Transcript of What If Your HealthTech Marketing Problem Isn’t Visibility but Confusion with Saul Marquez
Sabrina Runbeck
0:00Funers always believe they need more0:02marketing, more leads, more visibility,0:05more ads, more conferences need to be0:08everywhere. But what if the real problem0:11isn't exposure, rather, it's confusion?0:15In this episode, Sal Marquez breaks down0:18why most healthcare marketing fails and0:21how founders can simplify everything0:24using one framework, owned, earned, and0:27paid medium. Healthcare entrepreneurs,0:31are you ready to rewrite the rules for0:33your business so you can have more time0:35off, a great team, and more income while0:38creating a positive social impact? Then0:41you are in the right place. Welcome to0:44the provider's edge. I'm your host,0:47Sabrina Rampach. I'm a provider, an0:49international peak performance keynote0:51speaker, and a best-selling author.0:53Let's open the gateway to profitability0:55for you today. My guests and I helps0:58healthcare entrepreneurs and startup1:01founders like you break through barriers1:03so you can control your business,1:05control your life and control your1:07future. This is your defining moment to1:10be a disruptor in healthcare.1:15All right, look who we have here. Sell.1:19Yay. the founder and CEO of Outcomes1:23Rocket, a global agency helping healthc1:27care brands scale, impact and growth1:29with more than 20 years in sales and1:32marketing at Striker Mronics and many1:35many more places that you guys know. He1:38launched the firm to close critical gaps1:41in strategy and community especially in1:44that commercialization space. We were1:47just talking about it before we hit1:49record is that there are too many1:51options when it come to marketing1:53yourself and when there's too many1:55options guess what we have that bias to1:58say what do I choose and most founders2:02especially in that earlier stage they2:04said well Sabrina I've been running ads2:06we changing all different things but you2:08know I really don't like doing that so2:11I'm maybe I'm just hanging off to a2:13different team I have this budget but2:15I'm also speaking I'm doing this. I'm2:17also going to conference and yeah some2:20place I have a booth some people I'm2:22just trying to hit as many conversation2:24and it become freaking chaos right I'm2:27in pain just hearing about it it's2:29stressful okay it's not fun building2:33business and go to market strategy2:35should be a streamline should be2:37something that you have enough2:40information data point KPI so you know2:42whether it works or not and cell is one2:45of the expert in that and That's why we2:47have him in a room so we don't get into2:50that surface level of marketing.2:53Actually produce something people want2:55to see. Be aware, understand there's a2:57repeatability and they will actually3:00convert into a check or a contract.3:04Thanks S for being here.3:06>> What an opener. I love it. Good to be3:09here Sabrina.3:11>> Yeah. So me and S are conference3:14friends.3:15We talk a lot. uh Vive held different3:18conferences that we are media helping to3:21promote the people attending speaking3:24and representing themselves. I think3:27when people think about conference,3:29let's just use that as a first example,3:31right? I think people love the energy of3:34a conference, the rejuvenation of wow,3:37well, I've seen this company, that3:39company, but then it also become very3:41complex and chaos because there are rows3:44of rows of just displays. How do you3:47even figure out what's the best strategy3:50when you leverage conference as one of3:53your marketing tools? Well, Sabrina,3:55first of all, thank you for having me on3:56your show, man. It's been a few years3:58since we did a show together, right?4:00Because you were on my podcast. What,4:02like, I don't even know, four or five4:04years ago. It's been a while. Your pitch4:06was one of my favorite pitches, by the4:08way.4:08>> Oh, thank you.4:09>> You sent me a video. That's so4:10personable, you know, and that's what4:12you do. You're very personable in your4:14approach, and I think that makes a big4:16difference. For the folks listening, you4:18know, this is one of my favorite topics.4:20Sabrina, you mentioned conferences. I'll4:23take a step back and say, and we'll get4:25back to conferences, but the book, The4:27Art of War, I always quote this from4:30Sans Soo. He said that tactics are the4:34noise you hear before the war is lost.4:36And what he was referring to is4:38something that we see in marketing all4:40the time. Like Sabrina said, there's so4:42many tactics.4:45There's conferences, there's podcasts,4:48there's webinars, there's email, there's4:50AEO, there's SEO, there's so many4:53things. So, where we see a lot of people4:56fail is where Sabrina said is that4:59there's so much that you get confused.5:01And wherever you find confusion, you5:03find failure. So, one of the first5:05things you want to do is really spend5:07time understanding what your strategy is5:10and document it. I like