2024 Guide to Pipeline Success for Revenue Cycle Companies

2024 Guide to Pipeline Success for Revenue Cycle Companies

Healthcare is growing more complex by the minute, creating an even steeper slope for practices seeking to manage their revenue cycles in-house—that’s why 61% of providers plan to either begin or expand partnerships with RCM vendors.1 On the surface, this is good news for RCM companies. The real challenge, however, lies in the oversaturation of the RCM market. With so many options available, how can you steer your audience to your brand and consistently move deals across the finish line?

After years of driving engagement and boosting sales growth for leading RCM companies, we’ve identified the top six strategies your company can leverage for success in 2024:

1. Establish Differentiation

Every RCM company boasts reliable solutions that improve revenue. What specifically makes your company stand out? Do your homework to develop a strong identity to set your brand apart in a market where most of your competition promotes the same value propositions—especially if you can tie those benefits directly into your prospects’ pain points. This process may require deeper market research, such as competitor or brand positioning analysis. For example, more RCM companies are investing in software that provides real-time updates to enhance financial transparency. If your company offers these reporting solutions, position those capabilities front and center in your marketing and sales strategy. Others are focusing on specific specialties or customer types.

2. Align Sales and Marketing Efforts

Historically, sales and marketing efforts have been fairly siloed for companies in the revenue cycle space. This is an outdated and ineffective approach that only stalls upward growth and creates leaks in the pipeline. For many, this gap is caused by the abundance of data made available by marketing technology. The key is to gather your sales and marketing teams around one table and comb through the data. Identify areas for improvement and alignment, then recalibrate your efforts to not just work side-by-side, but in unison. Ensure a seamless hand-off by prepping your sales team with a comprehensive prospect profile gathered from your marketing analytics.

3. Think Quality, Not Quantity

RCM clients often come to us with low lead-to-opportunity conversion rates (meaning very few leads become customers) due to poor lead quality. One of our initial areas of focus is to improve this metric by optimizing campaigns, enhancing digital infrastructure, and improving audience building. The second part of the equation is refining your offerings and aligning your efforts to that plan. For example, instead of providing RCM services to all specialty practices, focus on the most profitable types (such as orthopedic surgery practices), and tailor your campaigns to that focus. Specialization is crucial for many healthcare businesses, given considerable differences in coding requirements, fee schedules, and reimbursement rates. A behavioral health practice operates under a substantially different RCM framework than an urgent care center, making it a key point of interest to partner with a specialized vendor to ensure maximum revenue capture and collection.

4. Prioritize Prospects’ Digital Experience

We often see that RCM clients’ largest sales opportunities come through their website. Regardless of the field of medicine, website experience and SEO play a crucial role in turning interest into opportunity. One Jairus Marketing RCM client saw a 20x ROI from their SEO strategy, with a 179% increase in SEO-related opportunities in just one year. These results illustrate the foundational role of website visibility and user experience in driving RCM sales, making an SEO-optimized website a critical tool in the RCM marketing toolbox.

5. Simultaneously Generate and Capture Demand

If you’re wondering which demand strategy your campaigns should focus on, the answer is both. A demand capture and generation model fills the pipeline with both near-term prospects for faster closes and future, long-term opportunities. This is where thought leadership comes into play. Implement a robust thought leadership strategy (white papers, case studies, ebooks, etc.) in conjunction with a lead gen strategy to better educate prospects and prime them for a successful sales conversation. In short, prospects who truly understand your value and expertise are more likely to close faster. Here’s the proof: one of our RCM clients achieved a 34x ROI and $7.2 million in new pipeline revenue in just six months.

6. Maximize Your Conference Investment

Conferences are par for the course in the RCM space. Take advantage of this sea of opportunities by connecting with prospects before, during, and after the event. Instead of limiting your potential leads to the handful of people you talk to on-site, start early and identify prospects who are likely to attend the event. Reach out to them ahead of time to request a meeting during the conference. While you’re there, gather as many names and emails as possible to coordinate effective post-event outreach. Once the conference is over, reach out to everyone you connected with and reiterate your USPs, backed by case studies and thought leadership, to pull them into a sales conversation.

