Transcript of What Drives Healthcare IT Purchases? Insights from the Latest HIMSS Study
The Healthtech Marketing Show
0:00so 68% said that they actually share the0:03valuable information that they find with0:05a colleague and again think of this as0:07the buyer Collective right so they're0:09probably sharing it with somebody else0:11that's with that within that group that0:13you know is going to help make that0:15decision0:30hello welcome to the health Tech0:32marketing show I'm your host Adam trinus0:35I run a company called Health Launchpad0:37we specialize in healthcare technology0:41marketing and we're a little bit0:43obsessed as a company about today's0:46topic and that is how healthc care0:49buyers buy technology it's one of our0:52driving passions and I am so delighted0:57to have my great friend Matt Coro from1:00hims here today say hi Matt awesome1:03hello everybody thanks for having me1:04Adam well I tell you what you guys hims1:07has been a long-term partner of Health1:10launch pad pretty much since the start1:12we've done a lot together and you've1:15sponsored the the podcast and I'm thank1:17you to you guys for that I really1:19appreciate it absolutely yeah I think we1:22do some some great things so thank you I1:25hope so I hope so so Matt tell us a1:27little bit about what you're going to1:29present today but also maybe a bit about1:33hims media and hyms and where it's all1:36it's a bit confusing to people certainly1:38I get confused sometimes sure yeah so1:41I'll start with hymns media you know I1:43think that when everybody hears hymns1:45they think about the global conference1:48right but we're much more than that we1:50are really a health care company first1:52and foremost where our association has1:56relationships with Health Systems1:58globally where we provide services to2:01help them in their digital2:03transformation journey and we do that2:05through our maturity models but when you2:08think about him's media we have a media2:10arm that provides vendors with different2:13Marketing Solutions everything from you2:16know Market insights to branding2:19solutions to lead generation and2:21strategic marketing services so it's a2:24full platform of solutions that we bring2:27to Market yeah I've always appreciate2:30whenever I've got a client are2:31interested in kind of getting a broad2:33set of options of different things they2:35could consider I always talk to you guys2:37and what I'm always impressed with is is2:40this tailoring I mean you really think2:42about the problem they're trying to2:43solve and different ways of doing it as2:45opposed to here's our packages and I2:47think you guys really understand the2:50nuances of this industry so all right2:53now today's topic is the Bier studies so2:58what's the history of this thing I mean3:00this is not the first time right this is3:02not a new thing yeah and it's actually3:04been in market for you know years even3:08before I been and so as far as I know it3:11goes back at least to 2018 where there3:15may have been a more comprehensive study3:17that happened back then and when I came3:19aboard which is about four four and a3:22half years ago we took a look at that3:25and we distilled it down right to see3:28what we thought was most important3:30and ever since then we've been going to3:32Market with this survey to to see you3:35know what changes right what are the3:36trends taking place and how are things3:39changing in Market well we had the3:41pleasure of presenting that in a webinar3:44last year and it was really well3:46received and you know it's still3:48downloaded people download it from our3:50website all the time and I'm sure they3:52download it from hims as well and just a3:55little bit of housekeeping so if you're3:57listening to this there is a video3:59because there going to be some slides4:01that Matt's going to present and some4:02data and so you can if you'd say hey you4:05know what I'd rather watch it you can4:06click there'll be a YouTube link down4:08below you can watch that the other thing4:10is if you want to read along as Matt's4:13going through this research go to the4:15link to the blog down at the down in the4:18show notes because what you'll do is4:19you'll be able to go in and download4:21that you do need to fill out a form for4:23that and then you'll be able to read4:26along with this or read it afterwards so4:29let's get into it Matt I'm going to put4:31up the research if you're if you're4:33listening to this you we're going to4:35talk through the data yes we'll try to4:37speak to all the numbers as well so that4:40it's not just visuals for sure yeah so I4:42mean if we look at the the overview you4:44know like I said we've been doing this4:46for a while so we have some trending4:48data and you'll see kind of4:50year-over-year4:52information that has changed and I think4:55that this year we actually got probably4:59three times the responses that we have5:01in previous years so we're able to slice5:04and dice the data a little bit more and5:07it's interesting because of some of the5:09responses that we got to some of the5:12questions that was a little bit5:14surprising were able to dig into that a5:16little bit further and see if