to quote5:12Kinsey's study uh from 2022 that5:15surveyed health care marketers and the5:18number was 28% of health care marketers5:21actually have a documented content5:24strategy. When I saw that stat, Sabrina,5:26it made me sad, but it also made me5:28excited because with it being so low,5:31what that says to you folks listening is5:34that if you actually take the time to5:36document your strategy, your personas,5:38and you get all of that in order, you're5:40only competing with 28% of the market at5:43that point. Everybody that doesn't,5:44they're throwing money and luck at it5:46and see if it works, what sticks on the5:48wall. So, you put all that together,5:50then you do the marketing. And what5:52happens with the soup of tactics? I'll5:54give you a framework to better5:56understand it. It all falls under one of5:58three things. So you have strategy,5:59which we talked about with Sabrina6:01emphasized. Then you have owned, earned,6:03and paid marketing. That's what you6:05have. And if anybody tries to complicate6:07it, they're trying to sell you6:08something.6:08>> Exactly. Right. That's it. It's amazing6:10how we do this all the time, right? We6:13are the body who does a whole body6:16diagnostic for these companies. And then6:18we can say like okay then you're ready6:20for capital raising where you're ready6:22to get that margin profit margin much6:25higher but if you don't do these6:27beginning work you never get to that6:29point because the statistics no one6:31documents everything and then there's no6:33content planning either is that when we6:36are talking about SEO or gent search6:40right it's about very specific messaging6:43that has to repeat in itself so we talk6:47a lot on preparation is because if you6:50feed AI bad stuff it will generate bad6:54stuff and if you train AI or even not AI6:57your team right a individual member6:59especially marketing and sales there7:01need to be something repeatable so7:04everyone talk about the same way the7:05same storyline otherwise you create7:07confusion we seen a lot of time is7:10people always like no we just need more7:12visibility I'm like well I don't really7:14understand what do you do yet your7:16selling point is not painful enough for7:19me to say, "Oh, I get it. I know why7:22people have to have it." Otherwise, you7:24can do all these amazing thing, right?7:26I'm a clinician. I'm going out there.7:28I'm a PhD. I'm this. I'm that. But7:30people feel like you had a good talk,7:32but they still have no way to seeing why7:35they needed to reach out to you. What is7:37it that you actually do to use all these7:40media to convert? So, we're creating7:42more vanity and more confusion than a7:45true past. So talk us more on earn paid7:48stages. I think some people understand,7:51some people's like, "What do you mean?"7:52>> Yeah, absolutely. And by the way, that7:54whole thing, it happens more often than7:56we admit, but like you go to check out a7:58company and you read their website and8:00you're like, "What do they do?" Like, I8:03still don't understand what you do. It8:06all goes back to that messaging. And if8:08your website's wrong, your emails are8:10falling flat. If your website's wrong,8:12you're not getting the interest from8:14media for the PR you're trying to get.8:16It all falls apart. So, when we work on8:19earned, owned, paid, and by the way, the8:22way we set those up, they're actually8:24intentional in that order. Owned,8:26earned, paid, because you should not be8:28spending ad dollars, like Sabrina's8:30saying, your ad money, you should not be8:32spending ad dollars if you don't have8:34your owned marketing in place and you8:37have some earned marketing. So, let's8:39talk about what it all is. So owned is8:41everything that you own. So that's your8:43website, that is your value props, that8:45is your social media. You can also have8:47owned stages such as a podcast. So I'm8:50on Sabrina's podcast. This is an owned8:52platform for her. However, it's earned8:54for me because I earned an opportunity8:56to be on Sabrina's podcast. So this is8:59an earned opportunity. Earned is ops,9:02other people's stages. And so earned can9:05be a stage like a podcast. It could be a9:07live stage speaking opportunity. It9:11could be an oped contribution to a media9:14article. You know what? UGC is earned9:16user generated content. So if somebody9:19gives you a Google review or if they9:22unsolicited or solicited write a9:24LinkedIn post about how great your9:26company is, that's also earned, right?9:28So UGC, a lot of people don't think9:30about userenerated content is earned.9:32But earned is all about somebody else9:34saying that you're great. By the way,9:35earned could also be bad, right? Like9:37you could have reputation management9:39issues here if you're not doing things9:41right. So, make sure that hey, if you9:44have any needs there on the reputation9:46management side that you're fixing that,9:48but that's earned, right? And then you9:49have paid. And so, you know, what you've9:52done on the owned and earned