Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Announcing a new capability-Text analytics


We are pleased to announce our latest capability! Text, Voice and Data Analytics.  We have recently partnered with the Thoughtware Group to offer clients in our life science practice an advanced suite of tools to analyze large amounts of data in a quick and economical manner.  

"Big Data" is a term used by many in the industry today.  However, many in the space have failed to acheive an understanding of who says what and why.  For example, whenever marketers observe online digital communication, it remains unclear to them who the person is (interacting with their brand).  Secondly, these insights often remain largely disconnected from the "offline" understanding gained in consumer research. 

We aim to change this proposition by bridging the gap between what online digital communication promises to deliver and what it actually delivers.  With our unique "Thinking Insight" technology we can build segment specific analyses from any type of data feed (Text/Image/Voice) to evolve insights that connect the online and offline worlds.  This will help companies gain insight to the market faster, understand consumer reactions to their brand messages as well as identify new key opinion leaders for their company.


  
Advances in online and social media marketing are mainly focused today on data gathering, targeted advertising and general sentiment monitoring. This new partnership allows us to not only do these things, but when combined with our industry experts, the final product helps clients understand what they should do next with the information.  





Monday, January 14, 2013

Quick Guide to the New Era of Marketing


A recent webinar by Bill Lee highlighted the end of marketing as we traditionally know it.  Pharma companies specifically must revamp marketing strategies if success is to be found in the future (see Message to Pharma CEOs: Forget Price Increases, retain customers!).  So what does this mean for companies’ market strategies going forward?  What should be the focus in order to retain business and attract new customers?  Most of you will agree that the best product recommendation comes from someone you know.  In sales and marketing, these customers (be a business or consumer) are known as promoters.  These promoters are imperative to expanding a business since they will give an honest opinion about your product and people will listen to people they know and trust. 

In the webinar, Mr. Lee goes on to discuss Net Promoter Score (NPS).  This score is given to customers based on their ability to influence the decisions made by other potential customers.  Business will prefer to enter into contracts where they can hear first hand accounts of the service or product from a trusted referral.  Quality promoters are true gems to companies and should be treated that way.  These customers will essentially make the sale for you.  The million-dollar question is how do you as a brand manager generate and keep quality promoters.  Not every customer will be a quality promoter and some may even detract from your business, so it must be the aim of your marketing team to create strategies that generate sales by way of promoters.  We can help your company utilize social media to monitor the flow of information via promoters (and detractors) so that these clients can add to your business.

So how can we utilize this promoter strategy to increase pharma and healthcare sales?  First, we must generate products and services that induce chatter between customers. And while we live in a heavily regulated industry, think about the simply premise of this measure. Would these patients recommend your product to a friend or colleague?  If the answer is 9 or 10 out of 10, this is really a great measure. That is why we believe it is essential that industry create opportunities for customers to discuss your products online and help facilitate this talk.  Allowing forums that bring together current and potential customers can help companies demonstrate the value their products bring to the market.    

As mentioned before, humans naturally accept recommendations from their trusted close circles and if a trusted member of a community has a positive experience with your product, you may have just convinced the entire community.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Do Startups need Marketing?


YES!  However, a thorough plan must be conceived before implementation.  Otherwise you may end up as "the app for people who like to take pictures of their food".   The first question every startup CEO should ask his/herself before developing a marketing strategy is "What is the purpose of my marketing plan?".  Once this question has been answered, then, and only then, is your company is ready to discuss the responsibilities and the ultimate goals of your marketing department.  A recent post on christine’s brain discussing the importance of marketing strategies by startups highlights a few of the points that we believe in your plan need to be addressed :
  1. Positioning the product
  2. Defining the target customer
  3. Representing the customer voice in the product roadmap
  4. Developing the company’s brand
  5. Acquiring customers
  6. Keeping customers happy
These points seem almost common sense, but when it comes to execution, many startups fail because of time, other priorities and lack of funding.  We think that in the first stages of a startup, technical aspects regarding your product are extremely important.  However, positioning your product in the market for your future launch is imperative for your company’s success. This will also be an iterative approach if you do not have a large budget to invest in primary and secondary market research.  

At BioPharma Advisors, we can guide you in developing a sound marketing strategy that addresses each of these points.  We will put marketing at the forefront of your business plan in effort to enhance the long-term success of your product offering.