The MedTech industry is becoming more innovative as organizations continue to develop revolutionary products that address emerging challenges. This is causing the market to become crowded, leaving companies struggling to stand out among competitors when introducing new products. When implemented correctly, a successful product launch can ensure organizations make their mark and can set the foundation for long-term product performance. This comprehensive blog provides a structured approach to exploring the intricacies of a successful MedTech product launch, from market analysis and strategic planning to execution and post-launch optimization.
Understand the MedTech Landscape
The MedTech industry has a variety of unique challenges and emerging trends that can significantly impact the success of a product launch. It is important for organizations to dig deep into what is happening in the industry at the time of the launch to understand how their product fits in and how their target audience is impacted by these shifts.
Another way to get a grasp on the MedTech landscape is to understand the current competition. Who is already in the space and which organizations are considered the leaders? Who are some of the newer market entrants and the more established organizations? Conducting a thorough competitor analysis is a must-do pre-launch step to check off the list. The better understanding of the players in the market, the more you can differentiate your product to stand out. This information not only helps guide messaging, but also provides insights into how the competition is marketing their products which can be used to guide your launch activities.
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Know Your Audience
At the heart of the success of any MedTech product launch is knowing your customer. Conducting market research helps your organization gain the critical information to understand and define your target audience. Collecting the demographic, firmographic, psychographic and behavioral data gives you the power to ensure your personas are complete and well-rounded. This research will also help you uncover key priorities and pain points that will guide your messaging and marketing efforts.
Craft a Compelling Narrative
In MedTech, it is critical to establish a unique value proposition. One way to do that is to focus on the product benefits, not the features. While the features are important, the benefits can highlight a stronger and more compelling message that solves a key pain point for your audience. Tell the audience exactly what they will experience if they use your product. Emphasize the value of the product and make it memorable, but don’t forget to align it with your brand values. Tie it back in with who your company is.
When crafting the messaging for your new product, think about the audience. In the B2B space, your audience is other businesses. In MedTech, product end users, healthcare professionals and stakeholders are who form the organization. Focus on the persona characteristics and what would make the most impact for each of these subgroups. For example, company stakeholders are keen on return on investment (ROI) language, so touch on this in messaging. For product end users, focus on ways your product solves their key pain points, highlighting key benefits. Dig deep into what your audience values and ensure it shines in your messaging.
Build Buzz with Marketing and Promotion
With the fundamental preparation efforts complete, it is time to move on to planning marketing efforts. Let’s dive into the key marketing elements for a MedTech product launch.
Digital Product Launch Strategies
Digital marketing is the go-to channel for launching a new product. Ensure your team leverages these digital marketing strategies.
- Social Media helps boost your brand awareness, which is critical during a product launch. Before the launch of your new product, outline a campaign that focuses on promotion. Think of the basics for the campaign. Decide what platform(s) to use, prepare a calendar and think of ideas to generate awareness and engagement. Engagement ideas can include a launch countdown and exclusive feature previews. You and your team must engage with your audience on social media. This shows that you are paying attention to their comments and questions. Check out this complete guide, successful social media marketing for a B2B product launch for more.
- Paid Advertising is another solid strategy for driving product launch engagement. As a marketing leader, there can be some hesitation around using pay-per-click (PPC) ads. While an excellent tactic for driving leads post-launch, PPC ads can be a great strategy for driving awareness leading up to it. If you can set aside a budget, it is a great digital avenue to pursue. Check out these secrets to boosting your PPC conversion rate.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an often-overlooked digital marketing strategy for product launches. While SEO is a more long-term and tactical component, there needs to be a strategy in place focused on the product launch activities. What keywords do we want to use to optimize new landing pages and content for the product launch? How can we increase our search visibility? How can we bring new traffic to our website for our new product? Touch up on your fundamental SEO strategies for B2B organizations to ensure you are product launch-ready.
Traditional Product Launch Strategies
Aside from digital marketing, there are a few tried-and-true traditional marketing strategies to mix in.
- Events or Conferences remain a solid traditional marketing tactic. 80% of marketers say they are one of the most critical marketing channels for achieving business goals. Check out these event marketing strategies to ensure yours measures up.
- Marketing Collateral such as one-pagers and brochures are useful assets to utilize at in-person events. They can also be useful in digital format. These assets can highlight who your company is, your product offering, benefits and more. What you offer on these assets is what matters most. Be selective on the information you provide.
- Customer Testimonials are an underutilized marketing strategy. The use of client testimonials can help you generate 62% more revenue from every customer. When you talk about your product, the value only goes so far. When customers talk about using your product, prospects get direct insights and see potential benefits they can achieve. Collect customer testimonials from anyone who has piloted your product and showcase them on your website, within product demos and other product marketing efforts.
- Partnerships with key industry leaders or influencers is a another often underutilized strategy. As influencer marketing tactics increase, the value of trust in a product or brand is on how others talk about it. Forming partnerships with influencers or key industry leaders indicates to buyers you have authority and have earned trust.
Ensure a Seamless Launch Day
With the key components outlined and ready to go, launch day is finally here. You have worked hard to meticulously plan and strategize the many elements that go into a MedTech product launch strategy and it is time to see how it all pays off. To ensure the launch day goes well, focus on the planning. Prepare for hiccups to happen. You can prepare down to the last detail, but there is always a chance that something can go not according to the plan. Have a contingency plan in place to address any issues that may arise and think of ways to adapt if things go wrong. It is also important to remember that launch day is not the end all, be all. It is a point-in-time activity that signifies the official release of your product. Marketing and sales activities don’t stop on launch day. They continue long after it. While it is a day to celebrate, do not get hung up on it. Continue to push your team forward and meet goals in the days, weeks and months to come.
Monitor Results and Optimize Marketing Post-Launch
Launch day is not the end of the MedTech product launch, it is only the beginning. As time passes post-launch, monitor key product launch metrics for different marketing activities. Evaluate how many people have filled out a new product demo request form. Discuss with sales how many conversations they have had with qualified prospects. Check-in with marketing to see how paid advertising efforts are performing. There are many checkpoints to cover, so ensure there is a tracking process.
When setting product launch goals, set a time post-launch when you will conduct a deep dive to evaluate performance. Aside from the ongoing monitoring of key metrics, a thorough analysis is necessary to gauge product strategy efforts moving forward. Ensure you gather feedback from customers. What is their experience with the new product? Are they experiencing any issues? What improvements would they recommend? Feedback directly from the product users helps elevate the product, and marketing and sales. This also provides insights into performance, allowing for strategy shifts and the introduction of new tactics as needed.
Elevate Your MedTech Product Launch
In an industry as competitive as MedTech, it can be intimidating to bring your product into the market. Evaluate your competition and get a grasp on key trends and challenges organizations face. Conduct market research to find your audience and build the personas that will drive messaging and marketing activities. Don’t shy away from blending digital marketing and traditional marketing tactics. Leveraging both allows you to reach a broad, yet targeted audience with impactful content. Continuously monitor performance to gauge whether changes are needed to product launch marketing activities and overall strategy. Doing all these things will ensure an impactful MedTech product launch.
Are you ready to launch your new product? Let’s get started! Our expert MedTech marketing services will ensure your MedTech product stands out in the market. Request a free marketing consultation or contact us today!
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