Acquiring investors and clients is one of the biggest challenges for innovators in the medical industry. Regulatory requirements, the need to build trust, and the necessity to prove the technology’s effectiveness mean that marketing in this sector requires a strategic approach. Understanding the needs of target customer or user groups and adapting communication to various stakeholders is crucial. In this part, we will share good practices for effective marketing and communication for both fledgling startups and those already in a mature development phase.
What technologies interest hospitals?
To begin, let’s ask ourselves: what technologies interest hospitals? The answer is simple – those that meet their specific needs, while also being compliant with regulations, safe, effective, scalable, and profitable. To establish cooperation with medical facilities, one must ensure high standards of quality and safety are met, along with clear communication and transparency in actions.
The foundation of effective communication is the portfolio of the innovative solution. Implementing a new product always involves risk, so it’s worth preparing a complete set of studies, scientific publications, and other evidence confirming its effectiveness. Regularly updating such a “product CV” will ensure easy access to key information about the technology’s development.
Adapting communication to the target group
The next step is defining the target group and the communication method. Hospital management, administration, medical staff, investors, and patients have different needs and expectations. Medical staff are primarily interested in how a given technology will affect the treatment process and their work, while hospital management requires concrete evidence of its scalability and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, adapting the communication language to the recipients is key.
The prepared portfolio can also facilitate applications to incubation and acceleration programs. Startups often make the mistake of treating marketing as an add-on rather than an integral element of the business strategy, which leads to chaotic actions and an inconsistent brand image.
Marketing strategy depending on the startup’s development stage
The Achilles’ heel of startups is that they often treat marketing as an add-on, not integrating it with the overall business strategy. This leads to very chaotic actions and an inconsistent brand image. A good way to address this is to answer the question: at what stage of development am I? A startup that has already completed its first pilots communicates differently than one just beginning its journey in the world of innovation.
When a startup is just looking for its first medical partners, building credibility is crucial. Case studies, comparative analyses, and solution mock-ups can help. Support from medical experts and the possibility of conducting a pilot in a hospital will allow gaining initial references. Proposing low-budget, no-commitment tests, e.g., a 3-month pilot with clearly defined goals (like shortening hospitalization time, reducing staff workload), can be a good idea.
If a startup already has initial tests behind it, it can rely on concrete data, such as increased staff efficiency or cost savings, in discussions with hospital management. It’s also worth using recommendations from doctors and patient opinions. Organizing educational workshops and webinars can help build relationships with the medical community.
For startups aiming to enter the market commercially, confirming the solution’s effectiveness through scientific publications in medical journals and case studies will be crucial. Expert recommendations and positive test results will be important at this stage for those making collaboration decisions.
Remember that upon establishing contact with a hospital, it’s worth having an understanding of the facility’s needs and profile. The specifics of private and public hospitals also differ. Additionally, consider long-term strategic partnerships with medical organizations, health funds, and government agencies, as well as joint grant projects with hospitals.
As you can see, communication largely depends on the stage of the project/startup’s development. Knowing the recipient of your message is equally important.
ROI, savings, improved treatment outcomes, certification, and regulatory compliance will be very important when talking to hospital management deciding on implementation. However, for users – doctors or administrative staff – it’s worth focusing on ease of use, improving work efficiency, and providing educational input (webinars, workshops, dedicated video content).
An additional advantage will be preparing an implementation schedule showing the benefits for the hospital at each stage. Let’s emphasize that innovation itself is not enough: medical facilities are constantly looking for savings – both in time and money.
Building relationships and reputation in the industry
Long decision-making processes in hospitals can be frustrating for innovators who are convinced of their product’s uniqueness but haven’t yet confronted the reality of healthcare. However, it’s worth being patient and consistently building relationships through networking, participating in conferences, and publishing expert content on platforms like LinkedIn. Networking and recommendations can help reach individuals responsible for innovation implementation in a medical facility.
