Marketing in the medical device industry takes more than flashy campaigns and trending tactics. That’s something Melissa Wildstein learned firsthand while launching over 50 brands across the U.S. and Europe. As President and Founder of The Matchstick Group, she’s spent more than a decade watching medical device companies make the same marketing mistakes. The solutions, she finds, often lie in the basics.
Step Back Before You Sprint
Companies keep asking Melissa the same question: where should they put their marketing dollars? “One of the questions that I’ve been getting from prospective clients lately is, ‘Should we focus on SEO, PPC, email, or social media advertising?'” she shares. But jumping straight to tactics misses the bigger picture. The foundation needs to come first. Marketing dollars mean nothing without the right groundwork. Money gets wasted, campaigns fall flat and products struggle to find their place. Through her work with everyone from early-stage companies to Fortune 500s, Melissa spotted three critical elements that make or break a marketing strategy. “Get these right,” she says, “and the rest falls into place.”
1. Know Who You’re Really Talking To
Most companies think they know their audience. They usually don’t. “In the medical device world, your audience is rarely just one group,” Melissa points out. Healthcare providers might seem like the obvious target, but what about the patients? The caregivers? The hospital administrators holding the purse strings? Each group brings their own needs and decision-making process to the table. Missing pieces of your audience means missing opportunities. Worse, it means wasting resources talking to the wrong people or saying the wrong thing to the right ones. Melissa’s seen too many companies pour money into marketing channels before figuring out who needs to hear their message.
2. Dig Deep Into What Drives Them
Knowing your audience only scratches the surface. “It’s not enough to know who they are—you need to understand what drives them,” Melissa emphasizes. Real marketing success comes from understanding what keeps your audience up at night. What problems are they trying to solve? What stands in their way? Melissa points to her work with Helius Medical as a perfect example. They could have just marketed their PoNS device’s technical specs. Instead, they dug deeper. “We focused on showcasing the profound impact it made on patients suffering from gait deficits due to symptoms of mild to moderate multiple sclerosis,” she explains. That human impact spoke volumes to both patients and providers.
3. Make Your Value Crystal Clear
Once you understand who needs your product and why, you’ve got to tell them why they should care. “A strong value proposition bridges the gap between their needs and your solution,” Melissa notes. It’s not about being the best or the newest – it’s about being indispensable to your specific audience. Your value proposition sets the stage for everything that follows. It shapes your message, guides your channel choices, and determines how you measure success. Without it, even the best-planned campaigns can miss the mark. Melissa’s seen too many companies rush past this step, eager to start spending on tactics before they know what they’re really selling.
Building on the Basics
The basics might not sound exciting, but they’re what separate successful campaigns from expensive failures. “When you have these three elements in place, the decision about which marketing channels to prioritize—whether it’s SEO, PPC, email, or social media—becomes clear,” Melissa explains. The tactics flow naturally from the foundation.
Through The Matchstick Group, Melissa keeps helping medical device companies find their footing. The technical challenges of medical marketing haven’t changed, but neither have the fundamentals of a good strategy. Sometimes the best path forward starts with taking a step back. Marketing medical devices might be complex, but the principles that drive success are surprisingly simple. Know your audience, understand their needs and make your value clear. Get those aspects right, Melissa suggests, and the rest of your marketing strategy will follow.
To learn more about Melissa Wildstein and The Matchstick Group, check out her LinkedIn profile.