B2C healthcare stats are widely circulated, and most marketers can recite the broad strokes in their sleep.
Consumer healthcare stats like 73% of consumers use search engines to research treatments, or 83% of patients look at a hospital website before booking an appointment using an online booking system have been covered extensively by major media, and have become common knowledge amongst digital marketers.
But B2B healthcare marketing is a bit more of a black box. Actionable statistics are harder to come by, and the complexity of the buying cycle makes accurate data-collection a herculean task.
That’s why we’ve put together this list — to shed some light on some of the biggest challenges (and opportunities) B2B healthcare marketers should be aware of.
So let’s get started.
- 72% of potential medical buyers start with a search, and B2B buyers are anywhere from 60% to 90% down the purchase cycle when they decide to reach out to a vendor. (Source: HITMC)
| This figure makes a strong case for healthcare content marketing — given the vast majority of B2B medical buyers will conduct extensive research before making a purchase. If your B2B healthcare company is not producing useful content for its buyers, you’re missing on a low-effort, high-impact opportunity to bring a consistent flow of new leads into your pipeline. |
- Only 43% of B2B healthcare sales are made within the first six months of contact. (Source: Colony Health)
| While on its face, this stat may seem discouraging to B2B healthcare marketers — there’s a silver lining. If your company is dealing with long cycles — so are most companies in your industry. This presents an enormous opportunity to go digital with your marketing efforts, leveraging a steady flow of organic leads, marketing automation to keep prospects engaged, and ABM to prioritize the highest quality, buying-ready organizations. |
- One out of five (21%) B2B healthcare sales takes over a year to close. (Source: Colony Health)
| Like the stat above — this figure may seem like a giant challenge. But a year-long sales cycle isn’t an issue if you have enough prospects in the pipeline, and are actively (and automatically) nurturing them throughout the year. |
- 83% of health organizations are engaged in content marketing. (Source: MarketingProfs)
| While this figure includes all health-care organizations, it’s still a sobering stat. If you’re not leveraging content marketing in your healthcare marketing efforts — you’re significantly behind the curve. |
- However, only 36% say their organization’s content marketing efforts are very effective. (Source: MarketingProfs)
| This presents an excellent opportunity for your organization to stand apart from the masses. While most healthcare companies are already using content marketing — only a small portion are doing it well. Investing in a solid SEO strategy and great content can make you more visible on the web than your biggest competitors. |
- 52% of hospitals use at least three connected health technologies. (Source: HIMSS)
| Hospitals are investing heavily in simplifying their systems and improving their technology. This presents an excellent opportunity for marketers of medical technology. |
- 47% of healthcare organizations expect to expand their use of connected health technologies over the next few years. (Source: HIMSS)
| Marketing goes beyond acquiring leads for existing products — and the changing medical landscape should be a sober reminder of that. The demands of hospitals are changing, and marketers need to work closely with their product teams to identify new opportunities. |
- Optimizing your website for mobile is now a vital feature and not something that is just nice to have. 80% of the top Alexa websites are mobile adaptive. (Source: Mobiforge)
| As more people turn to their phones and tablets to browse the web, websites that are optimized to serve content to these devices (responsiveness, load times, UX, etc.) will reap all the benefits. B2B medical websites are no exception. |
- The average cost of a healthcare B2B sales lead is higher than any other industry at $60. (Source: Marketing Insider Group)
| While the increased prevalence of digital marketing and marketing automation has significantly decreased the cost of lead generation across all industries — healthcare is lagging. This is a boon for SEO strategies, which can generate leads at 1/3rd of the price of traditional channels. |
- Just 58% of healthcare marketers use blogs in their digital market strategy compared to 74% of all marketers. (Source: Content Marketing Institute)
| Despite being one of the highest ROI digital marketing tactics, medical marketers are failing to take advantage of blogging. Those who do can quickly become thought-leaders on the web while driving their cost-per-lead down significantly. |
- Only 26% of all hospitals in the U.S. have active social media profiles. (Source: DC Interactive Group)
| It appears that most hospitals in the U.S. don’t see a value of maintaining a social media presence — which is a huge miss. |
- Two out of three doctors are using social media (like LinkedIn) for professional purposes. (Source: EMR Thoughts)
| On the other hand, hospital staff are taking to social media in droves. This presents an untapped channel for most medical marketers — with tactics like influencer marketing and LinkedIn ABM just waiting to be leveraged. |
- The Mayo Clinic added 76,000 podcast listeners after it began using social media.
(Source: Google Think Insights)
- Video is a vital tool for healthcare buyers. 68% use videos to compare products, 63% use them just to see how a product performs, and 63% of those viewers will contact a vendor directly after viewing a product video. (Source: Google Think Insights)
| Demonstrations and video overviews are especially important for medical device manufacturers. Marketers that don’t leverage the power of video will lose out to more digitally savvy companies — seeing as video consumption is to increase exponentially over the next decade. |
- 81% of hospital administrators will directly contact a healthcare vendor as a result of their search. (Source: Google Think Insights)
| In other words, if your healthcare company doesn’t appear for key search terms on Google, someone else is lapping up all of your potential digital leads. |
- Healthcare buyers are using their mobile devices to research products and vendors. 38% read product reviews on their phones, 34% will request more product information from their phones, and 30% use their phones to read peer reviews and testimonials. (Source: Google Think Insights)
| Although mobile device usage for product research is lower amongst healthcare professionals than other B2B industries — this number is only going to grow. It may not seem incredibly worthwhile to pursue mobile optimization for healthcare companies today, but this is changing quickly. |
Putting All of These Healthcare Marketing Stats Together
There are a few key takeaways for medical marketers in this piece.
- The medical B2B landscape is changing rapidly
- Long sales-cycles are still a fundamental problem for most medical marketers
- Leads generation is still too expensive.
But the biggest takeaway and one that medical marketers really need to absorb is this:
B2B healthcare marketers are significantly behind the curve on modern tactics like SEO, content marketing, social media, and marketing automation.
The biggest problems that medical B2B companies face in their marketing efforts can be handily addressed by employing modern digital strategies — and those who don’t adapt will be left behind.
Jumpfactor’s team of expert medical marketing specialists provide full-service digital marketing to healthcare solution and medical technology providers. Contact us today to learn how we can work with you to design a strategy that rivals the very best.
