Healthcare Technology Marketing: Applying the Inbound Funnel

The inbound marketing methodology typically follows a funnel with three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. Each stage of the funnel represents a different position in a healthcare technology buyer's buying process. Inbound marketers use this information to cater their content to their buyer's needs at each stage.

Utilizing the inbound funnel is an opportunity to set yourself apart from your competitors by tailoring your marketing strategy to your buyers’ needs and developing a connection as a trusted resource and industry thought leader.

Awareness Stage

Healthcare tech buyers in the awareness stage are identifying their problem or opportunity. They’ll be searching for more general questions about their issues, so having content that answers these general questions will start to pull them in to the top of the inbound funnel.

Content at this stage often comes in the form of blog posts, videos, and is generally shorter and easier to consume. The buyer often doesn’t even know that they are a buyer yet. They just want to get a handle on the issue or opportunity they are facing.

Consideration Stage

In the consideration stage, buyers have defined their problem or opportunity, and are doing the research to determine possible solutions. They’re comparing ways to solve their problem or leverage their opportunity.

This stage is where you want to focus on nurturing your leads, by maintaining contact with them after their first touch point and continuing to provide them with relevant resources that guide them further down the inbound funnel.

This could be as simple as offering a demo, trial, ebook, or webinar. The goal is to continue to educate your buyer and build trust through content and strategic touchpoints. Think social connections, and 1 to 1 emails with extremely tailored and relevant resources.

We’re trying to move this buyer down the inbound funnel into a buying decision.

Decision Stage

Buyers at this point in the inbound funnel know they have a problem and know what solution they will pursue. They’re searching for a business that can provide the exact solution they need.

The decision stage is about setting yourself apart from your competitors. Do you have a case study that shows how your EMR software leads to 10X productivity? Do you have a testimonial from a healthcare behemoth? Now’s the time to flex those muscles and get the buyer to see you as the clear choice.

If you handle this stage correctly, a happy new customer should fall through the bottom of your inbound funnel.

Healthcare Tech Marketing using the Inbound Funnel

The inbound funnel allows you to tailor your healthcare technology marketing content to each stage of your prospects' buying process. From initial research through buying decisions, you need to have content that truly helps your buyer make the best decision possible for their organization. Building trust through timely, relevant content will mean more sales for your healthcare tech company.

For more information on the buyer’s journey or the inbound funnel, check out these posts:

• Applying the Buyer's Journey
• 7 Examples of Bad Content Marketing
• The Importance of User Intent for Search Engine Optimization

Want to learn more about how inbound marketing can have big impacts in healthcare tech? Check out our Inbound Marketing Guide for healthcare technology: