Content Outsourcing 101 for Enterprise Healthcare Tech Vendors (Part 1): Who Outsources?

Healthcare tech’s gotten harder. Successful tech vendors are using content outsourcing relationships as strategic resources to turn chaos into marketing and sales clarity. 

Outsourcing content for marketing and sales functions is incredibly common among enterprise healthcare tech vendors—and this is true regardless of size, maturity level, and solution type.

Outsourcing provides access to talent, perspectives, and business results that often just aren’t possible through internal hires alone. But while it’s common, in my 12 years working with a broad spectrum of C-suite leaders and sales and marketing teams, it’s pretty clear that many are missing out on getting the full benefits of outsourcing, even with their existing vendors. 

So this series is going to be a walkthrough of the critical fundamentals of content outsourcing for tech vendors selling into enterprise healthcare. It will be incredibly useful if you’ve never outsourced…but even if you have, it will help you get the most out of your existing and future relationships. 

(If you want to keep up, I’ll be posting the series here on my LinkedIn, but also in the How Healthcare Buys Tech Newsletter, which you can sign up for here.)

We’re going to kick things off with a look at who outsources content. 

Who Outsources Content in Enterprise Healthcare Tech? 

So, the short answer is “everyone”. 

I’ve been a content marketing outsourcing partner for vendors with 20 employees and some with 20,000 and massive internal content teams. You’ll find outsourcing used regularly by organizations that are just publishing their first white paper to those with highly mature content marketing programs that have been running successfully and generating business results for years. 

There’s a reason for this, and it aligns with the nature of outsourcing. 

The entire point of (successful) outsourcing is accessing talent and resources that you might not want to or need to maintain internally. This means that no matter the business case, there’s a reason to at least consider working with an outsourced vendor partner in your content marketing goals.

This means that any organization—from startups to established vendors, sales-led organizations to those that lean into marketing, from clinical solutions to AI analytics to rev cycle—has good reason to shortlist outsourcing partners in their business strategy.  

And while every tech vendor’s needs are unique, there are a few things vendors who are successful at leveraging outsourced content marketing tend to have in common. 

1. They Understand the Benefits of Outsourced Content Marketing

The payoff of outsourcing content marketing in enterprise healthcare tech is particular to every situation, but there are a few constants across firmographics: 

💠Freeing up internal staff for high value tasks

💠Cutting costs on in-house talent (the payoff here is double if you find partners focused on outcomes and not just generating content or taking orders)

💠Tapping into SMEs and outside perspectives for fresh ideas and less biased feedback

💠Keeping stagnancy-prone projects moving forward and avoiding bottlenecks

💠Hitting marketing and sales goals faster and more efficiently

💠Expanding their business network (since fractionals, freelancers, consultants, agencies, and other vendors often have extensive and specialized networks and are frequently happy to make referrals)

As the healthcare tech landscape becomes more complex, the buying committee journey becomes more self-driven, and AI shifts the very nature of marketing and sales, these benefits of outsourcing only become more valuable to tech vendors. 

2. They’re Challenge-Oriented

The most successful outsourcers I’ve run across are interested in solving problems—both individually and as an organization. 

They’re open to admitting they have a challenge to address and are willing to tap external help to solve it—opening up new opportunities for growth. They understand that value can come from outside their organization, and they’re excited to leverage that relationship as a resource. 

3. They’re Relationship-Focused

Anyone can just grab a freelancer from Upwork and get a project moving, but the tech vendors who have the most productive relationships with outsourcing know it’s about more than just shooting off orders. It’s about relationships. 

They see their outsourcing vendors as partners and opportunities to bring each other mutual value while they learn and grow together. They want to share the details of their business, get feedback, and maintain long-term connections. 

This is true even if the work isn’t constant. Some of my favorite client relationships have gone silent for months or even years, restarting things when they know the time is right. 

4. They Know What Success Looks Like (or They Want to)

A good content marketing outsourcing partner will be able to guide you toward new perspectives. But ultimately, any project is most successful when a vendor has an idea of the results they want to see. 

And I don’t mean just checking off a box of a new case study or getting a website updated. I mean a picture of their desired business results so they know what success means for them (or they’re at least willing to figure that out.)

Learn more about what Outcomes-Based Content Marketing looks like here.

Solidify Your Content Outsourcing Strategy

I won’t pretend that all outsourcing is a dream relationship. I’ve run into a lot of vendors who are shy or completely refuse to outsource because they’ve been burned by negative experiences. 

That’s why I start every relationship at LocutusHealth with a small, low-risk test project that aligns with the primary challenge a tech vendor is working through. It’s important that both sides of the outsourcing relationship have a chance to feel each other out and determine whether they’re a good fit…or if they should move on.

I’m inviting you to have a quick intro talk with me to determine whether LocutusHealth could be a positive relationship for you—or whether I can refer you to someone else…or recommend a different approach based on what I’ve seen work for other vendors. 

You can grab a slot at your convenience here, or shoot me an email at growth@locutushealth.com.