don't work. This helps solve the problem of data management and the absence of performance indicators. Marketers can utilize the data to provide better customer service. Data: The truth is simple; the industry’s chaotic marketing strategies are costing it money. A report by Econsultancy and Ogilvy CommonHealth shows that most healthcare organizations are unsure about how to handle massive data sets they collect. One of the biggest challenges for medical marketers is dealing with the volume of data they receive. Letting marketing automation solve the problem for you helps cut down on time and money spent. Customers:Another challenge faced by marketers is that of defining a 'customer.' Customers in the healthcare industry may not need the products they request but feel that they do. On the other hand, many who may need healthcare can have their access denied. This makes it more difficult to scout and nurture possible leads. It is also responsible for the loss of potential buyers and revenue. Marketing automation platforms segment data based on filters. It is easy to classify leads based on demographics, online habits, buying behavior, etc. It helps you to close-in on your target audience and inform them about new products. It also helps avoid the problem of having to predict customer motives in advance. Organizing healthcare marketing in the digital age will prove difficult. However, unless the industry adapts to changing trends, it risks being left behind. Marketing automation is the first step this industry can take to start connecting with today’s consumers. It is also a one-stop-solution for the most persistent problems troubling healthcare. The challenge for medical marketers now is to convince the rest of their industry. 20

23. CH 8: SPEEDING UP YOUR SALES CYCLES The term ‘sales cycle’ refers to the entire process of converting an inactive lead to a buying customer. Faster sales cycles mean more leads, deals, and revenue in lesser time. There isn’t a single manager in the world who isn’t hoping for a faster sales cycle. But it’s always easier said than done. The duration of a sales cycle isn’t always dependent on the salesperson. More often than not, sales cycles depend on market conditions and buyer behavior as much as it does in the sales department. There is also no one-size-fits-all type of solution to decrease the duration of a sales cycle, as it depends on the business and industry. However, there are plenty of things that sales departments can do to boost sales cycles. This article lists out five strategies to shorten your business’ sales cycle: 1. Communicate Efficiently: When you get a lead, respond right away. One of the most overlooked aspects of sales is timely communication. “Companies that take lesser than an hour to respond to emails are seven times likelier to have meaningful conversations with key decision makers about their products. However, less than 37% of companies respond to emails within an hour”. - Harvard Business Review This statistic shows just how many customers companies lose every month due to complacency. Timely communication can help convert many dormant leads into new customers, significantly shortening their sales cycles. 2. Automate Regularly: Sales and marketing automation and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platforms have been hugely successful at increasing lead counts. They also save countless hours that would be otherwise spent on analyzing data and completing repetitive tasks. By letting platforms automate your campaigns for you, your sales team can focus on pursuing and contacting leads. Automation can increase the volume of qualified leads by 451%, while also reducing overheads by 12%. - Salesforce Pardot 3. Use your contacts:Leverage your social circles and try recommending your product to leads through former or current co-workers, friends and or acquaintances. Promoting your product through social contact is much more effective than cold-calling or sending too many emails. Your contact’s recommendation lends credence to you and your product, increasing the chances of a quicker sale. In case your customer likes your product, you can ask them to endorse or recommend it to their contacts and get new leads as a result. 21

24. 4. Train your salesmen:Equipped with the power to find their information, the modern customer has taken on a different role. Hence, it is necessary for salespeople to adapt accordingly. Research has also shown that many sales teams are guilty of inefficiency. “As many as 67% of salespeople miss their sales quotas. To top it of, one in every four companies that were examined did not even know if their sales team achieved their targets. “-TAS Group These are worrying statistics that point out exactly why sales cycles take longer. Training salespeople to achieve and report targets frequently puts the onus on them to update their own goals. 5.  Prioritize Customer Experience:Digital marketing places emphasis on the buyer journey and optimal customer experiences. This helps increase engagement with them while also making them feel more valued. There are also significantly lesser efforts required of the sales department as these messages can be auto-sent. Investing the time and money in speeding-up the sales process can be valuable. A faster sales cycle is difficult to achieve, but by no means is it impossible. The numbers place much of the blame on human error, complacency, and poor execu tion. The minimization of errors is the first step to a quicker sales cycle. Automation is undoubtedly the future of sales and marketing, and the industry would do well to note that. Automating campaigns and sending automated mes sages to customers help save many resources as well as valuable time. Current healthcare marketing techniques are conducive to positive customer experiences. This makes it an attractive option for both the buyer and seller. Still stuck with long sales cycle? SALES CYCLE Fix It Now 22

