How to Choose the Right Paid Media Playbook for Healthtech

How do you know whether your healthtech company needs a classic demand gen campaign or a full ABM program? 

In this episode, I'm joined by my colleague Paul Vandre, Account Director and Digital Marketing Specialist at Health Launchpad. Paul has two decades of experience in digital marketing, spending more than five years building paid media strategy for about 30 Health Launchpad clients.

Paul starts by diagnosing the right approach. He uses two rules of thumb: a deal size of around $50K, and who you're selling to. Then he looks at why health systems usually settle on a shortlist long before anyone books a demo. According to 6sense, the first vendor a buyer calls wins 84% of the time, so paid media's real job is getting you into the consideration set early. Paul also explains which signals to track at each stage of the buyer journey, and how to show your leadership team that marketing is influencing revenue when you can't attribute every deal.

On the demand gen side, Paul gets into why LinkedIn isn't always the answer, especially for clinician audiences. Paul explains how Meta, programmatic, Google, direct mail, and niche trade outlets fit into a real multi-channel mix. He also covers why campaigns tend to hit their stride around month three. If your paid media isn't delivering what you expected, this episode will help you work out whether the problem is your channels, your message, or both.

Key Topics Covered

• "(00:00)" Introduction
• "(04:00)" How to tell whether a company needs demand gen or ABM
• "(06:00)" Two rules of thumb: the $50K deal size line and who you sell to
• "(07:00)" How health systems buy and how paid media supports ABM
• "(10:00)" The 6sense stat: the first vendor called wins 84% of the time
• "(11:00)" What digital advertising is for
• "(13:00)" The signals to track at each buyer stage
• "(14:00)" Showing leadership the value of influence
• "(19:00)" Reaching clinicians when LinkedIn doesn't work
• "(21:00)" What to expect in the first three months of a paid demand gen campaign
• "(23:00)" Programmatic advertising explained
• "(26:00)" Content and offers that work at each stage of the funnel
• "(28:00)" Paul's biggest lesson
• "(30:00)" The first thing to check when paid media isn't working
• "(32:00)" My five key takeaways from the conversation

If you are interested in discussing this or any other topic, let's have a chat.  Reach out to me directly to schedule a no-obligation discussion. This isn't a sales call, but rather an opportunity to talk through your questions and challenges.

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