Marketing Trends in Life Science, Medical Device, and Diagnostics

Our recruitment agency, Connexis Search Group, has observed a rise in the number of clients in the fields of Life Science, Medical Devices, and Diagnostics who are actively seeking marketing professionals to join their teams.

Naturally, we became curious about the cause of this sudden surge in demand. Could it be attributed to sales representatives facing limited access to decision-makers, thereby increasing the need for marketing support?

Or was it merely a fortuitous occurrence that led us to be approached by numerous companies seeking marketing talent?

To shed light on this matter, we decided to conduct a survey among the marketing personnel listed in our extensive database. Within our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, we have a pool of over 3,000 marketing individuals, many of whom hold positions at the Vice President and Director levels. Notably, 51% of the respondents who participated in the survey occupied Director and VP roles

Additionally, we aimed to gauge whether our clients had experienced an increase in their marketing budgets over the past year. We believed that if senior management began relying more heavily on marketing, they would allocate more financial resources to their marketing departments. Surprisingly, 60.32% of the respondents claimed that they had not received any additional budget allocation. While this figure represents the majority of the respondents, it is worth noting that 39.68% did report receiving supplementary budget funds.

Subsequently, we sought to determine whether these companies had expanded their marketing teams by hiring new personnel. Among the respondents, 46.03% confirmed that they had indeed recruited marketing candidates within the last 12 months. Interestingly, the most common response indicated that at least two individuals had been hired during this period. Furthermore, 20.83% of the respondents revealed that they had added over four new marketing professionals to their teams.   

It is evident that Life Science, Medical Devices, and Diagnostics companies are actively augmenting their marketing departments by bringing in additional staff. This increased demand creates a more challenging hiring landscape, as companies vie for a limited pool of qualified candidates. Later in this article, we will unveil the most effective approach to recruiting marketing talent.

We also wanted to know what level of marketing candidates the companies are hiring. Marketing Managers were in the highest demand at 58.33%, with Product Managers close behind at 50%.

The remainder of the Survey gathered the following information:

• How much have base salaries increased?
• What are the base salaries for the top three marketing positions hired?
• We also asked which marketing techniques (Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, SEO, Trade Shows, Facebook ads) yielded the best results.

Now, let's explore how to emerge victorious in the talent war for marketing personnel.

Companies that exhibit flexibility by offering remote work options to candidates have a higher likelihood of succeeding in both attracting and retaining top-tier talent. We understand that this might be challenging for many senior executives to accept. However, the COVID pandemic has altered the dynamics of the working landscape, and an increasing number of candidates desire the freedom to work remotely.

Several of our clients have adopted a hybrid model, wherein candidates are allowed to work in the office for 1-3 days per week and remotely for the rest. Embracing remote work represents a significant departure from traditional practices and may require adjustments. Nonetheless, companies that adapt to this change will have a more extensive pool of marketing candidates from which to choose.