25. CH 9: MEASURING THE SUCCESS OF YOUR HEALTHCARE CAMPAIGNS When it comes to analyzing data and measuring your ROI, marketing experts use many metrics to categorize success. Website clicks, number of new leads, and bounce rates are commonly used to give a good picture of your campaign’s performance. However, metrics differ from industry to industry, and you already know by now that healthcare is unlike any other. If you’re in healthcare marketing, most of your efforts should focus on gaining new leads. For your digital marketing strategy to be successful in the long run, it should also focus on customer acquisition and retention. These are six metrics you should use to analyze the performance of your marketing campaign: 1. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Customer Acquisition Cost is the total cost of convincing a lead or potential customer into buying a product/service. CAC varies across industries and depends on the product/service. CAC gives you an idea about how easy or difficult it is to nurture and convert leads. To calculate CAC, use this simple formula: CAC= Net sales+ marketing expense/No. of new customers From SEO to social media, blogs to emails, it’s necessary to take all marketing channels into consideration when calculating CAC. Some channels work better than others. Hence, it is essential you identify what works best for you. 2. Customer Retention Rate (CRR) Customer Retention Rate focuses on the cost of retaining existing customers. Like CAC, CRR is also dependent on industry and market conditions. CRR helps understand how loyal your customers are, as well as the effectiveness of your product. To calculate CRR, use this simple formula: CRR (in %) = (Total customers at the end of the campaign – New customers gained throughout the campaign) / Number of customers before the campaign * 100 You could be losing customers if your product isn’t up to mark, or if you don’t spend enough time finding out why. CRR points out the loyalty of your customer base, as well as the chinks in your customer retention strategy’s armor. 23

26. 3. Customer Support Response Time A good healthcare organization understands that the best way to retain its customers is to provide care even after treatment, i.e. customer service. Delays and poor communication can cost you valuable customers and money. Customers want a response, and they’re pretty ada mant that you’re quick about it. Respond to each customer as and when you receive their feedback. Not only does it enhance your standing, but it also provides an incentive for them to continue using your services. 4. Engagement Engagement metrics evaluate your overall brand awareness and market penetration. They give you feedback on how viewers are interacting with your content. Social media ‘engagement’ activities include likes, comments, tweets, reactions, and shares. Engagement Rate (in %) = No. of engaged users / overall reach of post * 100 5. Content Effectiveness Content effectiveness is the most straightforward metric to measure. Using the help of a KPI software, marketers can measure the effective ness of content. Factors such as website traffic, subscriptions, SEO ranking, feedback, and authority are most reliable among others. Post-evaluation, you’ll be able to pinpoint your most effective platforms and most popular content. You’ll also understand your weak links and weed out ineffective content as a result. 24

27. 6.Search Engine Optimization SEO is an essential tool in any digital marketer’s handbook. You can calculate SEO effectiveness based on on-page and off-page performance. Online tools such as ‘Moz’ or ‘Google analytics’ help you to analyze and understand how your campaign is faring. Additionally, you can also use websites such as ‘Ubersuggest’ to know what keywords are optimal to use. Get a real-picture of your campaign’s performance Read the Article 25

