View this webinar where healthcare technology marketing expert, and Founder and CEO of Healthlaunchpad, Adam Turinas will provide insights on the best practices for targeting when thinking through your Account-based Marketing (ABM) program. This webinar will provide you with a fundamental understanding, as well as practical guidance, on targeting healthcare organizations using ABM.
Watch to learn:
Why targeting is so important in ABM
How to develop your target account list
Learn different targeting techniques
How to use customer insight and intent data to create an effective target account list
Targeting is incredibly important when it comes to Account-based Marketing (ABM). It’s even more important than it is in traditional B2B marketing because you’re focusing your resources on fewer targets and you are committing to a much more personalized approach to marketing rather than the traditional “spray and pray” approach.
Your Shift to ABM
This doesn’t mean that you abandon your traditional mass emails to get people to attend webinars. But over time, as you get better with ABM, you’re going to shift more of your budget and more of your activities towards this much more targeted and personalized approach.
There is a risk with this
If you get the target account list wrong, you could be placing the wrong bet. It’s so important you get it right.
Differences Between Traditional and ABM Targeting
There’s some differences between the more traditional approach to targeting and how ABM has evolved targeting.
In the old way, we used to focus on territories. That’s still an understandable way to divide up your sales. But there’s a much greater focus on the target account list rather than geographic.
The old way is “pray and spray” and mass outreach; the new way is targeted.
The old way, there is a conveyor-belt handoff between sales and marketing, where you’re handing off an MQL to somebody in the sales team to qualify so it becomes an SQL.
In this new way, you’re working together much more collaboratively.
The ICP is Critical
The ideal customer profile is an important tool for any business-to-business marketer, especially in healthcare. It’s even more important in account-based marketing.
One of the most interesting aspects about ABM is that you’re focusing your attention on in-market prospects. This is where I think it gets really exciting. In terms of optimization, it’s a constant process and it’s also a real-time process.
This post reviews how decisions are made, why buyers don’t engage with you until it’s late in their buying process, why the traditional B2B model doesn’t work well and why ABM can help. And why healthcare technology marketers need to take action.
How Decisions Are Made
So, let’s spend a bit of time thinking about how decisions are made.
Figure 1 – How decisions are made by B2B buyers (Source: Gartner)
This chart is based on research conducted by the Corporate Executive Board, which is part of Gartner. This survey was conducted across 1000s of B2B customers.
They asked the Buyer Collective, the group within any organization that’s involved in purchasing, what are the stages that they go through in making a decision. And how hard was it to decide at each stage?
There are three stages: The problem definition stage; the solution identification stage, and the selection of the supplier.
Defining the problem is a tough thing for the group to do, and there’s a lot of friction at this point.
Where they have the greatest challenge is in actually determining and defining the solution, i.e. the way they’re going to go about solving their particular problem. Actually, picking the vendor is a relatively easy process.
The B2B Marketer’s Obvious Challenge
We can make the greatest impact on the decision earlier in the process. If we can help the customer define the solution, they will help them through the hardest part of the process. Suffice to say, we will also be in a better position to influence the choice of vendor. Duh!
However, we are not brought into it until much later. We are typically not brought in until buyers are 66 to 90% way through their journey. In fact, 57% of buyers have finished with the purchase process before they reach out to a vendor.
They have made a decision about who they’re going to go with before they talk to you.
Our Current Marketing Model Is Flawed
Figure 2 – The Traditional Marketing Model
This depicts our typical marketing model. The top of the funnel is all about getting at-bats and creating awareness. We all use the same techniques to do that. Then we have tactics for driving deals through the funnel.
The issue I have with this traditional B2B model is that is designed around how we sell, not how customers actually buy. That’s a fundamental problem.
And why, frankly, it may feel that your marketing is not working the way it should do.
What The Buyer Journey Looks Like
Figure 3 – The real B2B Buyer’s journey (Source: Demandbase)
The buyer’s journey looks like something like this. It is probably even more meandering.
The buyer may start out by doing some initial research into ways of solving a particular problem. They may tap into their social network and they will talk to people in their network. In parallel, they research the various competitors.
And eventually, they’re going to get to your website, but they won’t engage with you yet.
