Complex products, especially innovative breakthroughs, can be exciting to customers – but also carry risk. Sophisticated items such as anesthesiology equipment require proof of safety, ease of use and error-proofing features. Physicians who are purchasing pharmaceuticals want clear proof of efficacy. Product managers and upstream  marketers will need to focus on both the technological/medical aspects of the products, as well as more traditional branding and marketing issues. These marketers will likely spend a substantial part of their time visiting hospital accounts and prospects to observe existing equipment and potential requirements for change. Marketers must explain the relevant benefit without what is sometimes perceived by business buyers as “marketing fluff.” Marketers need to find credible ways of minimizing risk in the decision.

In situations where there are long purchase cycles, salespeople often take the lead in maintaining contact with prospects. Executives, physicians and other influencers want to understand how the equipment and other products will increase efficiency (and ROI) without sacrificing effectiveness in treating patients. Marketers should avoid being lulled into the role of sales support when that happens. 

The costlier the decision, the more important it is for marketing to provide rational justification for the decision. Even if the actual decision was made on emotional grounds, the buyer will want to justify the decision to others. Information on reliability, uptime, turn-around, ROI and similar factors will be useful for that purpose. Downstream marketers need to help salespeople understand the funding mechanism of the target accounts, how the organization buys (e.g., whether the hospital is part of a GPO or group purchasing organization), the long-term strategy and who are the influencers and decision makers.

When multiple people are involved in the purchase decision, marketers should understand the different mindsets and the relative weight each plays in the overall market. While the one-on-many interactions will likely be handled by the sales force, marketers must provide them with the best “ammunition” possible. The different influencers might also look for different information on the firm’s website and the marketer must ensure appropriate navigability by segment.

Marketers who deal with two-step (or three-step) distribution face additional challenges. While some clients have disagreed with me on this point, the sale is not consummated when a distributor buys; it must flow through to the end-buyers. Marketers must identify primary targets at the end-user level and work back through the channel to be sure they have the correct channel partners to be effective.