#019- Digital Health Marketing: How to Choose the Right Marketing Agency

The Right Marketing Agency can make or break your digital health business. The RIGHT marketing strategy and execution potentially leads to a flow of sales and clients. The wrong choice can drain precious cash and put you out of business.

Let’s look at what signs indicate the RIGHT fit for your business.

About This Show:

Sam Stern, founder and Chief Marketing Technologist at Modallic, an mHealth marketing and brand development firm reveals his winning Mobile, Digital and healthcare IT marketing strategies, shares real life Mobile Health marketing success stories, and offers breakthrough marketing tips and tactics so you can lead the field with your Mobile Health and healthcare IT solutions.

Discover how to craft compelling stories to open doors with key health care system decision makers. Understand how an agile marketing mindset and approach positions you to create a profitable, sustainable business.

Gain insights into Mobile Health and healthcare IT marketing strategy, how to tell your unique mHealth and healthcare IT marketing story, creating your mHealth buyer personas, how to integrate an agile marketing process, mobile health and digital health brand development and market positioning, and learn what really works in attracting and landing mobile health and healthcare IT clients.

Show Notes: 

What Are the Six Key Indicators of the RIGHT Marketing Agency Fit for Your Digital Health Firm?

After realizing when you need a marketing agency, and understanding how best to work with a marketing agency, finding the RIGHT agency is no easy task. But you can simplify it. Evaluate your marketing agency choice through the lens of these 6 factors.

1. Preparation- Digital health, health IT, mobile health is a complex, rapidly changing landscape. An agency specializing in digital health knows and understands your marketing challenges. You don’t need to educate them on the market.

In addition, any worthy marketing agency will do due diligence on you and your company. They will visit and read your website, check out your social media profiles, and get a handle on the key players in your firm. They won’t waste time asking you questions like” Who is your VP of Marketing?”

However, they will ask you: “Tell me about your decision making process. When you look to hire professional services for your business, how do you decide who to pick? Who is involved in the process?”

2. Complex Made Simple- Top marketing agencies cut through complex health IT challenges to help make what you’re selling simple without being simplistic.  

As an example, rather than going into all the technology of how iPhones and iPads are used in a closed network system in an Emergency Room, Voalte simply states:

“Reimagine healthcare communications.”

Yes, at some point, you must share the technology with the potential client. But a focus on the technology, rather than simple clear customer focused messages, renders marketing efforts useless.

3. Creativity- You already have ideas on how to solve marketing problems and create opportunities. You’re looking for a marketing agency to surface ideas new ideas that don’t pop up in-house.

For example, you plan to attend a major industry conference, such as HIMSS. A typical agency response might be: “We can help you gain exposure during this event.”

Or, the more creative option… “Have you ever considered a marketing alliance or strategic partnership approach to creating a major impact at HIMSS?” Let’s work together to develop a plan to ride the coattails of a business who already has an audience at HIMSS to drive traffic to your website and generate leads during and after the conference.”

4. Puts Your Interests First- Yes, the marketing agency must make money. But they should never force you to buy what isn’t in your best business interests.

You risk your business and career to do business with a marketing agency. Your agency should filter ideas through you. “If you’re not 100% certain this is the right idea, let’s assess this together.” is what you should expect.

5. Accessibility- While you want and expect things to go smoothly, problems do happen. When you do have a problem, you want answers. Top agencies will let you know how and who to contact them for immediate help.

6. Accountability- When you work with a marketing agency, you want a point of contact that will get things done. You want contact with an agency principal or account manager who will say,” I’ll talk with the design team right now and share your concerns. I’ll report back to you by the end of the day today on how we will fix it.”

An understanding of your marketing challenges and problems, a focus on results, a methodology that produces clear, simple to understand messages with creative applications, and efficient, effective communication… make sure these things are in place with the marketing agency you choose.

In the next podcast… What does it cost to hire a marketing agency?

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Want to get more tips and strategies for marketing your digital health firm? There are three ways you can enjoy these tips and strategies, share them with friends, and help me grow this movement to end the lack of innovation in healthcare:

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Finally, if you have a question you’d like answered on a future show — or if you have any feedback in general — please let me know: sstern@modallic.com

Thanks again for your support!