And then the buying committee reviews all of this research.
And then whoever is leading the process will start taking more active steps to evaluate competitors. At that point, they might register for a webinar or download a white paper.
At this point, they are putting their hand up, and that’s when they register in your pipeline and become active prospects.
This Is Where ABM Matters Most
We want to get hold of prospects much earlier in their process. And this is where ABM matters most.
With an effective ABM strategy, you will focus your resources on best fit accounts not wasting time on tire kickers, and most importantly…
…You will be able to identify prospects when they are researching and target them with messages that will resonate with them when they are defining the solution
In future posts, I will go into detail about how you can develop an effective ABM strategy for attracting healthcare prospects.
To get started, you may want to watch the full webinar on Foundations of ABM for Healthcare Technology Marketers.
In this webinar, I provide foundational insights on Account-based Marketing (ABM). This sssion provides the fundamentals for laying out a winning strategy for healthcare technology marketers who are currently investigating or in the early phase of implementing ABM.
Watch to learn:
What is ABM and why is it becoming THE fundamental strategy employed by healthcare technology marketers?
What is the state of ABM in healthcare?
What are the different types of ABM strategy and which one is right for you?
Last week, the awesome Lauren Goodman from HIMSS and I, presented the findings from an in-depth survey of healthcare technology marketing trends for 2021.
The survey dives into feedback from marketing executives across healthcare technology including small early-stage firms to multi-billion-dollar organizations.
Findings include spending trends, how strategies and tactics are changing, priorities for 2021, and a special focus on ABM.
Learning Points:
How did healthcare technology marketing change in 2020?
What are the healthcare technology marketing priorities for 2021?
How do healthcare technology marketers rate 20 different tactics?
What is the state of ABM in healthcare technology marketing?
I am really excited to announce a major partnership with HIMSS to create an educational series exclusively for healthtech marketers.
This partnership is focused on exactly what the Connect community is about: Marketing education and networking.
And so, together with HIMSS, we are running a six-part educational series on healthtech marketing. There will be webinars, workshops, and more down the road. Tons of opportunities to learn new skills and connect with peers.
This video with HIMSS TV explains a bit more about why we are doing this together.
The series starts with a review of the findings of the 2021 Healthcare Technology Marketing Survey.
The findings are fascinating and I hope you can attend. Registration details are below in the comments.
The subsequent five webinars are focused on Account-based Marketing (ABM).
This is the future of Healthtech marketing, so HIMSS and Healthlaunchpad are focusing on this to start with.
So, here is the calendar.
January 28th – 2021 Healthcare Technology Marketing Survey
Learning how to engage influencers can be one of the most effective ways to build your authority. But how do you do it well? I know from personal experience that it works brilliantly but it takes a lot of hard work and there are some unique techniques to master.
Engage Influencers – Hear From The Experts
Over the last couple of weeks, we have run two events where we had the privilege to hear from four experts on how to develop content that builds your authority, how to find influencers, and then how to use your content to build relationships and leverage their network.
We ran a webinar and panel with Casey Meehan, CEO of Epic Presence, Erin Farrell-Talbot, killer PR pro, and Julie Dye, an expert in MedTech PR and influencer marketing.
In addition, my good friend and up-and-coming marketing superstar, Rodney Hu shared a technique he has developed. It is especially relevant for startups.
Webinar Recording – Engaging Influencers Through Killer Content
How do you use content to build your authority with influencers and generate sales?
In his webinar, Casey shared how a more journalistic approach to content marketing, helps gain credibility, build back-links more easily and make meaningful connections with people who will reinforce your authority.
Casey’s firm, Epic Presence has created over 2,000 long-form posts and articles for companies all over the world. In his webinar, Casey Meehan shares what he has learned about the process behind their influencer-based content marketing model.
In this webinar recording you will learn how to:
Leverage true SMEs to turn your blog into a crossroads of all of the conversations in your space
Learn how to get exclusive quotes from influencers in your market consistently
Build authority (from an SEO perspective as well as a real-world perspective)
Learn how to do influencer outreach the right way
https://youtu.be/yM9nQzbKxbs
A panel of Experts Discusses Tricks and Tips on How to Engage Influencers
Following the webinar, Erin, Casey, and Julie fielded questions from the audience. It was a terrific discussion. I joined in too.