Need help with your 2024 RCM marketing strategy? Schedule a strategy session with a revenue cycle management marketing expert today!

Sources

1. Synchrony. (2023, April 6). Study Finds Healthcare Providers Looking to Outsource Revenue Cycle Management Processes [Press release]. https://www.synchrony.com/contenthub/newsroom/study-finds-healthcare-providers-looking-to-outsource-revenue.html

Growing a MedTech Company During an Economic Downturn

Growing a MedTech Company During an Economic Downturn

Heading into 2024, the question facing medtech innovators across the country is: how do we stay afloat and hit sales goals despite economic headwinds? While recession may be top of mind for company leaders across all industries, the healthcare sector is traveling down a separate path with diverse economic roadblocks and hidden barriers to growth. Certain industry players, like diagnostics and post-acute care, face slower growth rates while others, namely hospitals and integrated delivery networks, continue to see an upward trend in profit margins.

With such variance in financial performance, the economic story for medtech companies is far more complex than a straight shot to recession. Digging deeper, we find that, rather than a decline in economic opportunity, innovators must adapt to the downstream effects of paradigm industry shifts.
Healthcare CAGR projections recently decreased by 2%.1
As of August 2023, hospital profit margins are 2.3% higher than in November 2022.2

Pulling Back the Curtain on Industry Hurdles

Global financial pressures may play a role in stagnant medtech revenue growth, but, behind the scenes, we see six key industry changes working to stall pipeline activity:

  1. Non-hospital-based care. Payers continue to incentivize care outside of the hospital setting, such as in ambulatory surgery centers or in-office procedures, to lower costs and offer more convenient treatment options for patients.
  2. Staffing shortages. The pandemic magnified existing concerns among healthcare workers, causing one in five to quit their jobs, with 47% planning to leave their roles by 2025.3 This trend is especially prevalent among nurses, many of whom chose to leave their jobs for traveling roles or early retirement.
  3. Physician-organization alignment. Starting in 2010, physicians moved away from independent practice toward health system employment. Likewise, private equity investment into the provider community significantly increased, contributing to the formation of larger group practices.
  4. Complex decision-making. The days of the sole physician decision maker are over. Now, the decision to buy your product or service is made in the boardroom, often with heavy input from the IT team, Operations, and Finance. With so many voices to consider, both clinical and non-clinical, leaders struggle to know how and when to say “yes.”
  5. Financial considerations. Ripple effects from the pandemic force healthcare organizations to focus on protecting the bottom line in addition to patient outcomes. Operating margins are still incredibly low, meaning financial benefits are just as important as clinical improvements.
  6. Reduced rep access. Hospitals have been closing doors to the OR for over a decade now. The pandemic simply accelerated this trend, and medtech companies shouldn’t expect to regain in-person access anytime soon as the industry shifts to digital engagement.

Turning Economic Challenges Into New Sales Opportunities

While the odds seem to be stacked against medtech sales success, there are steps your team can take today to turn the tides back in your favor. Instead of letting economic disruptions work against your bottom line, take advantage of new opportunities to meet your prospects’ needs and connect with them on a different level.

Implement these five strategies to reopen doors to decision-makers and drive sustainable growth:

  • Adapt your value propositions to more effectively address your prospects’ current challenges.
  • Communicate more than just the clinical benefits of your offering — address pain points on financial, operational, and administrative fronts.
  • Grow your prospect pool and broaden your outreach without expanding the size of your team.
  • Align medtech marketing and sales efforts to engage prospects throughout every stage of the sales funnel.
  • Maximize every sales opportunity by penetrating deeper into existing accounts and relationships.

The healthcare market appears to be on the upswing from a record low in 2022, but that doesn’t mean your prospects aren’t out of the woods yet. Capitalize on this need by broadcasting your capabilities and engaging with your audience online at every possible opportunity. With a recession-focused medical device marketing strategy, your team can insulate your bottom line from revenue loss and stand out as a proven partner for business success. Watch the on-demand webinar from Scott Alexander, medtech industry leader and CEO of Jairus Marketing, to learn more about how to leverage industry challenges to drive future-proof growth.

