Innovation is the lifeblood of success in evolving industries.
The medical device space is one such industry, and changes are happening at the speed of femtosecond laser pulses. Sellers and marketers are rightfully questioning what lies ahead and how teams can meet the shifting demands.
Following the 2018 MedForce Summit and our conversation with Enrico Vietri, Director of Digital Strategy at Aetna, a Highspot customer, four clear takeaways emerged:
1.) Stay Aligned, or Be Left Behind
You love them, then you hate them — the complicated relationship between sales and marketing is very much alive in the life sciences field.
“Sometimes we may be in a situation where we are chasing too much on both sides, and the objectives overlap minimally,” Vietri said. “We need to come together and streamline down to a few and agree to do our parts.”
How are modern companies uniting their sales and marketing teams? Holding them both accountable for the numbers. When working toward achieving common metrics, everyone feels the same pressure and shares in the same excitement over wins.
Leveraging the capabilities of singular solution is another way innovative leaders are leading the charge when it comes to providing teams with a powerful way to stay communicative and aligned. Marketers can see what content sellers are using and assess its success, sellers have content that prepares them for every conversation, and both teams can track and optimize against shared goals.
With the right tools in place and the attitude of “if you want to go far, go together,” sales and marketing become a formidable force.
2.) Delve into Digital
Gone are the days of traditional selling. The digital era has dawned, and with it has come the digitization of today’s healthcare. Younger generations are venturing online to find physicians, companies are providing services via mobile, the web and apps, and patients are requesting medical devices seen on social media.
Sellers and marketers need to be equipped with new technology to meet modern customers where they are and plug into the way their new world works.
“One of the challenges is finding the right information to share at the right time,” Vietri said. “As marketers, we need to adapt to selling to different segments, to different kinds of accounts, and to who we’re talking to on the other side.”
Healthcare professionals expect their reps to bring more to the table than ever before. To meet this expectation, marketing and sales teams need to harness the power of technology to ensure they are not just selling products, but are showing the value of the complete solution and the vision of how it will positively impact a customer’s day-to-day.
Complications often arise during the quest to digitize when companies adopt too many platforms, tools and technologies at once, making it nearly impossible to source information and materials at a moment’s notice.
Vietri explained the importance of “not only having the right people in place, but also enabling them with a simple process and the right content on just a few key platforms.”
3.) Empower the New Modern Seller
At today’s forward-thinking medical device companies, it’s not uncommon to find that their top sellers have prior experience as teachers. Leaders are conducting studies to determine the personality traits and innate talents of best performing reps, and are seeking out new hires who exhibit these characteristics. In this field, experience doesn’t measure up against inborn ability.
Because the reps coming in the door often lack prior knowledge, high-quality training becomes even more essential. It needs to be accessible, consistent, and manageable, equipping reps with the guidance they need to ensure accuracy, provide value, and succeed.
4.) Keep Customer-Centricity at the Core
No matter how the industry evolves, the customer relationship remains at the heart of everything. Like arteries in a body, all sales and marketing channels work to deliver what’s needed keep the relationship strong and healthy.
Companies would do well to develop methods that consistently foster positive experiences that over time turn customers into advocates.
“We should be able to come out with the right, simple processes where sales and marketing join on the same platform in order to materialize this customer experience,” Vietri said.
Modern medical device companies are looking to Highspot as a solution that addresses all three needs: sales and marketing alignment, digital transformation, and enhanced customer-centricity. In a space that promotes technological breakthroughs that change lives, this is the technology bringing positive change to the lives of sellers and marketers.
When evolution is inevitable, innovation wins. Discover how Highspot is a catalyst for change.
