{"id":6975,"date":"2023-02-20T12:57:01","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T11:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975"},"modified":"2023-02-20T12:57:01","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T11:57:01","slug":"why-marketing-matters-for-health-tech-start-ups-and-scale-ups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975","title":{"rendered":"Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Mark Venables (left) and Dr Alastair Kirby<\/p><\/div>\n

Dr Alastair Kirby, Industry and Technology Navigator at Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network (KSS AHSN) reflects on why effective marketing is crucial to the success of new products and how innovators can kick start their marketing activities.<\/h4>\n

Why am I not being noticed? <\/strong><\/h4>\n

You\u2019ve got an innovative and excellent product, so why aren\u2019t NHS influencers and decision makers talking about it? Simple answer may be that they don\u2019t know about you, your product or its value. Effective marketing can help you to change this.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

As part of this blog, Mark Venables, CEO and one of the founders of specialist agency Highland Marketing, helps me to explore the challenges health-tech\/med-tech start-ups and new product teams face.<\/p>\n

Marketing is about translation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark helpfully summarises marketing as \u201cbeing able to explain your product quickly to help understand its relevance and how it meets needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

I see marketing as translation. A lot of start-ups and new product teams focus on product development, but they don\u2019t think enough about what the impact of their product is for potential users.<\/p>\n

Med-tech and health-tech innovators are often clinicians or technologists with passion and a brilliant idea rather than entrepreneurs. Their skills are in technical areas, not necessarily in explaining benefits to influencers and potential purchasers. However, they need to translate their product features into benefits, then get the message out to their customers.<\/p>\n

The challenge is converting ideas into value. You can convert ideas into value by investing in a thought-through marketing, public relations, and sales strategy. In the early stages of an idea, this investment could be time but, as your product scales up, your strategy will need allocated funding.<\/p>\n

Articulate your value<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark shares an anecdote about a start-up sharing an investment deck with him. He showed it to some contacts, but no one saw much value in it. However, when one of those contacts met the start-up managing director and got talking about the product,<\/p>\n

what he heard bore no resemblance to the deck, but was of very real interest.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So, a business idea well worth consideration, but the document intended to drive investment just didn\u2019t translate its value. Bottom line, you can\u2019t expect a potential investor or customer to work out what\u2019s good about your innovation, it\u2019s up to you to identify and articulate the value proposition of your product.<\/p>\n

Cut through with a clear message<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can articulate your value by cutting above the noise, with a message that\u2019s crisp, clear, relevant, and segmented on your customers. Case studies and stories are a great way of showing impact on clinicians\u2019 lives and on patients\u2019 outcomes.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a real benefit in bringing in a specialist too, an organisation or a consultant that understands communication, knows how to workshop your messages and stories, and understands the health and care context. As Mark, says you\u2019re dealing with a sophisticated audience who want to get to the facts quickly and to know they can trust your knowledge and understanding.<\/p>\n

Invest for success<\/strong><\/p>\n

Innovators often ask the KSS AHSN Industry team where they should invest time and money on promotion and relationship building. Mapping this journey is different for each innovator, but there is a common theme \u2013 clearly articulating your value to the NHS is vital for success.<\/p>\n

Some innovators view marketing costs and time as something to be minimised, given they take resources away from R&D and headcount budgets. Innovators need marketing as much as they need product development or senior team members. It\u2019s fundamental to getting your message and impact across to an expert audience.<\/p>\n

Mark\u2019s view is that 20-30% of revenue to get you established, then diminishing over time. It\u2019s a difficult call though, especially at the early stage when there\u2019s no meaningful revenue. However, if marketing spend isn\u2019t regularly on your list of major budget items, or on your investment deck, you\u2019re probably not spending enough.<\/p>\n

Marketing as a forethought<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marketing as an afterthought is a major problem. This is when an innovator waits until they have understood a need, worked on the technology and developed a product before thinking about how to talk to people about the product.<\/p>\n

My advice is to include marketing from the get-go. Marketing is as much about listening to your customers as is it talking to them. Seek feedback, thoughts, and advice on your idea at an early stage.<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t have to mean a five-figure budget. You also need some headspace to focus on commercial matters. Ideally, you\u2019ll have a senior development team colleague reflecting customer needs, crafting the value proposition, and setting the strategy and plan.<\/p>\n

Work with a partner<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark\u2019s biggest piece of advice for start-ups and scale-ups is \u201cdon\u2019t underestimate the importance of working with a partner that has an understanding of the market space.\u201d<\/p>\n

I entirely agree. Whether you\u2019re focused on a new product, or running a lean start-up, chances are you\u2019ll benefit from both an external perspective and expert input. Both of our organisations \u2013 KSS AHSN and Highland Marketing \u2013 are in that business. We can help you get started with clearly articulating your value.<\/p>\n

Get in touch with <\/strong>our team<\/strong><\/a> at KSS AHSN to find out how we can help. Highland Marketing are available to advise via the <\/strong>following link<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Venables (left) and Dr Alastair Kirby<\/p>\n

