Started in 2015 with the aim to find a faster, noninvasive, easier way to safely close wounds to enable people to heal naturally, BandGrip is a leading name in wound closure solutions.
This Chicago-based team of medical professionals and entrepreneurs spent years researching and developing what became micro-anchor skin closure technology that is non-invasive, easy to handle, simple to apply within 30 seconds, and cost-effective.
After finalizing their latest product, they were faced with a big obstacle – creating a new website and generating brand awareness as the new solution.
Since they hadn’t established credibility in the industry yet, nobody knew who they were or what their product was. In turn, it was difficult to get people to try their product.
Additionally, without a site, they didn’t have a system or tools in place for measuring sales and marketing efforts. They came to Bluleadz to build a website and adopt a full inbound approach.
Top Challenges for BandGrip
One of their biggest hurdles was getting medical professionals to actually sign up for a trial.
"We had just launched BandGrip in the Chicago market, and few surgeons outside of the Windy City knew about our exciting technology. We wanted them to see the difference in person and hold our product in their hands to truly understand our revolutionary technology." – Fred Smith, founder and CEO of BandGrip
One of their best opportunities for getting their products in the hands of their target audience was the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting, which took place at the Venetian/Sands Expo on March 12th through the 16th in 2019.
Events like these are excellent marketing opportunities. In fact, 68 percent of B2B marketers use in-person events for lead generation initiatives.
But standing out in this big industry conference is especially difficult because of the size of the event. AAOS expected over 14,000 domestic and international orthopedic surgeons and other healthcare professionals to attend.
That's a lot of great fit prospects for BandGrip to engage with, but the issue was competition – they were among over 700 companies exhibiting their products and services.
To stand out and attract and engage their audience at the biggest industry event of the year, they needed to accomplish the following:
- Engage their audience in various platforms before the event to drive attendance for the conference so they could meet good-fit prospects in person.
- Create a lead generation strategy for the day of the event when attendees visited their booth.
- Develop a follow-up plan to further engage new contacts and drive them through the buyer’s journey.
Our Process
To make the most of the AAOS meeting, Bluleadz collaborated with BandGrip to develop a multi-faceted approach. This required various activities before and after the event.
Pre-Show
Co-Marketing Campaign
The BandGrip team partnered with Mercy Ships, an international charity organization that provides humanitarian aid by using hospital ships to serve developing nations.
"We were honored to partner with Mercy Ships to drive awareness of their mission to provide life changing surgeries for people in need." – Lesly Marban, Chief Marketing Officer for BandGrip
Our content team worked on the messaging for this co-marketing campaign. For every user who pre-registered for a demo at the event, BandGrip donated $10 to the charity.
This promise was made clear on the reserve a demo landing page.
Integration With Modus
Our team set up sales enablement software Modus and integrated it with BandGrip’s HubSpot CRM.
The integration included building custom properties within the HubSpot CRM to match the properties that the Modus app was collecting.
With over a dozen mapped custom properties, the Modus app was set up to capture and automatically populate contact information into BandGrip’s CRM. The booth representative simply scanned badges using the Modus app, and the lead was automatically added to the contact database.
Additionally, the Modus app stored sales collateral and bottom-of-the-funnel content the rep could use in real time while engaging with booth visitors.
The content included:
- An orthopedic technologies ebook
- A product description sales sheet
- A post-operative knee case study
- An article featuring BandGrip as a top 10 orthopedic solution provider in 2019
The booth rep was also able to share these content assets with visitors via email. This way, visitors could review the content after the event.
VIP Dinner Invitations
BandGrip compiled a list of decision makers at big name organizations (like CEOs of major hospitals) and influencers in the industry who were attending the event. Our content team created the following assets to drive engagement.
Email Campaign
Personalized emails were sent. Thanks to HubSpot’s personalization tokens, our team was able to tailor messaging to each individual for enhanced engagement.
The content was concise yet informative, detailing the special VIP dinner event. Recipients would click on the RSVP CTA button or the link to the restaurant, which lead to the dinner invitation webpage.
VIP Dinner Invitation
This webpage was simple and engaging. Our content team used a minimalistic design, directing the reader to focus on the pertinent information – the restaurant location, date, and time.
Plus, BandGrip branding stands out, with their tagline emphasized at the top of the webpage: “See a difference. Make a difference.”