Erin Farrell Talbot has more than 25 years of public relations experience with firms ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Having held key roles in corporate communications departments and public relations agencies, she has developed keen insights and perspectives as a communications and media relations strategist.
Julie is the founder of Marketing Dx, a marketing consultancy that helps medical devices and other companies in the healthcare ecosystem reach healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers. She is also the creator and co-host of The Morning Fix podcast presented by 510k Café, a resource for Medtech marketers
We discussed how to engage healthcare influencers including some lessons on what not to do as well as what works best. We even got into a deep discussion about gated content, ABM, and using intent data.
Here is the panel discussion:
https://youtu.be/IrucmzCrLFA
3 Secrets to Growing Your Authority With Rodney Hu
Rodney Hu is the founder of Digital 209 and is the creator of the awesome Healthtech Hustle podcast.
In this webinar, he shares how to become an authority through collaboration with others who reach your audience, how to get your target audience’s attention and how to develop a content strategy, and create and repurpose killer content. Lastly, how to convert attention into the business through a Trojan Horse approach
Watch His Webinar Now
https://youtu.be/CVz4Qd31Qs4
If you are interested in any of our other educational webinars, check out this post.
Engaging Influencers Using Killer Content: – A highly insightful webinar followed by an interactive panel with three experts.
By taking a more journalistic approach to content marketing, you can build credibility in a scalable and profitable way.
You can build links without soul-crushing backlink tactics; you can make real connections with important people in your industry, and ultimately you can sell from a position of authority.
Epic Presence has created over 2K long-form articles for healthcare and technology companies all over the world.
In this webinar, Casey Meehan shares what he has learned along the way, specifically the process behind the influencer-based content marketing model currently employed by Salesforce.com and many others.
In this webinar you will learn how to:
Leverage true SMEs to turn your blog into a crossroads of all of the conversations in your space
Learn how to get exclusive quotes from influencers in your market consistently
Build authority (from an SEO perspective as well as a real-world perspective)
Learn how to do influencer outreach the right way
Webinar: How to use content to build your authority with influencers and generate sales.
Panel Discussion
Your Presenters and Panelists
Casey Meehan, Founder of Epic Presence
Casey has been in the SEO and Content Marketing industry for longer than he cares to count. Together with his team of writers, he has built a uniquely scalable approach to content marketing and traffic generation.
This form of content marketing is closer to true journalism than what has commonly become known as content marketing.
Over the past 9 years, it has been tested in nearly every B2B vertical you can think of. By skillfully researching and sourcing subject matter experts, his team builds credibility and traffic for his roster of tech clients.
He is excited to share what he has learned about this process.
Erin Farrell Talbot, Founder of Farrell Talbot Consulting
Erin Farrell Talbot has more than 25 years of public relations experience with firms ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies.
Having held key roles in corporate communications departments and public relations agencies, she has developed keen insights and perspectives as a communications and media relations strategist.
In her career, Farrell Talbot has been an SVP in Edelman’s technology practice, led the rebranding of the IBM Thinkpad series, was a senior director at Symbol Technologies, and has worked with countless C-level executives and thought leaders to tell their stories across various industries.
Julie Dye, Founder of Marketing Dx
Julie is the founder of Marketing Dx, a marketing consultancy that helps medical devices and other companies in the healthcare ecosystem reach healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers.
She’s led product communication, issues management, patient advocacy, and market development programs for clients including Covidien, Bayer, Medtronic, Genzyme, and Boston Scientific as well as numerous early-stage companies.
Julie also worked for Zimmer Spine and Abbott, where she was hired as the first PR professional for the company’s spinal device division.
While there, she developed the strategy for and implemented the division’s media relations, employee and executive communication, and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
And finally, Julie is the creator and co-host of The Morning Fix podcast presented by 510k Café, a resource for Medtech marketers.
Epic Presence is a content marketing agency specializing in the B2B software and technology industry.
We also conduct research and create long-form technical content that drives organic website traffic, increases brand awareness, and builds lasting partnerships.
