How Do You Reach People With Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Imagine getting into bed after a long day’s work and falling asleep, only to wake up several times during the night because you stop breathing. Night after night, Bob, an overweight 40-something, is frustrated with how exhausted he is. But he soldiers on. He goes to work the next day and the day after that and so on. Until one day, Bob makes a mistake while operating his forklift. Product is damaged, equipment is damaged, or worse people are injured.
Whose fault is it? He just snores, right? Wrong. It’s likely that Bob has undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) which has led to sleep deprivation. Aside from the health risks to Bob from untreated sleep apnea, there is a risk any time he gets behind a wheel be it the forklift or his personal vehicle.
“The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimates that drowsy driving may cause 328,000 motor vehicle accidents and 6,400 fatal crashes on U.S. roads each year.” American Academy of Sleep Medicine
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and How is it Treated?
According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, about 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea. Left untreated, OSA leads to more serious diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression. The CPAP or BiPAP is a revolutionary home medical device that helps millions of people get consistent quality sleep.
“Mechanical measures include positive airway pressure with a CPAP or bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) device and oral appliance (OA) therapy. CPAP is the standard treatment option for OSA and generally can reverse this condition quickly with the appropriate titration of devices.” Medscape
Who Will Buy My CPAP?
The only way to be diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea is through a sleep study. So the sleep doctors, specialists, and sleep centers are naturally the primary audience to sell your home medical device (CPAP machine). But, it’s important to note that the modern consumer does their own research through Google Searches, Facebook Groups, and asking their Uncle Fred which machine he uses. It’s important that your home medical device comes up in those searches, as well.
As you know, marketing home medical devices for sleep apnea requires many touchpoints to three distinct audiences. You will want to market your device to insurance companies, hospitals, and those big wholesale audiences. So that’s one segment that will buy your CPAP machine. Then there are the prescribers and the patients themselves.
It can be a challenge if your marketing approach isn’t cohesive with a single voice and broken into multiple siloed channels. This is why at AWI we’re bullish on omnichannel marketing
“‘You should have three touchpoints there. You're marketing to payers because they're going to have the contracts and you're going to need to have contracts first and foremost to get paid. Number two, you want to get referrals, so you want to market your services to primary care doctors, cardiologists, ENTs and pulmonologists.’ The third point — the consumer angle — ‘is a little bit tougher,” Richard notes, “but it is part of a triangulated strategy.’” HomeCare Magazine
Audience 1 – Communicate the Effectiveness of Your CPAP Machine
To the wholesalers, you’ll want to communicate the effectiveness of your CPAP machines, their economic feasibility, as well as the case studies of their results. For this audience, you will need pitch decks, brochures, and video presentations that may be done in person or in Zoom. You’ll also need to be prepared to speak and exhibit at medical conferences. And for those conferences, don’t forget SWAG.
To support those marketing and sales efforts, you’ll need a website, social media channels, and a lead capture system on your website. In marketing, we call this a lead magnet. To get the email subscribers up (and fast), you offer something that hospitals and insurance companies will see as helpful. After they subscribe, they get the thing – a download or a discount, whatever you decide that lead magnet is. In return, those people are put onto your email marketing list.
As soon as those subscribers are segmented (it should be upon subscription), those leads can be nurtured in your email marketing drip campaign, the end of which either puts them in a “probably no” or unsubscribe sequence or puts them in touch with medical sales staff.
Audience 2 – Begin CoMarketing and CoBranding with Prescribers
The second audience that you need to market your CPAP machine to is the referrers – those are generally doctors or sleep centers. Naturally, when you co-market your services, the prescriber and the home medical device manufacturer will both see a rise in sales. Why? Patient satisfaction – uninterrupted, quality sleep. By positioning your brand with a sleep expert, you are both elevated in the eyes of the consumer.
Before you have an opportunity to discuss co-branding efforts you have a few obstacles. First, you have to gather a list of contact information for those sleep centers and doctors. Then you have to get past the gatekeeper of the office to get an appointment. Then, you’ll have to conquer the reluctance of the prescriber to change manufacturer recommendations. Sounds discouraging and expensive, right?
But what if you could outsource those calling efforts? You can – with AWI’s Lead Gen Platform.
Our powerful Lead Gen Platform includes:
Real-Time Posted Leads
Direct to Call Center
Call Verified Leads
Link Outs
Audience 3 – Bob, the Sleep-Deprived 40 Year-Old-Male
We’ve got nothing against Bob, but the truth is that most of the cases of sleep apnea occur in obese men. Most doctors start helping people like Bob by encouraging them to eat a healthy diet, exercise more, and lose weight. It’s not about body shaming, either. Sometimes it’s the physical makeup of the person or the way they sleep (back instead of side, for example). Exercise and diet take time. Bob needs a machine now.
“Sleep apnea occurs in about 25% of men and nearly 10% of women. Sleep apnea can affect people of all ages, including babies and children and particularly people over the age of 50 and those who are overweight.” Cleveland Clinic
You can reach Bob easiest with pamphlets at the doctor’s office (co-marketing). He might even do some Googling and find your website. But, most likely, you’ll also need a suite of radio and TV ads. Which market will you choose? Where will you send those leads? To your website? Will people like Bob subscribe to your email marketing list in exchange for a list of sleep tips?
It Sounds Like a Long Process
Yes, organic, content and email marketing take time. It can take longer than you’d imagine and, sad to say, burn through your marketing budget. Don’t get us wrong. Organic marketing is important to support your advertising and outreach efforts. We believe in that. But there is a faster way.
By partnering with a lead generation specialist like Andrews Wharton, you can reach your ideal customers quickly. How? We can append the data you do collect with our data sets so you have complete records. We can also provide a custom data card for each of those distinct audiences.
Do you want to reach insurance companies? We can help you do that.
Do you want to reach sleep centers? We got your back.
Do you want to reach Bob with sleep apnea? Yep. AWI has got you covered.
AWI’s Lead Gen To the Rescue
While your company is working hard to improve the quality of life of your end consumers, we have your back. Our approach to lead generation for home medical sales is both custom and adaptive. This is why so many industries from senior services to health care companies trust our services.
Partnering with us allows you to focus on research and development, outreach, and education. While you’re creating a better world, we’re busy tracking trends and monitoring lead performance daily. There is no set-it-and-forget-it process. Trends shift and we adapt – ensuring you still have the quality leads you expect.
Let’s set up a call to talk with one of our specialists and ensure your marketing efforts are getting through.
Be Certain.
