Marketing: Inject human element

A. Well the short answer is, it depends. At Medtrade in October, I discussed the importance of native advertising and marketing. In short, native advertising and marketing is a form of promotion where the actual ad is placed so much in stream, that the entire experience feels natural, and non-intrusive. Traditionally, native advertising has been in print or web based media, however I'm predicting that this will transcend through all marketing avenues in businesses.

Brands and business are becoming more transparent with their strategy and branding as consumers are so much savvier now than 15 years ago. You may be thinking, did consumers go through some evolutionary increase in intelligence in the last 15 years? Well no, but technology sure did. Consumers have access to more information than ever. They can research companies before purchasing, compare prices, read reviews, and decide if they want to be connected with their social media outlets.

How does this apply to your strategy? Simple. Bring the human element back to your marketing. If you are a manufacturer, use the pull technique and build your consumer awareness and brand through inspirational stories or information. End users will then search for the provider or medical supply outlet to purchase your brand. If you are a provider, build your brand locally with your employees, community involvement, services and smiles—yes smiles. If you have a website, don't use stock photography, take pictures of your employees and work them back into all of the media and marketing you have.

Justin Racine is marketing and ecommerce manager at Geriatric Medical. Reach him at Jracine@geriatricmedical.com.