it's5:18applicable across the board or maybe5:20it's only applicable to a certain5:22segment for example and that we did get5:26a lot of respondents from different5:28company sizes and different job titles5:31so the leader here is medium Enterprise5:34which represents 100 to 5,000 employees5:3930% of the respondents kind of fit5:42within that category followed by large5:45Enterprise which is 5,000 plus employees5:49and then it kind of tiers off from there5:52and then job titles are vast right but5:55it kind of leads the way with the5:58respondents yeah and the type of6:00organizations are mostly provider6:01organizations you talk to right 100%6:05yeah but but I think we some health tech6:07companies in there as well maybe no this6:10is provider base y provider B provider6:12and what you're asking them about is how6:14they buy all kinds of different6:16technology software Hardware as well6:19yeah yeah and how many people are6:20involved and how long it takes right to6:22make that decision and what content6:25they're using along the way right to6:27actually help make that decision yeah6:30and you know 91% of the respondents are6:34also indicated to us that they are6:38either the primary decision maker or6:40part of the group making those decisions6:42so you know it's a very influential6:44group of people that are answering the6:47survey so I guess getting into the buyer6:50Collective right as we like to call it6:53which is not an no individual is making6:57these decisions right they're all6:58working in group and we really want to7:01understand how many people are involved7:04in that buyer Collective so there are7:08different segments here that we have we7:11we asked about is it fewer than five7:13people is it five to nine people or is7:16it 10 or more people and almost six in7:1910 of the7:20organizations said that there are five7:22or more people that are part of the tech7:25buying process 23% of those orbs say7:29that there are 10 or more people7:31involved in that decisionmaking process7:34so there are many different stakeholders7:37to consider when you're thinking through7:40your content and marketing strategies7:43and has that changed as all so not it's7:46it's similar to our previous years for7:49sure I think this year there are more7:52respondents on the smaller side of the7:56group right with the fewer than five7:58people yeah again having the data to8:01kind of dig into a little bit we're able8:03to look at okay when we look at that8:06particular response is that applicable8:09across the board or is it just for maybe8:12smaller organizations and kind of as I8:15think you would expect right it is more8:18applicable to the smaller organizations8:21right so 71% of small businesses did8:25respond and indicate that their buying8:28Collective is fewer than five people8:31right so small the smaller hospitals8:33large Physician Group practices things8:35like that correct fewer than five y yep8:38and it's applicable to nonprofits as8:40well which is not necessarily surprising8:43either and it does show up right in8:46other organizational sizes but8:48definitely at a much lower percentage8:51and larger organizations what are we8:53seeing here like where it's five to nine8:55or 10 you know 10 or more people8:58involved it's close to a third of the9:00organization say there are 10 or more9:02people involved and most of the rest are9:05saying it's five to nine so that's kind9:07of you know that's fairly consistent9:09with what we saw last year if I recall9:12it is that's very Y and and it looks9:14like the roles here are heavily it but9:17not exclusively right 100% when you look9:20up the look at the makeup right of those9:23buying teams the responses show that9:26multiple functions are part of this Tech9:28buying process so like you said while it9:31is a leader it's definitely a9:34collaborative effort that spans across9:36executive leadership Finance clinicians9:40operations and this really just9:42underscores the complexity of the buying9:44teams when it comes to purchasing9:47technology yeah yeah if you're listening9:49to this you're thinking you know9:51wondering what the data says it's like9:5395% said that it is involved in the9:56organ in the decision and three quarters10:00are saying Finance are involved and more10:03than half are saying clinicians and10:04operations are involved and about half10:06are saying administration's involved so10:08everybody's involved right it's kind of10:10what people are expected to seeing but10:12it's it's that isn't changing and it's10:13not going to change anytime soon sort10:15ofd I think that what where I think the10:18surprises came out in this year's study10:20is actually in the decision making10:22because you know last year the thing10:25that stood out was that the average10:27buying cycle was 13 plus month and I10:29think for 40% it was even longer than10:32that it was much much longer some as10:33long as 24 24 months correct yeah now10:37that's changed a bit that in your in10:38this year's study it did and yeah it was10:42kind of surprising to see I think you10:45you may have mentioned it earlier right10:47last week we did some webinars with10:50groups of cheap marketing officers