Dedicated Landing Page
The landing page associated with this small, targeted campaign consisted of relevant messaging, including a clear value proposition and some supplemental information about BandGrip’s product, emphasizing how simple, cost-effective, and non-invasive it is.
While the campaign size was small, the messaging was tailored to a specific audience to create a unique, special experience for the recipient. They're VIPs, after all, and this campaign made them feel like it.
Social Media Posts, Press Release, and Expanded Messaging
The pre-show preparation was facilitated in a collaborative way with the trade show coordinator, who helped set up the booth.
To generate more awareness about the event, our content team published a press release, which was distributed via Cision.
The product-specific messaging highlighted the benefits of using micro-anchor wound closure technology as opposed to sutures. It also promoted their booth number at the event.
Our content team also created a blog post promoting the event.
This post was promoted by our team via social media posts on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Readers of the press release and blog post were able to pre-register for the demo by clicking on a link and a call-to-action (CTA), which sent them to the AAOS expo demo landing page.
Post-Show
The event was just the beginning. After generating leads and adding contacts to their CRM, BandGrip needed a strategy to further engage their new leads. Bluleadz worked with them on a number of initiatives.
Automated List Segmentation
Thanks to the integration between Modus and HubSpot, BandGrip’s list of newly acquired contacts were automatically segmented based on custom properties.
So new contacts were put into a list based on their lead source. In this case, the lead source was noted as AAOS 2019.
Email Drip Campaign
Based on this list segmentation, contacts were enrolled into a workflow.
This email drip campaign included the following:
Thank You Email #1
This email was sent on the day of the event, a few hours after the lead visited BandGrip’s booth and was scanned into the Modus app. Real-time following up helped engage new contacts immediately.
The content was a simple thank you message and included links to the following landing pages:
It also included direct contact information for BandGrip’s sales specialist.
Thank You Email #2
The second email in this workflow was sent two days later and included another thank you message and some additional information.
Our team included the following content assets in the email:
This two-page document includes all the information leads need to know, including the benefits of the product, how to apply and remove it, and when to use it.
This whitepaper details a performance evaluation study for use cases when the product was applied for closing surgical incisions after arthroscopic shoulder procedures.
This instructional video shows how the product closes incisions and compares it to traditional stitches to demonstrate how BandGrip is less invasive and yields a faster recovery.
The workflow was intended to further engage new leads to drive brand awareness and educate recipients on the value of BandGrip’s product.
The Results
The original goal in place for the AAOS annual meeting was to earn 30 new trials from all the leads generated. The results far exceeded this expectation.
BandGrip saw a total of 277 visitors at their booth, who were met in person and scanned as a lead into their CRM via the Modus app. Of those 277 visitors, 65 percent of them signed up for a trial of the product, delivering a total of 180 new trials.
Here are some additional metrics tied to this multifaceted campaign:
The press release, aside from generating awareness through Cision, was picked up by other industry outlets, most notably Orthopedic Design & Technology.
The Impact
BandGrip saw a significant impact in boosting brand visibility and lead generation. Most notably, their influenced contacts skyrocketed during the event.
The total amount of new leads from the AAOS meeting was 277, and the 180 new trials show that most of these new leads are high quality prospects.
While this campaign included several moving parts, Bluleadz’s Modus app integration stands out as a high impact strategy for streamlined lead generation. The follow-up email campaign enabled the company to keep in contact with new leads and boost their number of new trials.
"We could not have been more pleased with the results of this integrated communication plan. We blew our goals away and were excited to see the impact of the hard work by all team members involved with this campaign and event." – Lesly Marban
The revenue impact is currently unclear, but the projections suggest a strong showing. Every surgeon, for example, represents approximately $20,000 in annual revenue, and with 180 new trials, the annual revenue potential exceeds $3.5 million.
Our team continues to be a leading force in the HubSpot world. They are always researching creative solutions to help clients drive results through their marketing, sales, and service hubs.
The robust HubSpot integrations marketplace paves the road for amazing opportunities for businesses to think outside the box to create high impact strategies across the board.
Jeff Previte
I am a Content Manager at Bluleadz. I enjoy spending time outdoors -- camping, hiking, hammocking, and everything in between. I also love reading, writing, and learning how to play guitar.