side is9:54really work from top offunnel awareness,9:57midfunnel consideration, people are9:59starting to think about you, bottom10:00offunnel conversion. you've proven out10:03sort of like a system that works, a10:05funnel, and you know that when a hundred10:07people hit your site or a thousand10:09people listen to your podcast, you know10:11what's going to happen, that at the10:12bottom you're going to get one sale or10:14three sales. You've seen it over and10:16over. And so only then when you have a10:19funnel that repeatedly works, then you10:22throw money on top of it because now you10:24you're going to predictably know if you10:26increase numbers, you're going to get10:28output at the bottom of the funnel. So10:30that's own, earn, and paid.10:35>> Before we dive into the rest of this10:37conversation, let's pause for a second.10:39Sal and I talked about a very realistic10:44problem that we see so many founders are10:47making. There are just too many10:50marketing tactics out there and people10:52end up trying everything at one time.10:55Which means you needed to be competing10:58with people who has hundreds and11:00thousands of dollars that already able11:02to deploy all of these marketing11:05tactics. Therefore, tactics is not going11:08to help you with cell reminding us that11:12tactics without strategy create11:14confusion. And when your message and11:17strategy are not clear, your marketing11:20quickly turns into noise instead of11:22something that actually converts. So if11:25you are a established founder, a system11:28leader that has already created larger11:32movements, organizations, ACOs, private11:36practice side, then we wanted to hear11:39from you your success case to share with11:43rest of our audience on our top 10011:46ranked entrepreneur podcast. Go to11:49theprovidersedge.com11:51to apply. And now let's get back to the11:54second half of our show. Yeah, I think11:56the great point that you mentioned is11:58that if you just throwing money at ads,12:01whether is you're creating a specific12:03video just for that one events, product,12:06service, whatnot, but you haven't really12:08test it, then you have to spend all this12:10money to test it. Instead of when you12:13have your own platform then even from a12:17let's say our linking post social media12:20any other platform it's actually a free12:22way to test out whether the market even12:24care about or not and then you can see12:26what are the higher engagements from the12:29comments the likes so people actually12:32care about those type of content. Now12:34you know if you really want to put some12:35money behind it those are the things12:37that actually work. You don't have to12:39throw a lot of money when you don't even12:41have a basic foundation, right? It's12:44what we constantly talking about. You're12:46trying to build a castle on top of sand.12:48So when the foundation is not there,12:50eventually doesn't matter how many level12:52you're trying to build, it's going to12:54crumble because everything on the12:56bottom, you have different messaging,12:57different type of people you talk to,13:00right? And people just don't get you.13:02However, it's not to say you couldn't13:03change do a brand optimization, right?13:05And some people do have to do a complete13:08brand restudy, but that's usually a six13:10months process. So one of the first13:12thing I'm sure C talked about this a lot13:14too is brand identity. When you start a13:16company the first couple years, you13:19really have to nail down what's your13:21true brand identity. Start looking at13:23your highest competitors who already13:25made it in that domain and then how are13:27you going to be learning from them and13:30also separate yourself from those13:32people. And we like to have right13:35podcast is fun right we also have our13:37newsletters and all that stuff because13:39there are people can write like people13:40can talk right but you have to also find13:43your own self in a sense of like what do13:46you like to do right if you're not a13:48writer we won't advise you to start a13:50blog start linking newsletter you're not13:52you can't keep up13:54>> right like I think s you mentioned it so13:57well it's like we have to have13:59consistency when there's no consistency14:01you won't see any result from that and14:03that's why many people don't plan14:06there's no consistency you can't measure14:08how are you going to plan the future and14:10that bring back to even you recently14:13published the article and review right14:16so give us a little bit background of14:18how did that all come together14:19>> you mean are you talking about the ABM14:21report14:21>> yeah the ABM report14:23>> okay cool yeah so by the way I totally14:26agree consistency execution you know we14:29got the year of the horse this year14:31Sabrina you know the year of the horse.14:33It favors doers, you know, like the14:35horse is kind of like fast. It's14:37independent. And so, like, in my mind,14:40this is the year of execution. This is14:41the year where you