and10:53you know they kind of validated this10:55data right which is a great thing10:58because making making sure that it's11:00correct but yeah it's interesting11:02because when we look back to11:052018 over 50% of the respondents back11:09then reported the length of the buying11:11cycle to be 12 plus months and as you11:14just mentioned right last year a big11:18majority or a big portion rather of the11:21companies were saying that the life11:23cycle was two plus years over 40% but11:26now we're seeing that 2third of the11:28companies is saying that this cycle is11:31actually within a year yeah and the11:33other third are saying that their cycle11:35is longer than a year with the majority11:38of those being 19 plus months so again11:41it's interesting to look at the breakout11:43but this is definitely one of those11:45significant changes this year yeah yeah11:48and I think part of that is reflected in11:50that you've got more data this year from11:53a broader probably from a broader11:55cross-section so it may be that part of11:59this is because you can see that with12:02larger12:04organizations the majority of seven 7 to12:0712 months but still over 25% are more12:12than 13 months but with the smaller12:16organizations the majority are under the12:2012month mark so it's sort of and that's12:22kind of what you expect to see right I12:23mean you know smaller decision smaller12:25organizations make decisions quicker and12:28it's hard inferred too much from it but12:31maybe there's a hope here that we're12:32sort of now back to kind of a preco12:36normal in terms of decision- making it12:38certainly feels like it I mean this to12:40me reminds me of the buying Cycles when12:43I was running my software company which12:45was in the 201s right I mean that was12:49you know that felt very much like12:50average life cycle nine months and we12:52were selling an Enterprise communication12:54system now we're going to switch gears12:57here and move sort of down a level to13:00what is it that actually13:02influences their decisions and so I13:06thought this was this was very13:08interesting and as you said when we got13:09into the discussions with the members of13:11the health de marketing Network who we13:13gave a sneak peek to uh a couple weeks13:16ago they really interested in this so13:19share with us here what do we take what13:21are the takeaways here in terms of13:24content yeah so this is another13:26interesting one right because when we13:28look at the trending information and we13:30go back to what we were seeing you know13:34five six years ago over 50% of13:37respondents were telling us that they're13:40seeing content that is too product13:42oriented or too sales focused and in the13:45last year or so which is similar to this13:49year you know we look at the respondents13:52and 78% of people are telling us that13:56product demos are important to them when13:59researching a potential Tech vendor14:01you'll see that number three is vendor14:04focused content like case studies and14:06white let's just pause a second here for14:09folks listening so what this is the14:11question was when evaluating potential14:14technology vendors which types of14:16contents do you find most valuable 78%14:20said product demos 61% said peer focused14:25content and then 56% % said vendor14:30focused content so case studies white14:32papers ebooks and then an almost an14:35equal number 55% said research and Data14:39Insights 43% said they valued thought14:44leadership and then things like14:46infographics at 35% and then product14:49information videos 24% the thing which14:51sort of is surprising and it was14:53actually quite controversial was that14:55webinars only seen as 19% by 19% is15:00being important when they're evaluating15:02technology vendors yeah that that's15:05definitely an interesting data point I15:07think that yeah we got into some15:09interesting discussions around that15:11right is it usur top of funnel mid15:14funnel and that type of thing and15:16webinars show up later in the report as15:19well when we talk about kind of useful15:22information so it's interesting that15:24this question comes way and then comes15:27up another way with another question15:29I suspect you know my gut feel on this15:31is that the question is about evaluating15:34so it's quite a specific thing and so15:36you would so product demo is coming up15:38high not surprising but good to see you15:41mean those are important right you got15:42to show them and that webinars at that15:45point they're not that important so15:47maybe that's what this is telling yeah I15:49think the takeaway is that the buying15:53habits have changed right over the last15:56few years in terms of how people are16:00leveraging content when they're reaching16:02out to sales and so on right a lot of16:04that is done digitally in up front and16:07so last year we got a lot of questions16:09around the product demo specifically16:12asking hey when people say that are they16:15looking for a live demo or are they16:17looking for something that maybe is16:19pre-recorded so we added a new question16:22this year that asks that exact question16:25right when assessing product demos do16:28you prefer