Three things to look for in a medical device marketing agency

If you’re a medical device product manager or marketer, and considering hiring a B2B marketing agency, there are a few things to consider before beginning your evaluation.

First, your search should focus on agencies that specialize in healthcare. Your agency should understand the nuances that are unique to healthcare, specifically the provider (hospital, ACO, IDN) and payer (health plan) landscapes, reimbursement (how the money flows), and government policy. In fact, your agency should have experience that dates back to 2008 so they’re familiar with modern policy including the Affordable Care Act.

Next, if you’re marketing to hospitals, healthcare professionals (HCPs) and/or payers, you should focus on B2B agencies that understand strategic message development that resonates with C-level executives, department heads and buying committees. Many agencies have experience marketing hospital services to consumers and patients, but that doesn’t make them qualified for B2B healthcare marketing. The differences in marketing to patients and marketing to healthcare industry decision makers (B2B) is substantial, and if your agency doesn’t have the necessary experience, you’ll spend considerable time and budget training them.

Last, your agency should have extensive medical device experience. Medical devices are highly regulated and there’s a lot of scrutiny from a legal, medical and regulatory standpoint. If your agency isn’t aware of the guidelines and accustomed to writing to these standards, there will be a lot of wasted time and dollars spent on unnecessary rounds of revisions. But agencies that do have medical device experience will help you navigate those challenges and stand out in ways that are compelling and memorable.

Learn more about our Medical Device Marketing Services.

If medical device marketing services are important for your agency evaluation, we’d love to hear from you and invite you to contact us at consulting@redhousehealthcare.com.