got to execute. And14:44so, ABM account-based marketing is14:47taking very strategic approach and it14:50works really well in healthcare. It's14:51taking a strategic approach with your14:53highest value opportunities and doing14:56things in a way that don't scale, right?14:58And I know we talk about scalability,15:00but if you really personalize a campaign15:03for a client that could literally make15:05your year and you commit yourself to15:07that and you work on it, by the way, you15:09pick call it 25 of those client, right?15:12And you land one of them. You're very15:14intentional about your go to market and15:16accountbased marketing can help you15:18really just get the results you're15:20looking for. the estimated average ROI.15:22So in our report, we surveyed 77115:25marketers and this is sort of like ABM15:28in 2025 and and emerging trends for15:302026. And the average ROI from ABM15:34programs is 137%. So that is literally15:38like the highest ROI out of any15:40marketing tactic that you can do. And15:43part of it is because the ABM approach15:46is strategic in nature. So the ROI alone15:49is sort of a big reason why you should15:52consider doing this. Now the good news15:54is that 71.2% of organizations are15:58current that took the survey are16:00currently implementing ABM strategies.16:02But there's an opportunity for them to16:05take those strategies to the next level16:07with the use of AI. And so that's sort16:09of where the survey focuses, you know,16:12ABM 2.0 and different things that you16:15could be doing to make ABM work for you.16:16>> Awesome. So, we'll have the link in the16:19show not below so people can read the16:21ABN article what that come about. Give16:23us a 60-second of kind of overview of16:27what that strategy looks like from there16:29are going to be a lot of people who16:32don't really have a marketing hat,16:33right? And so, break it down that way.16:36>> Totally. So, the 60 the elevator pitch16:39on ABM16:41is this. I told you about the top 25,16:44right? So that's sort of like that this16:46is what you call enterprise ABM. Your16:49largest clients you want you have16:51multiple roles to influence inside of an16:53account and you triple down on those top16:5625. That's enterprise ABM. Then you also16:59have the tool really that is called more17:01deal acceleration. You could use ABM for17:04deal acceleration by taking a look at17:06your pipeline and thinking to yourself,17:09okay, the out of all these opportunities17:11that are in our pipeline, we could focus17:13resources and efforts to close those.17:15Deal acceleration hyperfocuses on those17:18deals. I'd say maybe pick about a17:21hundred accounts that you could focus on17:23and then focus resources, campaigns,17:27customized landing pages to make sure17:29that you're giving these folks white17:32glove treatment so that they feel it and17:34you could get them from consideration to17:36decision faster. So that's acceleration.17:39And then you have your standard ABM, you17:42know, growth ABM is what we call it. And17:44that's where you could take it's less17:46customization than you would on17:48enterprise or deal acceleration. And so17:50you're looking at maybe, you know, you17:53segment your accounts based off of, you17:55know, ICP specific. So maybe you're17:58targeting large physician groups. I'm18:01just making that up, but like you know18:03100 plus physician groups. And so you're18:06going to put together a campaign because18:07you know that this is a segment that's18:09really valuable to you. You do18:11semicustomization18:12that still feels very targeted. And then18:14you run campaigns based off of that ICP18:17narrower. If I'm going to give you a18:19number, it's 200 to 300 accounts max is18:23what you're working in that. So it's18:25enterprise ABM, it's deal acceleration,18:28and it's growth ABM. And then, you know,18:30there's everything that goes with kind18:31of the tech stack that you're going to18:32deploy to make it happen, which doesn't18:34have to be complicated. By the way, in18:36our survey, we outlined out of the 77118:39people that did it, a small percentage18:41actually only a small percentage use ABM18:43platforms like demand base and things18:45like that, I think it was like 30 some18:47percent. I'll get the number for you.18:49Yeah, I'll get the number for you. So,18:50like my point there is that most people18:53piece together what they have already in18:55their tech stack. You don't have to use18:57demand base or six sense or demand19:00science or anything like that to make it19:01happen. It does not have to be19:02complicated. Yeah, I think that's a one19:04of the thing we always talk people is19:06like doesn't matter if you even a small19:09campaign, right? Something that we even19:11build for our client is that what we19:13call a 90-day relationship front door is19:15that once you meet someone whether it's19:18in person or online, you do have to have19:21a simple follow-up system so they don't19:23forget about you. So you can actually19:25convert into a