an actual ual live16:29demonstration or do you find a product16:32demo video to be equally effective and16:36the answer is both right we got a kind16:38of 5050 split right where 50% basically16:42are saying hey I prefer an actual16:45product demo the other 50% are saying16:48video demos are just so valuable so I16:50think you know when you're thinking16:52through how to produce this content and16:54how to go to market with it I think the16:56answer is you need both yeah I used to16:59do some work with a client company who17:02had a 30 minute long demo that you could17:05watch online and I think it was the only17:07piece of gated content they had on the17:09website or one of the few and they would17:13wait until somebody watched that17:16completed the form watch that before17:17they before the sdrs would reach out to17:19them because that was the only way that17:21they knew that those people had a very17:24high conversion rate and anybody else17:25that they got in touch with earlier than17:27that was a very low conversion rate yeah17:30I mean that goes into kind of intense17:32signals right it sounds like that was17:34their their highest intense signal17:35that's like a yeah lower plel one so17:37next topic was around you know vendor17:41criteria and so the stuff that comes out17:44here validating not dickly surprising17:47the top one is proven success with other17:49healthc Care organizations so you know17:51social proof and then sort of equally17:54important things like ease of use cost17:57efficiency in privacy and security17:59standards it's sort of like everything18:01is important The Proven success is18:04important uh I thought the thing which18:06was sort of surprising was that the one18:09which was seem to be the least important18:10and actually was the it was given a18:13pretty low rating only 24% said it was18:15important it was short deployment times18:18I'm kind of interpreting from that18:19people kind of know it's like yeah the18:21deployment times are not on you vendors18:23they're on us so if you told us you've18:26got short deployment times we're going18:27to say oh yeah not at our place they18:30won't be absolutely yeah we all know how18:33that goes so let's get back to this18:35content question so there was another18:37question here which is how do you use18:39Healthcare technology related18:41information to support your job function18:43and this is obviously yeah so this is18:46kind of really an interesting sort of18:48set of question to share the data so we18:50going kind of read out some of the top18:52stuff yeah I I think you know this is18:54the same as last year as well but using18:57content to make informed technology P19:01purchasing decisions right 70% of the19:04respondents chose that as a response to19:08the question which again is not19:10necessarily surprising but it just19:12reinforces right that they're using this19:14information to make these decisions19:17exactly it's like you know 70% of them19:20saying they use Healthcare relate19:21technology related information to make19:24technology inform purch decisions only19:2630% use it to monitor the competitive19:28line landscape and 50% used to gain19:31insights from thought leaders and19:32Industry peers so just basically saying19:36is we need the content whether it comes19:39from a third party like hims or whether19:41it comes from you as a vendor in in19:44making purchase positions and that's our19:46very very important part of our job so19:49keep making that great content people19:51hey one other thing on that last slide19:54is that you know I think that it19:56correlates with the data right when you19:58look at what's the response you they20:01they're looking to understand how others20:03in the field are navigating challenges20:06and that goes back to case studies right20:09and that type of thing and almost 60% of20:11people get gave that response right they20:14want to understand the challenges and20:15see what Solutions are out there that20:17they could put in place to solve for20:19that yeah so let's get back to sort of a20:22next kind of level on the content20:25question and the question was in the20:28past 12 months which resources did you20:30use to research technology Benders so20:3662% said industry websites so industry20:40websites would be websites like him so I20:43guess you know that would be a his tool20:45like that right healthare news mob20:48Health those types of and then industry20:52pay networks and large scale in-person20:56conferences vendor websites and20:58profession associations was sort of the21:01next block they were kind of almost21:02equal second so industry peer networks a21:07hims would definitely be one you know21:09probably chime as well right and then21:13large scale in-person21:14conferences Global conference in March21:17Vive next week the chime conference21:20those are equally21:21important I think it's what to me is21:24most interesting was that vendor21:25websites is seen as as important as21:28those as sources of21:30information and maybe I shouldn't be21:33surprised at that but it it reinforces21:37the importance of having just to Great21:41content and information on your website21:44product marketing