Sources

1. Patel, N. & Singhal, S. (2023. January 9). What to expect in US healthcare in 2023 and beyond. McKinsey & Company.
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/what-to-expect-in-us-healthcare-in-2023-and-beyond
2. National Hospital Flash Report: September 2023. (2023). KaufmanHall. https://www.kaufmanhall.com/sites/default/files/2023-10/KH-NHFR_2023-09.pdf
3. Popowitz, E. (September 2023). Addressing the healthcare staffing shortage. Definitive Healthcare. https://www.definitivehc.com/sites/default/files/resources/pdfs/Addressing-the-healthcare-staffing-shortage-2023.pdf

How to Build a Reliable MedTech Commercial Model

How to Build a Reliable MedTech Commercial Model

Let’s face it: MedTech sales are nowhere near as simple as they used to be. We’re no longer in the good ol’ days of selling — marked by easy entry into the OR and straightforward decision-making processes — and countless medtech companies are burning the midnight oil trying to find new opportunities to grow business.

A Double-Sided Challenge

Among the countless disruptions that continue to wreak havoc on the industry, the top challenge for medtech innovators is pinpointing and engaging the right decision-makers. Getting your product or service into new hands is a far more elaborate process than before. Physicians aren’t the only decision makers for new products and services anymore — the final decision must be made in tandem with value analysis committees, GPOs, and other non-clinical executives that demand end-to-end value to close the deal.

The other side of the equation is just as complex. Many of the stop-gap measures that were necessary during the pandemic now form the new framework for medtech sales in 2023 and beyond. Looking back, the pandemic simply magnified the moves that were already being made in healthcare operations. These trends, including supply chain sophistication and the explosion of physician employment by IDNs, as well as new decision-maker expectations, highlighted the critical challenges of misaligned sales and marketing.

Four Levers to Pull for MedTech Commercial Success

With the growing number of roadblocks to medical device sales, innovators are now searching for new tactics to future-proof their businesses. In order to drive the most sustainable and consistent growth, the ideal commercial model should:

  1. Define the right audience of decision-makers. These are the individuals who have the power to say “yes” to your product or service, and they may not be who you initially expect. Be careful not to downplay the significance of this step — even with an unlimited marketing budget, your efforts will go to waste if you fail to connect with the right prospects. Extend your focus beyond a simple list of names and emails to a more in-depth view of your audience’s challenges and how your solution can specifically address these pain points.
  2. Construct a dynamic marketing ecosystem. The word “ecosystem” is crucial to understanding how to assemble your marketing campaigns. Instead of one-dimensional outreach, craft a step-by-step process that meets prospects at every possible point in the sales funnel with the information they need to take the next step. Through multiple in-person and digital channels, your strategies should build familiarity with your brand and establish a deep level of trust that your solution can and will solve their problems.
  3. Broadcast high-quality, high-impact content. Content is the backbone of your marketing ecosystem. Whether the goal is to awaken your audience to critical issues in their niche or change the way they perceive these challenges (namely, to see your offering as the perfect solution), content is the key that unlocks the ability to influence your audience’s thought processes and buying behaviors. Produce a sizable library of thought leadership and sales content that appeals to different types of prospects and pain points, and integrate these pieces into your ecosystem to entice more sales-focused engagement.
  4. Track campaigns and quantify pipeline success. The best way to sabotage your efforts is to launch without any visibility into campaign progress — essentially steering the ship with both hands tied behind your back. Instead of guessing which strategies worked, use a CRM to provide the granularity of detail your team needs to understand where your efforts sparked interest, which leads engaged on which platforms, and who ultimately closed a deal. A CRM platform quantifies the value of your campaigns in real time, identifying the tactics that will drive higher sales growth in both current and future efforts.

Dodging Common Revenue Pitfalls

Constructing a bulletproof commercial model is no simple task. The evolving nature of the healthcare industry paves the way for unexpected and often hidden threats to revenue growth. As decision-makers require more comprehensive proof of value, medtech companies must comb through their sales and marketing strategies for revenue blockers hidden in plain sight, such as:

  • Poor product-market fit
  • Failure to warm up prospects
  • Too large of an “ask” early on in the pipeline
  • Skipping over thought leadership efforts
  • Limited visibility into campaign results
  • Lack of measurable, data-driven reporting

Achieving success in today’s healthcare climate is difficult, but possible — especially with expert help. To learn more about how to overcome these challenges and build a thriving commercial model, watch the on-demand webinar from Jairus CEO and medtech industry expert Scott Alexander for new insights proven to drive growth.