deeper conversation19:27proposal and something right on the back19:30end. If you don't do that, it's not19:32going to happen. And that can be so19:34simple. It can be just like plug into a19:36email automation, put some simple19:38triggers and stop the rest of them when19:41it appointment is booked, right? Doesn't19:43have to be complicated. If you wanted to19:44add the bells of whistles of text19:47message, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, right? All19:49that can be done, but think about what19:51is the resource you have now that can19:54just deploy and so you're not losing19:57out. And then it's also on sales point.20:00When you have these people concentrated20:03and narrowed down, that's how we build20:05things as well, right? You add some20:06customization. This is all the mental20:08health people. This all the women's20:10house. This is all the digital people,20:11right? The messaging become more20:14customized and people feel like, oh,20:16you're not just sending it to everyone,20:18right? I got so many emails that think20:20that I am either a surgical center or20:23I'm a medical practice, which is20:25neither, right? And so, Yeah,20:27>> which is so off and that actually is20:30damaging your reputation when you're20:32reaching out to people when you're so20:34far off. And I think just because20:37someone lists me as a clinician,20:39especially with hospital connections,20:41then you shouldn't just you still have20:43to screen your best people in a targeted20:46area to be able to reach out and double20:49down. We can talk about this all day20:50long and then uh but it it's exciting.20:54So we'll make sure that you guys make20:55sure to read a report and hand off to20:58all your marketing director, your teams,21:00whoever is doing that and so they can21:02dive a little bit deeper on that.21:04>> Yeah. Yeah. And what I would add to what21:06Sabrina just said is like this is the21:08year of execution. So take that report21:11and do something with it. After you take21:13a look at it, ask yourself what am I21:15going to do with what I just learned?21:17Make it happen. And if you feel like21:18it's overwhelming, it shouldn't be. Now21:21as we are getting to the last quarter of21:26this conversation, what Cell walked us21:29through was one of the simplest way to21:31think about marketing owned, earned and21:34paid channels. The big takeaway here is21:38you should not rush to pay money on ads21:42before your messaging and funnel21:44actually work. We also talked about21:47accountbased marketing and being very21:50intentional about which organizations21:52you target and building personalized21:55outreach around them. In healthcare,21:58especially one right relationship can22:01change trajectory of your entire22:04company. So, I would love for you guys22:07to ponder about this, whether it's22:10posting on LinkedIn, tag me Sabrina22:12Runback, like running backwards except22:15with the E instead of A, or leave a22:18review for us on iTunes. What I want to22:22hear from you is think about this. If22:24you had to pick one marketing channel22:27for the next 12 months, what would it be22:30and why?22:33and you want to chat about it.22:34Obviously, you guys could reach out to22:35us or Sabrina, but do something about it22:38because this is the year of execution.22:40>> Exactly. Sal's very active on LinkedIn.22:43I'm active on LinkedIn. He has massive22:47account of amazing podcast from his22:50network. There's so many different22:51again, right? We talk about there's so22:53many different way to go to market and22:55to create marketing channel. You just22:57need to figure out what's the right22:59thing for you and that's sales23:00expertise. So reach out to him. Make23:03sure that you actually execute and23:06figure out what you guys are working on.23:08Now we appreciate everyone for listening23:10in. Until next time.23:13All right. Today we cover a lot from why23:17founders get overwhelmed by endless23:19marketing tactics because there are at23:21least 20 of them you can choose from to23:24how a simple strategic framework can23:27help you focus your time, your budget,23:29and energy on what actually converts. If23:32you've been trying to grow your company23:34but feel like your marketing effort are23:36scattered or not productive,23:40well just not in the result that you23:43hope to get. This conversation was meant23:46to help you step back simply23:50to not complicate your approach and23:54build a go-to market system that23:56actually works. So here are the major23:58takeaway. Number one, most founders are24:01drowning in tactics instead of thinking24:03about highle strategic approach to get24:06what you want with the least amount of24:08money. Many early stage founders are24:10trying everything at once. You go to24:12conferences, run ads, you speak, you do24:14podcasts, you do social media and you24:17email people.24:19Those are not really a clear strategy24:21that creates chaos. Instead of traction,24:25you get noise and waste the budget. Your24:28major