Anyone who works in sales or marketing within the medical device industry understands that they must deal with numerous challenges and restrictions that impact their ability to do business effectively and efficiently.
Over the years, a number of regulations including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the Anti-Kickback Statute have been imposed to protect patient privacy, ensure quality care, and prevent fraud within the healthcare system. While these regulations do a great job of achieving their goals, they also add several layers of bureaucracy and security to what used to be a fairly simple and straightforward sales process.
While this can be frustrating for marketers, there are ways to navigate around the system to overcome—or effectively avoid—many of these roadblocks. It requires a more “old school” approach that features a return to basics and a revival of old skillsets that will take many back to the early days of marketing fulfillment.
When combined with elements of more modern techniques, it’s even possible to turn some of these restrictions into a legitimate advantage that results in a more targeted sales effort.
“Low Tech” Marketing and the Medical Device Industry
Oddly, while the medical device industry is one of the world’s largest drivers of cutting-edge solutions, that pursuit of technology has not reached the sales and marketing department. In fact, rather than evolve, medical marketing is—in many cases out of regulatory necessity—stuck largely in the past.
Perhaps the most prominent example of this chasm is the fact that, while most other industries have largely moved to providing their content digitally, the medical industry still devotes a large portion of its marketing budget to producing printed materials.
There is a reason for this: industry regulations dictate what medical device sales reps can give to medical offices and hospitals. Any handouts must be able to fit on a desktop, which limits what they can share; this is why they usually only give out smaller products.
One thing that does easily fit on a desktop are data sheets and brochures that provide detailed descriptions of the products and include all the necessary technical details. Better yet, these printed materials can be personalized for the recipient and his or her office environment, essentially making them a customized leave-behind sales pitch.
Printed hard copies can also include the sales rep’s contact information, making it easy for the prospect to follow up with questions or schedule a demonstration. These are details that are hard to imprint on an actual product.
Finding the Advantage
A well-organized online company store can turn these restrictions into a competitive advantage by enabling resourceful reps to turn printed collateral into a highly effective and persuasive sales tool.
If equipped with the ability to produce print-on-demand collateral, sales reps can tweak existing materials so that they address the specific needs or challenges of the prospect they will be visiting.
Customized materials can be ordered via the portal days in advance of a scheduled meeting and mailed directly to the office or the customer site, so reps no longer have to carry reams of generic printed collateral with them. Quantities can be easily controlled to limit waste. Contact information can be modified as needed to add a more personal touch, while variable-data printing capabilities enable further customization by including the prospect’s name and company to create a more targeted presentation.
Not all items need to be customized for the audience. More generic overviews can be printed in large quantities and stored in the warehouse for later use, taking advantage of bulk pricing. Live inventory reporting on the company store website allows marketing staff to easily monitor availability and determine when reprints need to be ordered. Higher-use items can have low-inventory thresholds set that send a proactive alert when quantities dip beneath a certain level or trigger an automatic reprint.
An online company store provides all the resources medical device sales reps need to create customized tools that convey the unique capabilities of their products while convincing customers that they understand the challenges facing them.
OnFulfillment: Trusted by the Top Medical Device Companies
OnFulfillment leads the way with the marketing fulfillment industry’s most comprehensive webstore platform that supports print-on-demand and variable data printing capabilities for all vertical markets. Our experience with long-term customers in the medical tech industry ensures we understand what you need and how we can help you fulfill your requirements.
Through OnFulfillment’s online portal, you can manage the quality and consistency of your printed collateral by ordering everything from a single vendor. Full print-on-demand and variable data printing capabilities are available, allowing you to create and deliver highly personalized materials in a matter of days.
We apply the same level of expertise to every printed item and quality check all materials before shipping out, ensuring your collateral arrives in pristine condition. For custom orders, our in-house print center will produce and ship your non-inventory (that is, customized) items within 48 hours while products already in inventory ship in 24 hours or less.
Real-time reporting capabilities, available with your portal, allow you to easily monitor your existing inventory levels and track usage over time. You can even control who has access to which materials, set limits on order quantities, and order reprints with a simple mouse click to more closely manage your valuable sales assets. Multiple shipping options are available, allowing you to control costs by selecting the methods that best meet your schedule and budget. You can even limit which options are available to ensure no one overspends on shipping. 
When materials are needed overseas, multiple international print facilities are available to help reduce international production and shipping costs.
Best of all, you don’t need to do it all alone. If needed, dedicated customer service reps and other team members are always available to help you with procurement or any other day-to-day needs.
Learn How OnFulfillment Can Help
Whether you’re in the medical device industry or any other business, OnFulfillment’s company store skills can help you make the most of your available sales tools. For a customized look at how we can elevate your company store game, visit https://www.onfulfillment.com/contact-us and request a meeting.
