Medical device companies must adapt to changing times by focusing on four new fundamentals in marketing: finding the human story through compelling patient testimonials, creating a ladder of calls-to-action to guide prospects, building a measurement-friendly culture to track marketing results, and shaping the long customer journey through ongoing communication. Adopting these practices can help medical device marketers drive physician and patient demand in the current environment.

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2. We’ve said it time and time again. Times are changing
in the medical device industry, and companies can
either choose to change with them or be left behind.
What are medical device companies to do?
Here are four new fundamentals that will be critical for
the future of medical device marketing.
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3. Four New Fundamentals
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Find the Human Story
Ladder to Action
Build a Measurement-Friendly Culture
Shape the Long Journey

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Find the
Human Story
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5. Find the Human Story
• Today’s patient does not care about clever
engineering or product development
• Instead they crave social proof – when they
are unsure how to behave, they look to others
for cues
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6. Concept in Practice:
Tell authentic and compelling
stories about the positive
impact your technology has
had on patients. Put your
testimonials front and center on
your website.
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Video Testimonials

7. WINHow to the Internal Battle
• Educate upper management on the value of
story telling
• Working closely with legal to allow for flexible
film making
• Scripted testimonials will not support social
proof
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8. Skills, Technology, Process
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• Work with expert filmmakers and storytellers
• Don’t waste internal resources trying to build
this expertise in-house
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Ladder to
Action
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10. Ladder to Action
• Don’t assume your patients will find your
call-to-action (CTA) on their own
• Identifying your CTAs in order of value to
the business, and then lead prospects up
the ladder to the CTA
• Consider the value exchange of each
CTA and let your prospect understand
what they are getting in return
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Content
Value
Exchange
Call to
Action
Information
Architecture
Design
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Lead
Capture 6

11. Concept in Practice:
Use your website to
communicate the clinical
benefits of your product, but
make it clear that only a
physician can determine need.
Then create a powerful CTA
linking to a locator you provide.
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Physician Locator
FIND A PHYSICIAN NEAR YOU

12. WINHow to the Internal Battle
• Don’t confuse activity with results
• Understand what the meaningful CTAs are
for your audience
– By the way, it’s not your web traffic
• Clearly communicate and reach alignment
with management
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13. Skills, Technology, Process
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• Make sure your marketing department
understands persuasion theory.
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Great Book!

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Build a
Measurement-
Friendly Culture
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15. Concept in Practice:
Imagine a physician locator
that tracks how many calls are
placed, whether or not they
result in an actual appointment,
and how many eventually
undergo scheduled
procedures.
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DTC Tracking
This Technology Exists!

16. WINHow to the Internal Battle
• Build a marketing culture that supports trial
and error
• Do not penalize people for not getting it right
the first time
• Embrace the try-measure-respond
approach
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17. WINHow to the Internal Battle
• Legal and regulatory approval times need
to be shortened to allow to test and iterate
quickly
• Include these teams early in project
discussions so they feel vested and part of
the solution
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18. Skills, Technology, Process
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• Map corresponding metrics, tools and
technology needed to achieve business goals
• Identify what you want to know and then
spend the time to figure out how you can
gather that critical data
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Shape the Long
Journey
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20. Shape The Long Journey
• Prospects are typically only at the beginning
of a long, long journey
• During this time, the benefits of the procedure
need to be consistently reinforced
• Patients will need to ask questions and gain
confidence before they commit
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21. Concept in Practice:
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CRM Email Program
Create a communication stream
that touches prospects and
shapes their thinking during the
decision making period. Build
rapport and trust, and ramp up
the selling in later phases —
once your audience already
likes you!

22. WINHow to the Internal Battle
• The marketing team, not the information
technology team, needs to lead the CRM
initiatives
• Consider an ambassador between
marketing and IT. Someone with technical
experience who can hold their own at the
negotiations table in the face of objections
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23. Skills, Technology, Process
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• Talk to patients directly, or do a listening
exercise online to see what patients are
talking about
• Then, create a multidimensional customer
persona and create your CRM campaign
based on the appropriate cadence
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24. Conclusion
Med tech companies are facing a new business landscape. Given
the new regulations, market constraints and empowered
consumers, methods of the past likely won’t work in the future.
Now more than ever, marketing can be in the driver’s seat when it
comes to creating physician and patient demand — if you
integrate these four best practices into your marketing strategy.
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ABOUT GREY MATTER MARKETING
Grey Matter Marketing is a full-service, award-winning marketing agency working exclusively
with medical technology companies. We provide the marketing architecture to build strong
connections with providers and patients to drive adoption of innovative technology that
improves lives. We have a proven track record in developing both traditional and digital plans
that create compelling marketing experiences and drive business results. Our strength is
finding the important truth in any communication effort, and translating that truth into
something your customer understands, and more importantly, feels. Armed with this
knowledge and insight, we roll up our sleeves and do what we do best: work hard, think
strategically and deliver.
www.greymattermarketing.com