For many medtech companies, sending reps into the hospital for sales calls feels like a distant memory. Now, leaders must go back to the drawing board to devise new marketing and sales strategies to drive growth despite unprecedented industry challenges.
Challenge: Limited Face-to-Face Opportunity
Perhaps one of the most disruptive medtech shifts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic was the immediate elimination of access to physicians and other healthcare decision-makers. However, concerns about face-to-face interaction overshadowed industry-wide challenges even prior to COVID. Hospitals have long been trying to keep medical device marketing and sales reps out of the operating room. Administrators block access to physicians to funnel reps into conversations with gatekeepers who can slow the growth of technology costs — a tactical decision to minimize rep influence among physicians.
The pandemic didn’t create the opposition to in-person rep conversations, it only strengthened it. One survey reported that among the 75% of physicians who preferred face-to-face interactions with medtech reps before COVID, 47% now prefer virtual meetings — or fewer interactions overall.1 Considering the traditional medtech sales model hinges on getting a foot in the door with key physicians and decision-makers, administrators determined to keep these doors shut force reps to find alternative ways to make connections.
Solution
Jairus Marketing excels in reopening doors to healthcare decision-makers through its digital marketing strategies. The Jairus model circumvents traditional sales avenues by reaching decision-makers outside of the clinical setting, powering convenient and impactful engagements proven to build the pipeline. Just like the rest of us, clinicians and administrators are highly active online — the Jairus team knows where to find them and how to effectively capture their interest and generate demand.
Challenge: Time Scarcity
A shift towards RVU-based compensation for physicians means less time for “non-productive” activities, like meeting with sales professionals. Even with that drive for greater and greater productivity, doctors and administrators continue their interest in learning about new technologies that can provide better outcomes or improve the profitability of the organization.
Solution
Instead of carving out time in their tightly-packed schedules, physicians would much rather engage with follow-up efforts on their own time. Fortunately, there are more effective ways to pursue sales efforts without going back into the office. By automating the marketing and follow-up process, Jairus enables massive growth within existing sales infrastructure. This empowers full engagement with your brand and undivided attention to your message. Additionally, by providing valuable content to prospects outside of the context of a salesperson to prospect conversation, doctors and administrators can build their interest in your offering on their own time, when they are more engaged and willing to dive deeper into your value proposition. With Jairus, decision-makers are immersed in a convenient, accessible, and stress-free marketing experience that makes it easier than ever to say “yes”.
Challenge: Decrease in Physician Decision-Makers
From 2019 to 2021, hospitals and other corporate entities increased their physician employee population by 19%.3 Likewise, the percentage of corporate-owned practices grew by 39% in just two years.3 This trend spans all practice sizes and specialties. While the employment shift to larger healthcare entities, especially integrated delivery networks (IDNs), may strengthen job security and financial stability for previously independent physicians, the impact on medtech companies may prove to be detrimental.
When physicians are no longer the primary (or sole) decision-makers, innovation may take a backseat to financial constraints. This transfer of power may stifle growth and makes it exceedingly difficult for medtech companies to pique the interest of those with purchasing power if not approached correctly. This new world of medtech marketing requires companies to sell to administrators, whose agendas extend beyond clinical matters, as well as physicians. Further complicating matters, many of those administrators don’t meet with sales professionals regularly.
Solution
Medtech innovation benefits more than just patients and providers. The full picture also includes financial, practical, and administrative gains — value propositions sure to catch the eye of IDN and hospital leaders. By customizing content and messaging to hone in on what appeals the most to each audience, Jairus grants full market access to medtech companies of all sizes. By deploying marketing campaigns for all audiences, it is possible to build a coalition of support in an account. The approach we utilize leverages comprehensive audience research to inform hyper-personalized outreach efforts, broadcasting that content on the right platforms to maximize engagement and drive conversions.
Looking to future-proof your medtech marketing strategy? Learn more about how Jairus can help you effectively reach decision-makers for high-impact sales conversations.