information that helps21:47them as they're making decisions in21:49their21:50purchasing 100% yeah and I think that21:53kind of correlates with the other slide21:55that we're seeing about again vendor f21:58Focus content right and product demos22:02and it all starts with your website22:04right making sure that the foundation is22:06there and then fueling it with the22:08content that we're talking about to22:09really educate the buyer Collective22:12right when they're ready to make that uh22:15commitment to researching make a22:18decision right to buy your technology I22:20thought the other thing that's also of22:22note is that webinars here come up again22:27question was in the past 12 months which22:29resources did you use to research22:32technology vendors re webinars come up22:34as22:3547% said that they used it now it goes22:38back to the previous question it came22:40down as very low but again that was22:42about22:43evaluation so what that to me says is22:46that you know as I'm doing the early22:48stage research I'm going to watch the22:50vendor webinars and informational22:53webinars because it helps me in as we're22:56thinking this through I just think it's22:57not a stage tactic for many that's23:02valued by many yeah I thought that was23:04kind of interesting I thought also the23:06other thing that s stands out to me is23:08social media platforms so I mean so only23:1226% say that they use it to to research23:16technology vendors so I guess for23:18research social media is not great you23:20know like advertising on LinkedIn is a23:22good awareness tactic but don't expect23:26that your buyers are going to be23:27actively researching there I mean they23:29may use it to connect with peers but you23:31know that's not where they're doing23:32research maybe not a particularly big23:34surprise there yeah you want to talk23:36about the types of content and so so the23:41question was in the past six months23:43which of the following actions have you23:46taken after engaging with valuable23:48Healthcare technology related content23:50yeah so we're trying to see okay if23:52somebody is engaging with this content23:55right that they see is valuable what do23:58they doing right are they downloading it24:00are they sharing it and so on the number24:03one answer at 73% is basically they're24:06downloading it right the response is24:09they've registered for a webinar white24:11paper or other gated assets so think of24:14this like lead generation right so24:16they're downloading the asset or they're24:18getting behind the gate right because24:20they're interested in understanding what24:22is behind that gate the second response24:25at 71% was conduct did further research24:29on a vendor's product or service so you24:32know they're finding information now24:33they're digging in a little bit more or24:36they're sharing the information with a24:38colleague so 68% said that they actually24:41share the valuable information that they24:43find with a colleague and again think of24:46this as the buyer Collective right so24:47they're probably sharing it with24:49somebody else that's with that within24:51that group that you know is going to24:53help make that decision 66% of people24:57said that they request more information24:59on a solution and then 55% said they25:02reached directly out to a vendor rep so25:05they're taking action and actually just25:08another call out here over 80% of the25:12respondents said that they did take25:14action within the past six months after25:17discovering valuable information and25:20this is kind of the actions that they're25:22taking so again it's this digital25:24Journey right and then it's turning into25:27something else where over half of them25:29are directly reaching out to their25:30vendor very interesting over half and25:33the other thing is that25:3573% are filling out forms and so all25:38this thing about don't use gated content25:40gated content is you know thing of the25:42past it's just simply not true and I25:45think if 73% three quarters of the25:48people that anybody listening to this is25:50trying to reach will fill out a form I25:52would say keep going on the Gated25:54content use it carefully but don't stop25:57doing it I think it's kind of reflective25:59of the buyer's Journey right it it26:01starts at the top and they kind of go26:03through that process so agreed uh trust26:07right we trust is always a very26:09important factor so we like to ask the26:11question about how trustworthy do you26:14consider each of uh the following26:17information sources and we list out a26:19whole bunch of information sources when26:22evaluating Healthcare technology sources26:26this year industry ke and network26:29networks rather came up as number one26:32with26:3389% of the people that responded26:35selecting that 81% for professional26:40associations 72% for in-person events26:43right so it I think that just reflects26:47those kind of top three that it's about26:50that in-person experience right that26:52connection that relationship building26:54and so on that builds that trust yeah we26:58all kind of back to pre-co right I'm27:00really looking forward to seeing how27:01many people are going to be