The reputation of the startup and the people behind it plays an important role. In this context, let’s look at mistakes made by startups – often unconsciously. This could be, for example, using a hospital’s logo without formal consent. To obtain it, simply contact the responsible unit – usually the press office, spokesperson, or the person responsible for implementations. Good practice also dictates sending all materials using the hospital’s logo for approval before posting them on social media, the website, or in a presentation.
Another mistake that severely damages a startup’s image is breaking off discussions without a clear reason. Lack of response to emails and calls, especially when discussions were already at an advanced stage, shows the company’s unreliability. Discrediting the hospital’s contribution to product development, e.g., omitting its role in validation, is also unacceptable. Remember too, that a lack of transparency regarding costs, test results, or development plans is a disqualifying trait for a startup from the hospital’s perspective!
Adapting to the hospital’s needs is one of the fundamental elements determining the willingness to cooperate. The startup’s openness to implementing changes and regular, professional communication with decision-makers builds a good reputation within the hospital environment.
Building effective cooperation between a medical startup and a hospital requires a strategic approach and consideration of both parties’ benefits. The most important thing is understanding the hospital’s needs and the challenges it faces daily. A startup’s real success depends not on the solution’s innovativeness, but on genuinely solving the medical facility’s problem. Therefore, mapping the needs well is fundamental. This cannot be achieved other than through conversations with medical and administrative staff to best understand their needs and expectations.
That’s why having a doctor or another medical professional on the team or in a consultant role minimizes the risk of failure and ensures better alignment of the solution with the hospital’s specifics. The next step is starting small-scale tests. A pilot allows testing the solution in practice and making necessary modifications. Even at this stage, proper user training should be ensured. This will increase trust in the product/service and translate into implementation efficiency.
Clear communication and quick response to emerging challenges already at the pilot stage (and all subsequent stages) will help build a good brand reputation. Key elements can include regular meetings with hospital representatives to discuss progress and potential problems. Regular project implementation reports, including achievements and areas for improvement, will also build the image of an engaged, transparent company.
Every hospital has unique needs and procedures, and its infrastructure also differs, so the solution’s flexibility is key to success. Developing various ways to adapt to changing conditions and requirements in advance will streamline the entire process of discussions with decision-makers. Of course, every offer should be personalized, considering the specific needs of the particular hospital. Remember that the medical environment is dynamic, and hospitals’ needs may change over time. Flexibility allows for quick adaptation to new conditions.
Fortunately, most startups understand the principles of good cooperation. Effective communication involves listening to both sides’ needs. Sometimes startups are so convinced of their service or product’s uniqueness that they forget someone might not need it or might want to adapt it to work realities. So, one must be open to feedback from the hospital and consider (even numerous) modifications. This doesn’t mean immediately diving into a whirlwind of changes. It’s good to introduce improvements in stages and wait for feedback. Establishing common goals for the startup and the hospital and regularly evaluating their achievement fosters trust and builds long-term relationships.
Simplicity of communication
Regardless of all this, it’s worth ensuring the communication language is accessible. Living in our own bubbles, we tend to use specialized jargon that might be incomprehensible to those not fully familiar with the topic. This can be discouraging. Simple doesn’t mean “simplistic,” and a good pitch should be understandable to a 5-year-old. It’s worth taking these two pieces of advice to heart when creating all marketing content.
Activity on social media, participation in industry events, articles in medical journals, sponsored texts, and interviews must show conceptual consistency and build brand awareness within the community.
Behind every innovative solution are specific people, so communication should not omit your team. Highlighting individual strengths, sharing the personal story behind the startup’s creation will give the project a “human face.” It’s not about learned tricks and slogans like “selling emotions,” but about the authenticity and commitment invested in the project’s development.
Many companies utilize this by publishing simultaneously on the official profile and sharing content on the private profiles of organization members. This must, of course, happen with respect for employees’ freedom, but for a startup striving towards a common goal, it shouldn’t be a problem. Only pushy advertising should be avoided. Sharing small successes, but also stories of overcoming problems, will help build an expert image.