takeaway here is before spending24:30on marketing tactics define the24:33strategy, messaging and buyer persona,24:36then the entire client acquisition road24:38map before deploying anything. Number24:41two, only a small percentage of24:42healthcare companies document their24:45marketing strategy and their clear24:47messaging guide. Cell referred to a24:49study that he conducted. Only 28% of24:52healthcare marketers have a documented24:55content strategy. That means most24:58companies are guessing are reactive25:01inside proactive and throwing money the25:04void. So your takeaway is if you are25:07building a clear strategy and messaging25:10system, you're competing against only a25:13fraction of that market. This goes for25:16bigger companies and organization that's25:19already millions of dollars as well25:21because you have a bigger budget and25:24when things are not clear, you're25:25throwing away way too much money and25:28resources. Number three, messaging25:30clarity is the real conversion driver.25:33Many companies struggle with one25:36critical issue. People still don't25:38understand what they actually do. a25:40strong product or impressive credential25:43do not matter if the value proposition25:45is unclear. So people will say oh this25:48sound like a good conversation but I25:50can't not really tell what the ROI is.25:53Now common founder mistake here is25:55talking too much about feature, too much25:57about credentials, too much about the26:00technology itself instead of clearly26:03explaining the painful problem they can26:05actually solve and why has to be them26:08right now. Number four, marketing26:11becomes simple when you organize it into26:13three channels. Sales simplifies26:16marketing into three categories. Owned26:18media which are your website, social26:20media, newsletter, podcast. Earned media26:23means appearances that you can get on26:25other platform without having to pay26:29such as speaking opportunities, PR, user26:33engage content and reviews. And paid26:37media means ads, sponsored contents,26:40paid campaigns, paid stages. The mistake26:43most companies are making here is they26:46start with paid before proving the26:48message works. Then you're wasting your26:51money. Number five, founders should test26:53messages before spending money. Instead26:56of paying for ads immediately, which is26:59actually a lazy way to do marketing and27:01sales, founders should first validate27:03the messages using owned media channel27:07like linking post, blogs, podcast27:09discussion, newsletter. When engagement27:11shows that the market cares what have27:14you already produced for free, then paid27:17marketing become predictable. Number27:19six, accountbased marketing is one of27:22the highest ROI strategies. Healthcare27:25sales cycle are complex and very long,27:29especially is relationship driven.27:32Accountbased marketing focuses on27:34targeted high value accounts instead of27:37massive marketing. So cell describe27:41three account-based marketing27:43approaches. Number one enterprise ABM27:46focus on about 25 high value27:48organization. Number two deal27:51acceleration ABM focus on pipeline27:54opportunity to close deal faster. So27:56think about all those people that you27:58have not follow up on. We have a28:01solution called 90-day front door. Means28:03anybody who you meet at a conference and28:06a call, you need to kick off a automated28:08campaign that continue to warm up that28:11relationship and so they don't forget28:13about you and you don't forget about28:15them. And then third, growth ABM target28:19200 to 300 ideal customer accounts with28:23customized messaging campaign. And we do28:26that with a combination of research from28:28AI where they are c crafting outreach28:32messages that's different for each28:34person whether that's linking or email28:36before actually do it because then even28:39you have a link team of a few people you28:42can still do massive outreach with a28:46very personalized relation driven way.28:49So average ROI from ABM programs in the28:53survey they conducted is about 137%.28:57So let me ask you this. Have you ever28:59visited a company website and still had29:01no idea what they're doing? And have you29:04also tried to launch any campaign to29:08reach people whether they are potential29:10investors or accounts that can be your29:13clients by creating customized high29:16value messages for each of them? What29:19made your message clear versus29:22confusing?29:23Tell us on the link in post or leave it29:25in the Apple review.29:28Thank you for listening. Remember, the29:31positive change we're seeking starts29:33right here with me and you. If you're a29:37fan of the show or if you are just29:39having struggles or success that you're29:42either experienced in the past or are29:45experiencing now in the healthcare29:47industry, these matter to all of us. I29:51want to hear from you. Visit29:53sabrinarach.com/connect29:57and send me a direct message. Talk soon.
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