There's a strong chance your life science marketing communication is falling on deaf ears. You've got case studies, you're posting on social media, and you may even be running email campaigns. Yet somehow you can't seem to get your target audience to engage with your brand. Why is that? The most likely problem: your marketing communication [...]
Only a few short years ago, artificial intelligence seemed like a far-flung sci-fi trope seen in films and read about in books. And it certainly didn't seem like it would revolutionize the way life science marketing content would be created. Well, the future has officially arrived, and AI has arrived with it. Acumen reports that [...]
Is your list of life science keywords being supported with engaging content? A strong list of target keywords is a proven way to attract traffic to your life science website. However, simply including the relevant keywords in your content is not enough to drive high-value traffic. In order to attract and engage your target audience, [...]
2022 was a record-breaking year for engagement with our content library. We had more users visit our content pages than any other year since Forma was founded in 1987. From crafting compelling life science case studies to supercharging your website, we've compiled a list of our most-visited blogs and articles from 2022. If you're looking [...]
What separates an effective life science case study from an ineffective one? Case studies are a particularly potent part of your marketing toolkit. They're a great way to convert members of your audience while also bolstering your brand's reputation and expertise. Potential buyers need three things before they make a decision: education, inspiration, and reassurance. These [...]
Creating compelling life science content is one of the best ways to promote your brand and convert customers. Unfortunately many organizations, labs, and life science companies do a poor job of developing content for their audience. This can lead to brand stagnation, low engagement rates, and loss of sales. We've identified the 3 biggest reasons [...]
Copywriting is the cornerstone of your content marketing strategy. Content marketing has a variety of intentions: completing sales, educating customers, or building brand awareness. Effective copywriting is the special ingredient that compels users to engage with your science brand. High-quality copy is necessary for increasing sales and outgrowing your competitors. Your audience (and all audiences) [...]
Kapost reports that 91% of marketers have a content marketing strategy, but only 42% say they’re using it effectively. Their ebook, The Complete Guide to Building Your Content Marketing Workflow, explores this performance gap, and then presses marketing teams to determine and document their content purpose, themes and topics, resources, and schedule. To help marketers [...]
As of June 15th, 2021, there are over 854 billion search results for the term "content marketing strategy". It's an overwhelming amount of resources, and most of them basically say the same thing: "content is king". This has been an oft-repeated mantra by marketers for decades at this point, and while it's a slick tagline, [...]
Boring marketing content can cause your conversion rates to plummet and your bounce rates to skyrocket. Hundreds of life science companies struggle with how to leverage their content and drive engagement with their audience. Whether it's an under-nourished content library or a mismatch of tone of voice, it's all too easy to bore your audience [...]
What does your audience need? What makes your service offerings unique in a crowded life science sector? How are you communicating your story? These are a few of the crucial questions that can help differentiate your brand and elevate you above your competitors. The answers won't be easy to come by, but without serious thought and research, your brand may become generic and commoditized.
This is a condensed version of David Chapin's original whitepaper, "8 Fundamental Principles for Creating Compelling Case Studies". Case Studies are Crucial Marketing Tools Case studies are one of the most powerful marketing tools in your arsenal. They can compel users to engage with your brand in a way that other marketing initiatives cannot. However, [...]
If you're reading this, you're probably aware of how highly-regulated the life science industry is. If you're having trouble standing out from your competitors, you're not alone. Facilitating effective marketing communication is hard, especially in the life sciences! Marketing is one corporate function whose main responsibility involves clear communication. Communication is multi-dimensional, but most marketing [...]
How does your communication strategy change during times of crisis, and are there methods you can put in place so your brand will be ready for the next one? If your brand dabbles in content marketing even a little bit, this is a question you should be asking yourself. At the time of this writing, [...]