Epic Presence was founded in 2009, back when B2B content marketing meant keyword-heavy blog posts and spamming LinkedIn contacts.
We understood then that there were better ways to build businesses through content.
So, what set us apart back then is why we thrive today which are:
Our in-depth research into complex industries.
Smart writing that genuinely resonates with customers.
And finally, Strategic outreach that connects content with the right influencers.
Farrell Talbot is not your typical agency or consulting firm. Leading companies and organizations look to us for our deep expertise in various industries that utilize technology.
They range from healthcare and hospitality to manufacturing and the supply chain.
We partner with clients to provide well-thought-out strategies and success-driven tactics.
The small consulting firm produces the “on-target results” needed to convey key messages to the right influencers. This, therefore, puts them in the best position to achieve defined business marketing objectives.
Marketing Dx provides marketing and communication services for organizations in the healthcare ecosystem – industry, payors, providers – and other companies changing the world through science and innovation.
It’s been seven months since we launched healthlaunchpad and we have run seven webinars for healthtech marketers in that time.
Our passion is helping healthtech marketers grow their businesses. Every month we run webinars and workshops specifically to help provide healthtech marketers with opportunities to gain new skills and learn new ideas to raise their game.
You can see all the available webinars at the Healthcare Sales and Marketing Resource Center. Our aim is to make this THE place for healthcare marketers to improve their skills and knowledge.
Here is a summary of the webinars you will find here:
How To Land a New Client via LinkedIn
Get your LinkedIn Profile up to speed to attract ideal clients. Develop a way to identify ideal future clients. Develop a plan to connect with ideal buyers and develop a 5-Step Nurturing System to convert contacts into clients.
How to Drive Business Results Using Customer Intent & Behavior Insights
Learn how to gain insights into customer online behavior that directly improves marketing performance. How to identify and measure customer intent based on their online search behavior. How to assess how well your website is designed to address this behavior and MORE. Presented by Adworthy.
How To Stand Out In Virtual Events
Erin Farrell-Talbot, the tech PR expert, is a subject matter expert in Virtual Events. In this webinar, Erin shares 10 ways to make your virtual event a major success, including. how to personalize the experience, what type of content works best, and much more…
In this webinar, you will hear insights from a CIO on the frontline of healthcare. He will share what he is hearing from his peers nationwide. How needs are changing, what is taking priority, etc.
Healthcare’s Changing Needs
Hear from a healthcare leader on How we can get back to normal, the new reality, and the demand for consumer convenience. What you need to do to be successful in the New Normal.
My friend and business partner, Erin Farrell-Talbot is a tech PR expert. Over the last twelve months, she has been specializing in Virtual Events. Last week, she teamed up with me to give a terrific presentation to the Connect group on “How To Stand Out In Virtual Events”.
Here is her presentation. It is well worth 25 minutes of your time. I promise you that you will learn a ton about running and marketing virtual events.
Enjoy!
Summary: 10 ideas for making your virtual events a must attend
Personalize the experience, e.g., Events are a chance for brands to create experiences.
Create virtual rooms – Offer up smaller interactive and intimate breakout sessions as a subset of the large event in “virtual rooms.”
Consider a hybrid event – Offer a mixed modality that engenders the benefits of live interaction for those who want it in person and for those who prefer to be digitally interactive.
Create regional events – Even when travel is permitted or reinstated, individuals & companies may be reluctant to travel long distances.
Deliver bite-sized, consumable content – Listening to talking heads for long periods is taxing. Your audience will likely tune out or multitask with other pressing work in front of them.
Make it live – Consider hosting a “live” event (versus a prerecorded one) with some form of interaction, such as a Q&A.
Create a showcase – Invest in two or more cameras, a producer or director, and a moderator.
Plan for sequence and choreography – Consider the flow of the content, the order of speakers & the use of video and other multimedia.
Offer tiered pricing – Large events have a perceived value. A registration charge can be very valuable for ensuring individuals dedicate time from their calendars to engage and interact. It is also a tool for brands to right-size the audience for meaningful outcomes.
Make it safe – Brands trust that the companies they partner with will create safe events. Trustworthiness is an important quality for brands, reassuring participants that their health and safety are important. It should be woven into the events with extraordinary caution.
