The objective of marketing is to drive actions and changes in behavior. Ultimately, we want to create more awareness for our company…our products…our services…and our people…to capture market share and increase revenue!

As a result, we invest a lot of time and energy understanding the needs of the market and our customers and then telling them how we can improve their life. We gain this incredible insight often by just talking with our customers. This is the foundation of effective storytelling.

But markets change, and the needs of our customers change. And, we need to adjust our strategies and messages to align with these changes. Here’s how we helped a company in the healthcare industry rethink it’s marketing messages to help drive sales.

The healthcare environment has changed significantly in the last 10 years. With economic pressures mounting, technology that delivers only clinical value is often not enough… economic value is just as important. This company developed some innovative and leading technology and their marketing activities focused on selling clinical value. But the market has changed… and their messages need to evolve as well.

In order to learn more about the impact and importance of economics on the purchase of capital equipment, we conducted a series of interviews with healthcare executives, not just the physicians who used the technology. During these conversations, we wanted to:

– Learn more about the purchase process of capital equipment at a healthcare provider,
– Identify key owners and influencers and their roles in the purchase process,
– Understand the economic drivers behind a purchase process, and
– Create a campaign that delivers messages focused on economic value.

Here’s how we helped this company understand more about the economic drivers behind a purchase decision:

– We created a 45-minute discussion guide,
– We interviewed 15 C-level executives…representing each of the company’s customer segments,
– We identified the top 15 factors driving the purchase decision,
– We mapped the purchase process,
– We wrote three key messages (foundational pillars) and supporting points,
– We validated the messages,
– We identified proof points to validate our story, and
And, now we are creating materials to tell our story.

This process only took a few weeks, but provided valuable insight for the business and the marketing team about the buying process and the key drivers evaluated by their customers when making a million-dollar investment.

Markets evolve. When was the last time you really talked with your customers to learn what is important to them? And how they think about purchasing your products and services? Do you understand how your customers evaluate new investments? How are you telling your story?

Let us know if you want to learn more. Or, if we can help create a similar program for you.

Thomas Beckman

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