As 2020 comes to an end and we make progress towards tackling COVID-19, it’s safe to say that the ways in which we work and interact with colleagues and customers are going to change for the long term.
Even as offices reopen, digital interaction is going to continue; as more and more businesses – and staff – realise the benefits of remote working.
However, this also means that data is going to become increasingly important – particularly to medtech sales and marketing professionals – as a way of finding and targeting the right prospective customers.
Goodbye To Congresses
In the past, all sales activity was conducted face-to-face. But when trying to build relationships internationally, reps can no longer rely on congresses. Large groups are going to be restricted for some time and even as the regulations ease, many individuals will still be hesitant to attend them – especially if their work environment is hospital-based.
Digital environments – such as webinars – are going to be the primary way of gathering people moving forward. But other than being COVID-proof, they are also more convenient to attend, cheaper, and a lot easier to organise.
They also generate huge amounts of information – from attendance lists to email addresses, as well as an indication of each attendee’s areas of interest.
A Surge In Data Points
The knock-on effect of businesses operating almost exclusively online over that past year has meant that the number of data points available has increased dramatically.
With so many digital interactions being generated, the challenge medtech marketers face right now isn’t so much knowing where to look for information – but getting good quality insights and being able to segment and use them in a way that’s GDPR-compliant.
While professional networks like LinkedIn are good for general networking, they only establish potentially useful contacts if you spend time on the platform interacting with people that you already know.
In addition, by using tools like LinkedIn only, reps and marketers are limiting their ability to target – as it’s restricted to just those prospects using these networks. And given that most doctors are busy professionals with little time to spare, the connections they do make need to add value.
The means that all communications and outreach efforts need to be specifically tailored to each doctor’s area of expertise to get their attention too.
Out With The Old Approaches
In the absence of a smile, chat, and a handshake as the first step on the path to relationship-building, precision counts even more: which is why, when you think about it, data has the potential to create even greater customer intimacy.
Using a platform like ours, quickly gaining an understanding of a potential customer is now far easier as there is so much information on their interests and areas of involvement available.
Historically, reps have held all the power when it came to customer relationships, with the companies who hire them relying on their relationships and connections to enable them to sell their products and services.
However, we are now entering an era where we can use data to get this understanding. Now, more than ever before, marketers are able to gain insight and use it to start building and maintaining the relationships they need to be successful.