We must be clearly aware that failure to meet formal requirements for new medical solutions often closes or delays the path to product implementation. Hospital-startup cooperation is only possible if the risk assessment of using the innovation does not indicate a threat to the patient, medical staff, or the facility itself. Depending on the project type and its legal status, for example, in the absence of medical certification, this may mean planning a research experiment and going through the bioethics committee process.
For new medical technologies, meeting legal requirements and industry quality and safety standards is crucial. An example is the quality management system certification according to ISO 13485, required for most medical devices in the EU. This is a complex and time-consuming process, so it’s worth starting as early as possible. When planning international expansion, the product should be designed from the outset to meet international technical and regulatory standards, facilitating later certification in markets like the EU or USA (e.g., compliance with MDR or FDA). The startup should ensure protection of industrial property – depending on the nature of the solution, this could be a patent application (for inventions), a utility model (for simpler technical solutions), or a trademark (for the brand). Already at the stage of cooperation with the hospital, the startup should take care of intellectual property agreements to clearly define who holds the rights to research results and technology developed jointly with the medical facility.
A very important issue, especially in the context of applications processing patient data, is the protection of personal data and special category data. When processing data, the startup should conduct a data protection impact assessment, ensure appropriate technical and organizational measures are in place, and maintain a record of data processing activities. Additionally, proper information clauses and procedures for obtaining informed consent from patients, if required in the given cooperation model, must be ensured.
This brings us to technical safeguards. For digital technologies (e.g., mobile apps, IoT devices), lack of adequate protection against cyberattacks or data leaks is a serious threat that can cause a lack of trust from hospitals. Discussing all safeguards with the hospital’s IT department will therefore be important.
One of the key elements is also the ability to meet the interlocutor’s expectations while looking after one’s own interests. Financing is often a major issue due to the huge expenses healthcare facilities incur daily. If the price of the startup’s technology is too high relative to the hospital’s budget, it can disqualify the product from the start. To help hospitals invest in new technologies, consider solutions like leasing or subscription models, e.g., SaaS instead of a one-time equipment purchase. Besides alternative financing methods, it’s also worth highlighting the specific savings the product/service introduction can bring. Flexibility and a well-structured business model showing the investment’s profitability will be key here.
Let’s also remember that selling the product isn’t the end of contact with the hospital. Startups should be prepared to provide adequate technical support, servicing, or technology updates after implementation. Lack of such support can raise concerns about the continuity and reliability of the device or application. Training the hospital’s medical or administrative staff is also good practice.
Summary
Building effective cooperation between a medical startup and a hospital requires a strategic approach and consideration of both parties’ interests. The key is not only delivering an innovative product but also genuinely solving the problems of medical facilities. Transparent communication, adapting the marketing strategy to the startup’s development stage, and attention to regulatory aspects are the foundations of success in this demanding industry.
Perhaps this advice will seem obvious to some readers, yet experience shows that startups are not always aware of its importance. If you belong to the group that consciously shapes its brand – congratulations! However, if you see areas for improvement – don’t worry, it’s never too late to make changes.
Key Takeaways:
- Organize your legal, financial, and technological documentation. Create a catalog with easy access to conducted scientific research, pilot descriptions, validations, and scientific articles. Maintain the “product CV”.
- Identify potential risks related to regulations, certifications, and market entry in your case and prepare a plan to prevent them. Research the certification process, study case studies of other companies in the industry.
- Always adapt your communication language to the specific recipient – this applies to social media posts, presentations to decision-makers, and pitches during industry events.
- Be flexible – both regarding adapting the product/service to the hospital’s needs and openness to changing the business model or financing method.
We also invite you to check out the guide for innovators included in the Report summarizing the 3rd edition of the Mother and Child Startup Challenge
https://mcsc.pl/raport-z-3-edycji-mcsc-juz-dostepny-sprawdz-jak-rodzi-sie-realna-zmiana-w-polskich-szpitalach/