Health and Wellness This Week: Digital Docs, MedTech Sales, + Amazon Wearables

This article is part of ParkerWhite's weekly series, "Health and Wellness This Week,” a roundup of the latest healthcare marketing news and what it means for your marketing strategy. This week in health and wellness we saw the doctors' social network, Doximity, get even bigger, a call for medtech sales changes, and the opening of a wearables store online from ecommerce giant Amazon.

Doximity, Coming to a Doctor Near You

‍Doximity, a medical communications platform and physician referral engine, raised another $54 million, an achievement CEO Jeff Tangney believes makes it possible for them to reach every physician in the U.S. They've done a good job of getting users so far, with an average of 20,000 peer-to-peer physician messages sent daily through Doximity. In January 2014, Doximity's membership count topped the American Medical Association (AMA), and has since risen to 290,000 physicians. Forbes recently wrote an article asking, "Is The LinkedIn For Doctors a $1 Billion Business? Doximity's Raised $54 Million To Find Out."

‍Marketing Strategy Insight: This is another sign of the increasing importance of digital in the healthcare world. It shows how much doctors have adopted new technologies and are embracing new ways to do their jobs with the help of technology. It reinforces the idea that healthcare marketers cannot afford to ignore the digital channel. In order to stay competitive, healthcare marketers need to find new ways to connect to stakeholders utilizing digital channels. With physicians and patients connecting to everything they need through digital channels, it means a responsive website is critical to maintaining a strong brand in the new digital world.

‍We Need a Medtech Sales Revival

‍"In the evolving healthcare space, all participants should recognize the growing need to demonstrate value along every dimension of the value chain,” wrote MD+DI in an article discussing the issues currently plaguing sales organizations of medtech companies. An increased focus on the shortcomings of the medtech industry has spurred an evaluation of the current practices and shows significant room for improvement. With reimbursement for both procedures and medical equipment linked to patient-centric measures, such as patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes, there's a call to action for sales organizations to reinvent.

‍Marketing Strategy Insight: The ACA is forcing changes to the healthcare economy, and communicating value to both providers and patients is becoming more and more important. Your company's ability to clearly and concisely communicate your value proposition at all touch points is more important than ever. A unified brand strategy will help organizations align different departments to form one cohesive voice that speaks to value. It is also imperative for medical device companies to understand the voice of the customer, now, the patient. An understanding of the consumer will facilitate better targeting and a message more likely to resonate. Integrated patient awareness campaigns to reach patients through online and offline mediums to create demand will be powerful for driving business.

‍Amazon Opens Wearables Store

‍Amazon announced the launch of a wearables store, aiming to provide the largest selection and best prices. They hope to help customers quickly and easily find the best products to suit their needs, as well as provide users with an outlet for reselling their devices. One noted critique of wearables is that the healthiest people are using them, not the people who need them most. A potential positive outcome from the Amazon wearables store could be better adoption amongst the at-risk population facilitated by Amazon's ease-of-use and buyer guides.

‍Marketing Strategy Insight: This is another sign of the growing wearables category. With Amazon aiming to provide buyers with more information, it seems as if this signals a need for more content to help buyers understand their options. Understanding the segment of consumers less proactive about their health will be key to determining how to best target them. With a deeper understanding of these consumers, a wearables maker may find a business opportunity if they are dedicated to creating persona-driven content that speaks to their needs and provides the right information.