at Global27:04conference this year I'm sure it'll be27:06numbers will be even more and I'm sure27:08the same would true Vive and chime as27:11well okay so give us the key takeaways27:16here so what are you know five things27:20that anybody listening to this podcast27:23should bear in mind absolutely yeah so I27:27think you know number one27:28is the buyer Collective you know varies27:32in size based on the size of the27:34organization but the complexity remains27:37as you know the collective is made up of27:40multiple people right sometimes more27:42than 10 people and they're working27:44across a variety of functions I think27:47the next takeaway is that the the length27:49of the buying cycle for check investment27:52seems to be shortening across the board27:55right which I think is a good thing for27:56everybody but there's still are a third27:59of the organizations that say that it's28:0113 plus months and in some cases thir28:04133% of the respondents life cycle when28:07you look at content right content that's28:10most important to the buyer Collective28:13Now includes vendor specific information28:16right again 78% of respondents told us28:20that product demos and that's both live28:23and On Demand are important to them when28:25researching Tech followed by P focused28:28content like executive briefs and vendor28:31focused content so again think case28:34studies white papers and so on so I28:37think really the major takeaway is28:40really informing the buyer Collective at28:43the right time with the right content on28:46the right platform right making sure28:48that they are providing access to28:51information across platforms that are28:54trusted platforms that will drive action28:59amongst these individuals right that29:00make up this buyer Collective and29:03ultimately help them get approval for29:05making that purchas decision well you29:07know that last point is so important I29:11think for anybody listening who's you29:13know runs or is involved with the29:15marketing of of healthcare technology so29:18many people are struggling to justify29:21the budget to justify resources to the29:24Sea suite and I feel that this research29:27help to validate the importance of29:30creating great content of having a29:33really good website of being of having29:35the right message in front of the right29:37person at the right time through29:39channels like whether it's you know hit29:42news or whether it's LinkedIn or29:44wherever it happens happens to be where29:46they are is just is critical and it's29:49not just critical for the marketing29:50department to be able to sort of29:52generate leads and that sort of thing29:54it's critical for the buyers because the29:56buyers want this information information29:58they need it as part of their job it's30:00the number one reason that they want30:03this30:04information is in helping them make30:07purchase decisions and so it what you're30:10doing out there by creating great30:12content is not just in service of your30:15company it's in service of the buyer30:18it's such an important point to to take30:20away Matt thank you really appreciate30:23what you your presentation and you know30:26thank you to you for stewarding this and30:30thank you to everybody at hims media for30:32doing this research it is so important30:34to this community and and I hope that30:36you will continue doing it for the30:38foreseeable future for sure thank you30:41very much I appreciate it well everybody30:43out there if you're listening to this30:45you say I know I want to see this I want30:47to see the data well youve got two30:48options number one check out the link30:50down below to the blog and you can go30:53through fill out the form and you can30:55download the research or you can click30:57and watch the show so you can watch the30:59the video of bit so you have both those31:01options and if you're watching the video31:04and you want to kind of yeah you think31:06hey this I've heard of this show before31:08but this sounds kind of interesting you31:10can subscribe to it on Spotify or apple31:14whatever podcast application you use31:16this is episode I think 77 we have a ton31:19of different episodes of you know31:22research talking with marketers focusing31:25on particular topics like ABM on on all31:29kinds of different issues and the buyer31:30journey is one that we just keep coming31:33back to because it's so important so31:35check that out and by the way lastly if31:37you're interested in like you know31:39Health Launchpad and so what we do so31:42you know in short what health Launchpad31:44is we're healthtech marketing agency but31:47a little bit more than that you know our31:49aspiration is that we are considered by31:53our clients to be their pipeline growth31:57partner and we earn the right to do that31:59every day through ABM programs through32:01great content great messaging and all32:04kinds of innovative ways to generate32:07pipelines so check us out at Health32:09launchpad.com Matt once again thank you32:13to you thank you to hims and to32:16everybody out there thank you for32:17listening and with that I will bid you32:19farewell32:28one
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