This past week the HITMC Community joined forces to discuss a topic that is typically always on marketing and sales professionals minds – Lead Generation.
2020 will go down in history books for many things. It has changed our lives in more ways we know. One big change we have seen as marketers is the way we think about our LeadGen process. To quote something that one of the members of the community said last week “I can’t think of an industry that *hasn’t* had their lead generation disrupted by the pandemic.”
Leads themselves are now behaving differently. Check out the highlights from last week’s HITMC tweet chat where we discussed how we are re-thinking, re-imaging and even re-newing our tactics when it comes to lead generation.
T1. Has lead generation changed since the pandemic has hit? Have you noticed a difference in your LeadGen strategy?
The consensus here is YES! 2020 has provided us with many changes and LeadGen has definitely been impacted. Check out some of the changes the community has been seeing:
T1: We used to do a lot of lead gen at events. Obviously that’s changed quite a bit. So we’re focusing on PR efforts and content marketing. #hitmc https://t.co/gGBakjxGO2
— Claire Pfarr (@clairepfarr) September 8, 2020
T1: I have definitely noticed a change. The topics of interest is the most interesting to me. #HITMC
— Sarah Bennight (@sarahbennight) September 8, 2020
T1 for us it has been a lot of telehealth and scheduling, especially the virtual waiting room concept #HITMC
— Sarah Bennight (@sarahbennight) September 8, 2020
We’ve put a little more budget to paid search, which has driven a lot more leads this year because more people are searching for digital health tools. Noticed big players started bidding on the same keywords around June – remote patient monitoring competition exploded. #hitmc
— Emily K (@OH__EM_G) September 8, 2020
T1: We certainly have seen changes in buying consideration behavior and we have made changes in our approach. More specific content and more targeted programs. Relevance and acknowledgment of how COVID-19 has impacted business helps. #hitmc https://t.co/RwccffieZ7
— Chintan Shah (@chints2) September 8, 2020
T2. Given the fact that events are no longer happening in-person, what LeadGen activities are you doing in place of events?
We are all mourning in-person events (R.I.P.) However, there are plenty of LeadGen tactics that are either filling that gap or providing even better results than events have in the past. Below are some of the activities that the community are relying on:
I’m going to be honest, in my opinion events as a source of lead gen were dying even before COVID times. We were already trending heavily toward highly targeted digital marketing before the pandemic started — but certainly leaned in even more since then. #HITMC
— C. Beth Cooper, JD MBA (@cbethcooper) September 8, 2020
We started webinars and virtual events. #hitmc
— Sarah Bennight (@sarahbennight) September 8, 2020
Agreed with the webinars and virtual events. Still opportunities there to network #HITMC
— KNB Communications (@KNBComm) September 8, 2020
All about search strategy, paid and organic. A lot of content marketing – using keywords in blogs, byline and podcast opportunities for thought leaders, more award submissions, more press releases. We actually just had a great lead from a podcast! #HITMC
— Emily K (@OH__EM_G) September 8, 2020
T3. What LeadGen tactics seem to be performing the best?
Adding on to T2, we asked the community to elaborate on which tactics seem to be working the best. Get our your pen and paper and jot down the LeadGen strategies that are getting the best results:
T3: Our KLAS ratings have done wonders for us. Of course, that only applies to organizations evaluated by KLAS (and if your scores are good!) #HITMC https://t.co/k91CQdRQWX
— Claire Pfarr (@clairepfarr) September 8, 2020
We really stepped away from all events except HIMSS (no booth), CHIME, and Epic UGM #HITMC
— larrykaiser (@LarryKaiser) September 8, 2020
Leveraging SEO, search campaigns, and social media (along with great content). #HITMC https://t.co/ou2umsf5CH
— C. Beth Cooper, JD MBA (@cbethcooper) September 8, 2020
NO. Well some are, but I think attention spans have shortened overall.
Right now thought leadership-type content is working well. People want to hear voices of reason they can trust right now. We all just want to be guided in an uncertain time! #HITMC— C. Beth Cooper, JD MBA (@cbethcooper) September 8, 2020
Totally agree, Beth. Attention spans have shortened. People want to hear helpful, valuable nuggets of information that gently guide during this time of uncertainty. #HITMC
— Boston Software Systems (@Bossoft) September 8, 2020
In healthcare, nurses and doctors are often the product champions that will get your product on the unit. Create content that will speak to the decision-makers, and make it easy for these champions to get it to them. #healthcare #marketing #hitmc
— Jennifer Michelle, MPH, EMT (@MMSJennifer) September 8, 2020
T4. What type of content is your biggest lead magnet?
What your biggest lead magnet? Things like earned media, thought-leadership content, blog posts, sales drops and product demos seem to be the magnets that are working for the community.
T4: Our earned media is also doing well… Not surprising. #HITMC https://t.co/wDuT5hMcB3
— Claire Pfarr (@clairepfarr) September 8, 2020
Our sales team does a lot of drops. We have been including branded hand sanitizer in a lot of them 🙂 #HITMC
— larrykaiser (@LarryKaiser) September 8, 2020
T4: We’ve gotten decent traction from product demo webinars (surprisingly! They tend to perform better than real education/thought leadership stuff). https://t.co/xkzhsQPq98
— Claire Pfarr (@clairepfarr) September 8, 2020
We churn out a piece of content a week, it our blog has been doing very well. Specific to virtual golive #hitmc
— larrykaiser (@LarryKaiser) September 8, 2020
Bonus: Is cold-calling still a good LeadGen method? Is it now considered vintage? Or a tired tactic?
The community was fairly divided on this question. Some say cold-calling still works, but you need volume and a good script on your side to really excel. Others took a HARD PASS on it all together. See some of the great responses below:
Bonus – Cold calling still works. It’s just a volume game! #HITMC
— Colin Hung (@Colin_Hung) September 8, 2020
Bonus: I think it can still work, especially if your script isn’t a played out cheesy one. #HITMC https://t.co/axOLBBhOMb
— Claire Pfarr (@clairepfarr) September 8, 2020
As a person who gets so many cold calls, NO! #hitmc
— larrykaiser (@LarryKaiser) September 8, 2020
I think IMHO, it’s difficult to reach decision makers now, because hospitals….they’re busy putting out fires. They have little time for phone calls. #HITMC
— Boston Software Systems (@Bossoft) September 8, 2020
Cold calling is still a numbers game, so it will work on some level. The call:success ratio may not be nearly as high as it once was, so perhaps the juice is not worth the squeeze for most of us here who have high-touch, long sales cycles. #HITMC
— C. Beth Cooper, JD MBA (@cbethcooper) September 8, 2020
Yes, its a volume game, and in the end, you have to have a real conversation with someone, but strictly cold calling is difficult right now…#HITMC
— Boston Software Systems (@Bossoft) September 8, 2020
It is but if you can get creative with your voicemails, it can work. The challenge is most people don’t listen to voicemails fully anymore. Cold Calling is a supplemental tactic in my mind. Not a full program on its own anymore. #HITMC
— Colin Hung (@Colin_Hung) September 8, 2020
Want to catch up on the full chat? Check out the HITMC Tweet Chat transcript here.
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