In a crowd like the 40,000+ people who attended The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2023 conference held at McCormick Place in Chicago, there simply isn’t enough time to talk with every attendee. They are there to view what’s new and next in medical imaging technologies and get a taste of the impact AI is having on their specialty. You are there to build new relationships, fill your pipeline with new opportunities, and close deals. So in a sea of visitors, how do you identify the people you must connect with in the limited time you have available?
In Part One of our four-part series on RSNA 2023, we asked a select group of exhibitors about the primary objective. While generating leads was commonly at the core, there was a fair balance seeking to nurture and deepen existing relationships.
In Part Two, EDE’s Jay Menashe talks to companies about the audience within the audience they wanted to connect with most. But before we share their comments, let’s lay some groundwork.
Ready. Aim. Engage.
Are you targeting the right people with your exhibit? In the case of RSNA, the obvious audience is radiologists. But if you only target that group, you may be missing other, equally important, decision-makers. What about the administrators that actually sign the purchase orders and write the checks? This is where you need to consider your audience in great detail.
Alignment for the Win
Are you taking full advantage of all the resources at your disposal to identify the right people to target? This is where the alignment of your sales and marketing teams comes in. Your company’s sales team is in face-to-face contact with your prospects on a regular basis. So who better to know all the people involved in moving your product to a purchase order?
You Need a Champion
Capital purchases are by their nature a complicated process. And often begin with one person in the purchasing department that is sold on the product and shares their enthusiasm throughout. That person is, in effect, championing your product to their organization. And they may not be the end-user. So doesn’t it make sense to research your target thoroughly before the show to find the persons that may occupy this role, rather than assuming end-users only? Let’s be honest, these are all big ticket items and will, in most cases, require a buying team.
With those thoughts in mind, let’s see what our participants say about their target audiences.
Within the RSNA field, is there a specific niche of people you are targeting?
Radiologists are the primary audience for Dave Wilson, VP of Marketing for Enlitic. “They have decades of archived studies,” Wilson says. “With our AI, we are standardizing and automating that data to put it into a real world evidence database to monetize their data. This is the best show for us to demonstrate how we do that to the right audience.”
TeraRecon Event Manager Shannon Runyan is focused on imaging physicians, enterprises, and their spoke organizations. “Our newest products are drilling down into cardiology, neuro suites, and pulmonary,” says Runyan. “Imaging solutions are our bread and butter, but we’re now going into the AI space with Eureka and trying to find partners to offer that to, as well.”
Physician managers and administrators coupled with dealers are the two main market focuses for Guillermo Sander, Senior Strategic Marketing Manager – Digital Radiology, Konica Minolta. “We see a huge dealer presence at this show that is here to see what is going on in the market,” says Sander. “So this show sets the tone for the close of the year and also for next year.”
Knowing your primary audience in detail clears up a lot of potential confusion about who you need to target and how you connect with them. Michelle Martinez, Sr. Director of Marketing at 4D Medical, understands exactly who she is targeting. “We are here to meet specifically with thoracic radiologists and radiologists,” she says. “Our messaging is targeted to them and shows how our product can help them through actionable results.”
Kevin Lucas, Regional Sales Manager at Amrad, uses a dual-focus lead generation strategy to connect with his target audience. “We sell to distributors who also provide product support,” he says. “Because of that, we focus on the clinical end-user so we can provide market info back to our distributors.”
A complex market requires a three-pronged approach for Merative’s Jim Young, Head of Marketing. “We’re focused on three audiences at RSNA,” Young explains. “This includes clinical, IT, and business leadership. Whether it’s making patient care more efficient, achieving greater interoperability, or gaining more visibility over the complete imaging process, each has a distinct role to play and a challenge to address through imaging technology.”
Stephanie Hernandez, Content Marketing Manager at DocPanel, goes straight to the radiologists. “We preschedule a lot of meetings with radiologists who read on our platform and also the clients that our radiologists read for,” Hernandez says. “We’re like a family; our support is ongoing so we know each other by name. We use this time and space to nurture those relationships.
With the variety of people attending trade shows such as RSNA, knowing your target audience in detail can help avoid wasting time and resources on people who can’t directly help your cause. Take time to meet with both your sales and marketing teams to create detailed descriptions of the persons you need to talk with and then make lists of those persons by name and work title. You’ll find better results when you know everything you can about these people before you engage them on the show floor.
EDE has decades of experience in helping companies achieve the best results possible from their trade show investment. Put our knowledge to work for you today by contacting MenasheJ@edecorp.com.
