When they decided to outfit their entire sales force with iPad 3’s, 3M ESPE was hoping to achieve multiple process improvements of interest to all U.S. dentists. The first was dealing with the amount of printed sales and product information the company produces each year. With hundreds of brochures, flyers, technical data sheets, study abstracts, and more, the company is now poised to reduce their footprint by decreasing the amount of paper and ink they put into the world.
“The iPad offered us a unique opportunity to vastly decrease the amount of literature we’re printing, and instead we are arming our reps with a versatile tool that carries every piece of literature we’ve created,” said Tim McGlynn, U.S. marketing manager for 3M ESPE. “We’re also providing our documents as downloadable files on our website instead of crating and storing them in a warehouse, where they wait to be requested by the sales force.”
Secondly, but no less important, is the improvement the tablet offers dental professionals. When sales representatives no longer need an expandable file to haul all the literature that dentists “might” be interested in, that’s progress! And, of course, the image quality and dynamic content is outstanding on the iPad 3, which improves the overall document review process for dentists.
“We’ve had a tremendous response from our sales organization,” said Sean Regan, U.S. marketing manager for 3M ESPE. “They love the flexibility the iPad offers. Now they can talk about a product with a dentist using tools right on the iPad, and immediately upon request, e-mail them the proof source that reinforces what they discussed.”
While the company will continue to print some literature, particularly any pieces that are patient-facing, most of its printed products will live as digital files on its website, and within tools on the tablets carried by the sales force.
Dentists want to stay abreast of product knowledge, but they also have a schedule to keep. With more efficient, dynamic presentations instead of paper-clipped packets of literature, 3M ESPE is listening to dental professionals by delivering them customized content in a medium they can appreciate.
McGlynn continued, “As a company we’re always trying to reduce our footprint, whether that’s through printing reductions or packaging changes. And it doesn’t hurt that the unique technologies of the day deliver a better experience for dental professionals, too.”
