15 Nov How to Market Health & Wellness Products
When marketing a product, you usually engage with a consumer and persuade them to “want” that something. It could be a stylish look on the latest issue of Vogue, a trip they read about on CondeNast Traveler, or a delicious looking cacio e pepe on an influencer post from a hip, new restaurant— you engage so you can spark a sense of desire.
When marketing a healthcare product how do you engage with your consumer and make them feel that “I want”?
First and foremost, as with anything you want to sell you need to appeal to the part of the brain where decisions are made: the amygdala. It is part of the limbic system and the section of the brain functioning as an integrative hub for all emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation.
There are specific strategies to market healthcare goods—not necessarily very different from other marketing strategies— but understanding a few key points could just catapult that spark needed to activate success.
DMH’s team of professionals have practice marketing pharmaceutical, healthcare, and wellness products. Our experience at engaging with the right audience, and supporting clients and products to succeed in their category is a combination of effective marketing strategies with a series of tactics; today, we have chosen to focus on five to share with you:
- Blogging/ Influencers: Blogging is a digital marketing strategy that increases organic search rankings, increases website traffic, provides valuable content, and serves as a positioning platform for knowledge and thought leadership. Google and other search engines continually look for websites for updated content. When you publish blog posts about your products with the right key words, that generate engagement and visibility, search engines feel confident sending searchers to your site. You have the know how to become a subject matter expert in your field so blog away. Did you know companies that blog receive 55% more visitors than companies that do not?[1]
- Social Media is the best means to promote health products. Its widely used and systematically accessed and the access to content has made potential customers eager to research, learn and understand more about any goods, especially when it comes to their health and wellbeing. It’s friendly and simple because you can combine text, audio, video and truly create a library of knowledge about the product you offer in a direct and connected way. Use this space to spark conversations and build relationships. The time you invest on this customer engagement will definitely be worth it.
If you need more reasons to include social into your marketing strategy analyze this: According to the Pew Research Center, 47% of internet users are making health-related searches, 73 percent of U.S. adults use YouTube, 69 percent use Facebook, and 37 percent use Instagram. Fifty-one percent of YouTube users, 74 percent of Facebook users, and 63 percent of Instagram users access the sites at least once per day. It’s a great means to make your product known, to give it a voice and find its niche consumers, everywhere and anytime. - Digital Marketing: Another fantastic way to market your product is targeting current patients. Good databases can give you direct access to the audiences you are seeking out. Building a good database will allow you to open conversations by sending email- blasts to tell a story, newsletters announcing new products, offer free trials, give discounts and promotions, and so much more.
IMPORTANT: Yes, you have a land of digital opportunities but remember healthcare products still need to be in compliance. Patient Privacy, HIPAA, ethical codes must all be respected so make sure the Digital Marketing role is managed by people with experience.
That being said, loyalty is what you should aim for. According to RIMetrics, if you can get people to make a second purchase, 53 percent of them will make a third. If people become loyal customers, they will most likely continue to use your products. - Paid Search Optimization: First, make your product noticeable. When people search for a specific solution to a healthcare related query, provide the answers they are searching for in a simple manner, and the trick here: make it unique. Give them content they cannot obtain anywhere else and appreciate the way you presented it to them.
For example, invest in finding the most popular key words related to your category and in paid search advertising. Google AdWords is the most popular paid search platform because Google enjoys close to 93% of search engine traffic[2]. If you are a derma lab, marketing a cream for Eczema, when people search for popular phrases like “lotions to alleviate Eczema,” your product will come up as a top search, redirecting that eager customer to your website. It’s a win-win if there’s a match between a customer searching for a solution and someone handing it to them. - Showing is better than telling. Treat important resources such as influencers and micro influencers, bloggers, and all those who have an amplified voice that matches the voice of your product and share product samples and materials. Get their feedback and that of their network. This approach will have a multiplying effect while being genuine and a great content machine which is absolutely golden when marketing products in the pharma, health, and wellness categories.
This is an industry that can benefit from digital marketing by using these channels to share their voice, to give out useful substance, to create, grow and engage with a targeted customer base and build a framework of support and resources that generate loyalty and trust in your brand.
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