I am not normally a big fan of prognostication (although I am quite the fan of big words) but when one year turns into another, particularly one decade ends and the next begins, it is very tempting to look ahead and see what is going to happen.
Here are my predictions for 2010 for medical marketing.
1. OLD SCHOOL RULES. Marketers in all fields and eventually in the medical arena are going to recognize that human nature does not re-invent itself every couple of years. The fundamentals of marketing are still the same today as they were last week and 200 years ago. Here they are: know your market, create a great product or service, and tell your market about it. I predict a lot of successful companies in 2010 will get back to basics.
2. SOCIAL MEDIA CAN WORK FOR MEDICAL MARKETING. Okay, I’m talking old school and now social media? Social media is a tool, a vehicle, not a marketing principle. The fact is we now have an interactive marketing vehicle that can help customers and manufacturers communicate closely. Social media does not work well wide–but it works extremely well when you have a tight, narrow focus. Think of this: people who make stents and clinicians who need to know about stents. That’s a great social media circle.
3. THE INTERNET IS THE BEST BACKDOOR TO DTC GOING. You can do front-door direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing but it’s expensive and really is only suitable for certain types of products. However, you can use the Internet to get messages conveyed to the public in what I call “backdoor DTC.” It’s not as costly and, if done well, looks more credible.
4. PATIENTS ARE CHANGING. People today have to take a more proactive role in their own healthcare and the Internet is helping to make that possible. Expect to see more empowered and better-informed patients. Don’t worry. An educated patient is a great end-user for your product or service, providing you seize the opportunity to reach them, teach them, and do not talk down to them.
5. SCRUTINY ON MEDICAL MARKETING WILL CONTINUE. Medical companies must resist the urge to over-react, hire a plethora of attorneys, and abandon marketing efforts. Marketing is not illegal. You just have to do it right, which means abiding by good practices while still doing an effective job at promoting your product. Most companies forget the latter in an effort to overcompensate at the former. Those companies that can strike the right balance here will be the big winners.
6. BRANDING CONFUSES MOST MEDICAL MARKETERS. When it comes to branding, it is more important that you improve the way your company answers the phone and decorates the lobby than it is to figure out your corporate colors. I know, I know, picking colors is more fun. Most agencies selling branding solutions are, well, let’s just say they’re not helping you.
7. FEWER JOURNAL ARTICLES WILL GET PUBLISHED as various organizations crack down on ghostwriters. This means either ghostwriters will get more ethereal or doctors will have to write their own articles. Since I’m banking on the latter, I predict that there will be fewer articles published since docs are just too busy for this kind of activity. Companies willing to help aid docs in getting their ideas into print have a real opportunity here.
Those are my predictions for 2010 and the next few years. But now let’s have some wishful thinking.
1. MEDICAL MARKETERS WILL GROW A SPINE and market proudly. It is true that many companies did a lot of crazy and unethical stuff in the past to sell products. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. We should embrace marketing as an important part of modern medicine. Companies that make products and services need to tell clinicians about these things so that clinicians can better treat their patients.
2. MEDICAL COMPANIES WILL START TO BRAND LIKE DISNEY in that they’ll look at the customer’s overall experience in dealing with them and arranged them so that those things supported the brand. For instance, your packaging, how you invoice, your tech support services, your main lobby, your letterhead, your convention presence, the signage on your building … all of these things are your brand. Many people will never see your tagline but will see boxes of your product in the OR.
3. MEDICAL MARKETING WILL PROVIDE CONTENT WORTH READING. Lots of medical marketers act like doctors do not like to read (they do) and that they have very little to say (they should). Medicine is blessed with a customer base who are avid readers; yet few companies bother to provide worthwhile reading materials. Companies should start serving up docs facts, statistics, product specifications, study results, and so on.
4.MEDICAL COMPANIES WILL CONTINUE TO DO THE GOOD WORK THEY DO AND DEVELOP DRUGS, INVENT DEVICES, AND OFFER SERVICES THAT BENEFIT SICK PEOPLE. And then the marketing teams from these companies should tell people about them. Let’s face it, the government isn’t going to cure cancer. Medical companies should be proud of what they do and their marketing teams should be out shouting it on the rooftops.