Dr Alastair Kirby, Industry and Technology Navigator at Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network (KSS AHSN) reflects on why effective marketing is crucial to the success of new products and how innovators can kick start their marketing activities. Why am I not being noticed? <\/p>\n

You\u2019ve <\/p>\n

Continue reading Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1364,1834,9],"tags":[1877,2167,3298,3299,2537,3300,122],"class_list":["post-6975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-consultants-consulting","category-covid-19","category-nhs-healthcare","tag-highland-marketing","tag-highland-marketing-advisory-board","tag-kent-surrey-sussex-academic-health-science-network","tag-kss-ahsn","tag-marketing","tag-med-tech","tag-nhs","odd"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups - Government & Public Sector Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups - Government & Public Sector Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mark Venables (left) and Dr Alastair Kirby Dr Alastair Kirby, Industry and Technology Navigator at Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network (KSS AHSN) reflects on why effective marketing is crucial to the success of new products and how innovators can kick start their marketing activities. Why am I not being noticed? You\u2019ve Continue reading Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Government & Public Sector Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-20T11:57:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HM-20230110-KSS-AHSN-Blog-Featured-Image-v0.1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The GPSJ Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The GPSJ Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"The GPSJ Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d54386f99736367ec2789825fed93b4a\"},\"headline\":\"Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-20T11:57:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975\"},\"wordCount\":920,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/HM-20230110-KSS-AHSN-Blog-Featured-Image-v0.1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Highland Marketing\",\"Highland Marketing advisory board\",\"Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network\",\"KSS AHSN)\",\"Marketing\",\"Med Tech\",\"NHS\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Consultants & Consulting\",\"COVID-19\",\"NHS & Healthcare\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975\",\"name\":\"Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups - Government & Public Sector Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/HM-20230110-KSS-AHSN-Blog-Featured-Image-v0.1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-20T11:57:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d54386f99736367ec2789825fed93b4a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/HM-20230110-KSS-AHSN-Blog-Featured-Image-v0.1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/HM-20230110-KSS-AHSN-Blog-Featured-Image-v0.1.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=6975#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Government & Public Sector Journal\",\"description\":\"Public Sector, Government, business, stories and news along with latest developments, research, thought leadership, strategy, policy and insights\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d54386f99736367ec2789825fed93b4a\",\"name\":\"The GPSJ Team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/13cdd73dc4abbd6e05b80a0562c7c553a9104ad2e5e96ee20afca2c462894143?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/13cdd73dc4abbd6e05b80a0562c7c553a9104ad2e5e96ee20afca2c462894143?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/13cdd73dc4abbd6e05b80a0562c7c553a9104ad2e5e96ee20afca2c462894143?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"The GPSJ Team\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/gpsj.co.uk\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups - Government & Public Sector Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups - Government & Public Sector Journal","og_description":"Mark Venables (left) and Dr Alastair Kirby Dr Alastair Kirby, Industry and Technology Navigator at Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network (KSS AHSN) reflects on why effective marketing is crucial to the success of new products and how innovators can kick start their marketing activities. Why am I not being noticed? You\u2019ve Continue reading Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975","og_site_name":"Government & Public Sector Journal","article_published_time":"2023-02-20T11:57:01+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HM-20230110-KSS-AHSN-Blog-Featured-Image-v0.1.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"The GPSJ Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The GPSJ Team","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975"},"author":{"name":"The GPSJ Team","@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d54386f99736367ec2789825fed93b4a"},"headline":"Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups","datePublished":"2023-02-20T11:57:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975"},"wordCount":920,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HM-20230110-KSS-AHSN-Blog-Featured-Image-v0.1.jpg","keywords":["Highland Marketing","Highland Marketing advisory board","Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network","KSS AHSN)","Marketing","Med Tech","NHS"],"articleSection":["Consultants & Consulting","COVID-19","NHS & Healthcare"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975","url":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975","name":"Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups - Government & Public Sector Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HM-20230110-KSS-AHSN-Blog-Featured-Image-v0.1.jpg","datePublished":"2023-02-20T11:57:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d54386f99736367ec2789825fed93b4a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HM-20230110-KSS-AHSN-Blog-Featured-Image-v0.1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HM-20230110-KSS-AHSN-Blog-Featured-Image-v0.1.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=6975#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why marketing matters for health tech start-ups and scale-ups"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/","name":"Government & Public Sector Journal","description":"Public Sector, Government, business, stories and news along with latest developments, research, thought leadership, strategy, policy and insights","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d54386f99736367ec2789825fed93b4a","name":"The GPSJ Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13cdd73dc4abbd6e05b80a0562c7c553a9104ad2e5e96ee20afca2c462894143?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13cdd73dc4abbd6e05b80a0562c7c553a9104ad2e5e96ee20afca2c462894143?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13cdd73dc4abbd6e05b80a0562c7c553a9104ad2e5e96ee20afca2c462894143?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"The GPSJ Team"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/gpsj.co.uk"],"url":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?author=3"}]}},"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6975"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6978,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6975\/revisions\/6978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}