Senior Living Facilities Can Establish Trust & Transparency with These 6 Content Marketing Tips

Senior Living Facilities Can Establish Trust & Transparency with These 6 Content Marketing Tips

Selecting a senior living facility can be a daunting decision, filled with concerns ranging from mixed emotions to finances. Establishing trust, transparency and top-notch expertise is crucial for senior living facilities. This is where content marketing becomes a vital tool. By creating valuable and informative content, senior living facilities can build brand awareness, establish themselves as a trusted resource and, ultimately, attract potential residents and their families. Follow these tips to make the most of content as part of your senior living facility marketing strategy.

Understand Your Target Audience: Senior Living Market Research

It’s not enough to know who your target audience is — understanding their challenges, motivations and priorities is key to connecting (and converting) them. Your marketing efforts will miss the mark if you only pay attention to basic demographics. Instead, go one step further and evaluate what influences — positive and negative — motivate prospective residents and other decision-makers to choose your senior living/assisted living facility.

Market research is a strategic way to gain an in-depth look at which audience is looking for what features and amenities in nearby facilities – allowing you to then develop value propositions and content that directly align with those priorities and in turn both grow and speed up your sales pipeline. Thanks to digital channels, market research isn’t the massive investment or time-consuming process it once was. Interested in learning more? Let us know.

Create Valuable and Informative Content

The key to using content marketing to build trust, transparency, and top-notch expertise in the senior living industry is to create content that your audience values – information that is relevant to their needs and concerns. A few examples:

    Focus on education: Create content that educates your audience on each of the amenities you provide and how they help residents seamlessly transition through different stages of senior living. The goal is to provide a snapshot of life at your facility to encourage prospects to schedule a tour or call your team.
  • Address common concerns: Identify common concerns that your target audience may have, such as the cost of senior living, and create content that addresses those concerns.
  • Use storytelling: Use storytelling to connect with your audience and make your content more engaging. Share stories about your residents and staff members to give your audience a glimpse into life at your facility.
  • Be transparent: To build trust from the start, discuss your facility’s policies, procedures, and pricing during initial conversations with prospective residents and families. This is a great way to start off on the right foot and create a positive customer experience.

Optimize Your Content Strategy

A high-impact senior living content strategy involves more than a simple outline of content pieces. The strongest approach takes into account how these pieces will be used to maximize engagement. The decision-makers for your facility likely range in age and interests, which means an omnichannel approach plays an important role in marketing success.

In addition to multiple platforms, a multi-format content strategy is important. Leverage a combination of blog posts, videos, social media ads, paid search, and email marketing to surround your audience on all sides with captivating content that motivates engagement.

By broadcasting a variety of content across multiple channels, you can present each prospect with the content that appeals most to them and caters directly to their needs and interests. The more touches you generate, the more awareness you build and the more likely your audience is to take the next stop.

Promote Your Content

The best way for your content to gain traction is to circulate each piece on multiple channels, especially digital platforms. A large and growing number of individuals evaluating senior living arrangements use the internet to research local retirement homes and senior living options.

An infographic stating that 75% of seniors use online searches to find senior living facilities and that 6,000 senior living related-online searches occur every hour in the US.
In addition to senior-friendly outreach, your content should also reach the secondary decision-maker: Adult children. When adult children fill out online lead forms, the odds of their parents moving in increases up to three times.4 Keep in mind this audience may be active on different platforms than your older audience.

Now more than ever, senior living decision-makers are searching for new options online — it’s up to you to find them and present a convincing message that captures their interest. An omnichannel marketing strategy reaches all of these audiences at the same time on the platform that appeals most to them, effectively engaging each decision maker with the content and messaging they need to reach out to your team.