28. CH 10: HEALTHCARE MARKETING: THE FUTURE B2B healthcare marketing lags massively behind other industries in terms of application of the latest digital trends. Perhaps, this is what makes its future so promising. B2B healthcare is evolving by the day, warming up to technology and automation, and making its presence felt online. Adopting digital marketing axioms, B2B healthcare marketing is shifting towards a more customer-centric platform. These are five significant developments that may change the B2B healthcare landscape in the future: 1. Predictive Analysis Predictive analytics has three main functions, namely, predictive scoring, identification models, and automated segmentation. They are also help ful in monitoring customer behavior. They learn patterns from customer touch points to identify common characteristics in customer experiences. They are also great for personalized selling and marketing. 2. Immersive technologies Perhaps the most futuristic of all, immersive technology creates a reality with virtual content. With the assistance of augmented and virtual reality, it helps you get in your customer’s shoes and see things their way. They also convey what information marketers need at different points of the buying journey. “By 2021, there will be 57.1 million VR Users and 85 million AR users” -emarketer.com, March 2019 3. Artificial Intelligence The most popular future trend, AI has already taken the world by storm. AI software helps you analyze customer behavior based on their online behavior at a faster pace. It can send automated messages to clients, promoting communication, and fostering a relationship. AI also helps to automate routine tasks such as forecasting, analysis, and content. 26

29. 4. Internet of Things (IoT) Healthcare is set to be the top-earning industry in IoT by 2020. It is a genuine boon for healthcare marketers. This has already merged with the benefits of wearable devices in B2C healthcare. IoT helps marketers communicate effectively with their target audience. It also provides data to target more customers, as well as feedback to improve user experiences. 5. Automation Automation is of great help when it comes to moving buyers through the sales funnel. By collecting customer interaction data along the journey, it helps you understand customer behavior. You can use this to influence their decision making. Marketing automation and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) have already made inroads into other industries. Finally, it is slowly beginning to make an impact in healthcare marketing as well. There is 16 percent of marketing automation usage across all US b2b companies- Evolve healthcare marketing survey. And so much more. There is plenty to look forward to in this exciting industry. The trends mentioned above are just the beginning stages of a journey that appears to be filled with promise. It is necessary to remember that these are all very recent trends; hence, the scope and potential for growth is high. And despite the high prices of some of these technologies, it is a certainty that they will become affordable to all soon. The untapped potential of this technology is limitless. They have already been incredibly beneficial to businesses and organizations who use them. The fact that these technologies are so profitable at a nascent stage gives you all-the-more reason to invest in it. With time, they are bound to become bigger and better. In a sense, the future is now. Get a glimpse of the future Show me more 27

30. CH 11: OVERVIEW: HEALTHCARE MARKETING Marketing in the healthcare industry has turned out to be notoriously tricky. There are several obstacles that a marketer must overcome before they can begin to reap the fruits of their labor. Complicated laws, a complicated system, and a mistrustful audience make it an unpopular industry to market in. As a result, most in the industry overlooked marketing and promotion, until recently. Fortunately, this has started to change. Healthcare providers have slowly warmed up to acknowledge the importance of marketing online. As a result, digital marketing solutions have slowly, but surely grown popular. They help marketers overcome some of the more significant problems within the industry. Digital marketing also guarantees quick and measurable results, making it an attractive option to invest in. Healthcare marketers have begun to realize the importance of customer satisfaction. Since digital marketing platforms are fundamentally tied to positive customer experience, their implementation makes for a more customer-friendly experience. Furthermore, most people search for healthcare solutions online before going to their doctors. This suggests a shift in the direction of healthcare from clinics to their customers. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that most of these technologies are emerging. Healthcare marketers have achieved much with very little, hinting at their untapped potential. Small investments can go a long way. The industry encourages Innovation, and the rate at which these technologies are developing make it worth pursuing. The emergence of smart watches and health monitoring apps have been wildly successful. These are all encouraging signs for an industry that’s finally making a fast-break to successfully embrace technology and better practices. Digital marketing takes a bullet for the marketing department of your organization. It automates manual tasks and saves time. Besides, marketers don’t need a thorough understanding of how the software works to operate it. This makes it easier for them to use and understand. Digital marketing also helps you scout, nurture, and convert leads much faster than ever before. And importantly, digital marketing helps healthcare marketers be creative without offending their prospects. In a nutshell, the future of healthcare marketing is digital, and it has already begun. 28

31. ReachStream is a marketing and sales data platform whose purpose is to help other enterprises grow and expand by making informed decisions. Our team of diversely talented and skilled professionals are passionate about making the most accurate and relevant information easily accessible to our cus- tomers. The idea of expansion through connection is the principle that has helped us serve our cus- tomers. To Learn more, visit www.reachstream.com Email: Support@reachstream.com Phone: 1800-529-1387