Jamie Lamontagne, vice president of global marketing and medical education, Medtronic, Heartbeat Management .
In every industry, budgets are shrinking and the customer journey is changing. For marketers, this means we need to be more strategic to maximize costs and reach our target audience.
In today's marketing landscape, success requires a combination of physical and digital approaches. Digital marketing tools can and should complement traditional sales teams to connect the dots and measure the success of strategies and tactics.
Don't give up on traditional marketing.
Many industries, such as medical technology, are based on the traditional marketing model: face-to-face physical interaction between sales representatives and customers. Strong relationships are essential, and selling drives direct relationships. We can say that this method is preferred by customers and it works.
However, this model has a common problem: it is difficult to measure success in real time. Frequently lagging metrics like revenue, engagement, or shares are the only way to know if the action you took "in October" actually worked.
Because sales and marketing teams move so quickly, things can get lost in translation. The camp may not be aware of all marketing efforts. Meanwhile, the marketing team may not have a full understanding of what each sales rep is doing to drive customer action.
Beyond the measurement factors, the landscape and the customer journey are changing. By surveying medical professionals, McKinsey found that most of them expect to use mixed relationships with sales reps.
Marketing and sales teams work hard to reach their target audience. But what if we could make everyone's job easier and better serve our customers by collecting more information about their needs and activities?
Add numbers to the mix.
Digital tools are often used to generate leads. However, if you already know who your customers are, digital tools can also help you take the next step and discover what your customers are interested in and how they interact online.
In industries that rely on face-to-face interactions, digital tools can support sales and marketing efforts in new ways. If we think of the traditional marketing model as creating "dots", digital tools are what connect the dots.
These tools complement traditional marketing by providing real-time feedback on where and how customers are interacting. Digital tools help us map customer journeys to better meet their "real life" needs. And by providing reliable data in the field, they can better serve their customers.
In our work at Medtronic, for example, if we see a customer email or train our pacemakers, local representatives are notified about the customer's interaction with these tactics. With automated push notifications, sales teams get real-time insight into what customers are doing digitally.
Idea generation and engagement lead to great service. That's why using data ethically to deliver a better customer experience can help companies do their jobs more efficiently and teams better measure their marketing and sales efforts.
We are building a figurative future.
Ultimately, digital tools alone will not boost our marketing and sales departments, and they shouldn't. Instead, what matters is how we use the data and information that the tool provides to retailers and sales representatives.
To be successful, we must pursue a unified digital experience that combines the benefits of physical merchants with the real-time measurement and management capabilities of digital tools and approaches.
This is an addition, not a replacement. Digital should not dominate the field. Instead, it makes it easier to collaborate with the field . We do not want to abandon the traditional physical approach. We wanted to include additional digital aspects that could further deepen the relationship and improve marketing.
As Medtronic's vice president of global marketing for heart rate management, I've seen this model help our team connect the dots. Even with a strong marketing program, there is always room for growth. With a richer data set, we can determine what tactics are working and where we need to go next.
Develop your sales model.
If your organization is adding more digital tools to your traditional selling approach, there are two important things to keep in mind:
• Treat it like any cultural change: Turning a truly traditional system into a hybrid model can seem like a big transformation. Make sure the presentation is part of the change and listen to their questions and concerns.
See the benefits: The phygital approach makes us more effective salespeople and gives sales reps more information about their customers, helping them work more efficiently. Communicate the specific benefits so everyone understands how the change will benefit them.
With plenty of time and budget, marketers must use the tools that inform us and guide us in the most strategic directions. The phygital approach helps us connect the dots for great service and allows us to reach the right customers at the right time with the right messages.
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