Analyze Your Results

A major advantage of a multi-channel digital marketing strategy is the ability to track your progress, see what’s working, and make adjustments accordingly. Use a CRM to monitor your campaigns in real-time and tailor your efforts to those that drive the most engagement. While web traffic, email opens, and social media engagement are all informative results, the chief metric to track is your conversion rate. If your campaigns aren’t generating leads that directly increase occupancy rates, it’s time to reevaluate your strategy.

Identify where your prospects are getting stuck in the funnel, which audiences are more or less likely to convert, and which formats and channels are boosting awareness and conversions. With this information in your arsenal, you’ll know exactly where and how to make the most impactful changes to your strategy

Be consistent.

Consistency is key when it comes to effective content marketing. Developing and executing a content calendar and creating a steady stream of valuable and informative content that speaks to the needs and interests of your target audience can be daunting. That’s why working with a content partner that specializes in senior living – including assisted living, retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities and more – is such a benefit. As experts in the field, our copywriters, SEO specialists, digital marketing strategists, website gurus, and email marketers do this every day. Learn how it works.

Interested in seeing how the right omnichannel marketing strategy helps senior living organizations grow? Our newest case study focuses on our work with a New Jersey-based assisted living facility that faced challenges with a declining referral pipeline. Download it here.
Finding the Perfect Marketing Agency for Your Medical Device Company

Finding the Perfect Marketing Agency for Your Medical Device Company

As a business leader in the medical device industry, you understand the significance of effective marketing in driving growth and success. However, choosing the right marketing agency for your company can be a daunting task. There are many different options to choose from and each has their own, unique approach. That said, there are several factors that increase the likelihood of success.

ROI Focus: Maximizing Value for Your Company

The first crucial aspect to evaluate when selecting a marketing agency is their focus on return on investment (ROI). While many agencies excel in creative design and other aspects of execution, very few understand what you, as a business leader, truly want. You want measurable growth in revenue from the investment you are making.

Does your agency have access to your CRM? Are they tying marketing campaigns to measurable results? Do they use information from the sales team to continuously improve campaigns?. An ROI-focused agency will work closely with you to generate quantifiable outcomes that contribute to your company’s growth and success.

Strategic Thinking and Tactical Execution: Aligning Vision and Results

A successful marketing agency must possess the ability to comprehend the strategic vision of your company and translate it into effective tactical execution. They should demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of your industry, market dynamics, and desired outcomes.

Look for agencies that present a coherent plan outlining how they intend to execute marketing strategies aligned with your objectives. An agency that excels in tying strategy and tactics together will deliver measurable results while adapting to market shifts and proactively recommending adjustments to optimize your marketing campaigns.

Continuous Learning and Adaptability: Staying Ahead of the Curve

In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing, adaptability and continuous learning are essential. Your chosen agency should exhibit a willingness to stay updated on the latest trends, technologies, and best practices in the healthcare and life sciences sectors.

Look for agencies that demonstrate a commitment to learning, adapting, and reporting their findings back to you. A forward-thinking agency will not only navigate the complexities of healthcare and life sciences but also provide you with valuable insights to make informed strategic decisions for your business.

Industry Expertise: Understanding the Unique Challenges

Healthcare is unique. The medical device and life sciences industries possess distinctive characteristics and complexities that demand specialized knowledge and expertise. When evaluating marketing agencies, consider their experience and understanding of the healthcare landscape.

Do they have multiple clients in the industry? Are they familiar with the intricacies of healthcare systems, such as group purchasing organizations (GPOs), integrated delivery networks (IDNs), and value analysis committees? An agency well-versed in healthcare-specific nuances will save you time and frustration, as they grasp the intricacies of your target market and can effectively communicate your value proposition to key decision-makers.

Selecting the right marketing agency for your medical device company is a critical decision that can significantly impact your business’s growth and success. By prioritizing ROI focus, strategic thinking, continuous learning, and industry expertise, you can find a marketing agency that aligns with your goals and understands the unique challenges of the healthcare and life sciences sectors.

If you’re seeking a marketing partner with a deep understanding of the industry and a track record of success, we at Jairus Marketing are here to help. Contact us today to schedule a conversation and explore how we can support your growth objectives in the healthcare and life sciences space.