Last month I discussed three trends that are affecting your clients, your prospects, and yes, the people inside your organization, including your subject matter experts. These trends are: • Time-starvation: there’s more to do for everyone, and less time to do it. • Choice-saturation: there are more alternatives; it’s harder to know which path is best. • Guidance-hunger: people need help making sense of all these choices. Your prospects are oversaturated with choice, they need guidance and yet, they’re time-starved. You can help these prospects by committing to creating thought leadership—deep insights that help your prospects with their challenges. As you help them, you’ll build a tribe of followers, they’ll respect you, trust you, pay attention to what you have to say, recommend you to others, and ultimately hire you.
Content marketing has long been the way to create a relationship with prospects you’ve never met. But content marketing is hard for many life science organizations to create, and it can be even harder to sustain this effort. This month, I want to share a “content marketing hack”—a trick to make it easier to harness the knowledge of your subject matter experts (SMEs). It will still take some work, particularly as you get started, but if you’re disciplined, this hack will help you produce thought leadership on a regular basis.
Case studies can be tough to create because there’s a lot that can go wrong. In this final issue covering case studies, I break the larger challenge into four simpler steps. I’ll give you guidance on how many case studies you need, how to collect content for your case studies and—most important—how to separate the task of organizing your case study from writing the final language, so that you can structure it in the most compelling way possible
I’ve spent the last several issues dissecting the topic of case studies, looking at all the components that make them compelling. When I began the topic, I had no idea it would require such a deep dive. Now that we’re close to the finish line, it’s time to put all these pieces back together. I’ll walk you through the steps to creating a compelling case study—one that allows your prospects to see themselves in the story; one that allows your unique value to come shining through.
Creating compelling case studies can be straightforward, if you follow the And-But-Therefore (A-B-T) template that I introduced in the last issue. Scientists are very familiar with using peer-reviewed papers to communicate, but these papers are written to prioritize accuracy over engagement, so peer-reviewed papers make a very poor template for use in our case studies. Because scientists are not used to writing for engagement, the A-B-T template is very useful when creating marketing messages or effective case studies. In this issue I examine the five key questions and the one crucial constraint that must be addressed when using the A-B-T template.
Some stories are sticky. They remain in our minds for years, sometimes decades. How can we create life science marketing messages that stick? The answer is to embed the message into a story with the right structure. In this issue, I’ll decode the secret to the structure that makes stories sticky.
How can we create stories that stick? This is a crucial question for life science marketers. To understand how to create stories that stick we need to start with this question: What purposes do stories serve? The answers to this question will give us clues we can use to create a system for creating sticky stories.
In this issue I’ll explore the fascinating intersection of storytelling and life science marketing. Storytelling is one of the most durable forms of communication. Stories are the original form of memory, of history and of fact transmission. Now, when people with scientific training hear the word “storytelling,” they often think of campfires and ghost stories. But that’s an overly narrow view; storytelling actually has a lot to teach life science marketers about the most effective way to create communications that stick.
There’s no denying that life science company explainer videos are powerful marketing tools. These short videos (typically found on the homepage of a company website) communicate the specific problem your company can solve, and highlights the process you use to do it. So instead of great big wall of text, site visitors are instead treated [...]
The perfect life science case study structure is clear. In spite of this, many case studies don't include one or more of the seven components necessary for maximum effectiveness. In this issue I'll discuss these seven components and their proper order. I'll also reveal how the focus of your case study (the overlap of your Unique Value and your Approach) can be tuned throughout your case study to increase audience engagement.
Your life science case study can work wonders: it can inspire or reassure prospects who are on the path to purchasing your products or services. But it must be well designed—the right length, the right amount of detail, the right contents and the right structure. Many organizations use their peer-reviewed journal articles as a substitute for their case studies. This is a bad decision with disastrous consequences, and I'll explore why in this issue.
The life science case study is an often-overlooked tool in life science marketing. Life science case studies can be a powerful way to inspire or reassure your audiences, helping them at specific points in the buyer’s journey. I’ve looked at lots of case studies: CRO case studies, biotech case studies, pharma case studies, analytical lab case studies; the list goes on and on. And what I’ve learned is that too many life science sales and marketing teams waste the opportunity to maximize the impact of this simple but effective tool. In the first of a series of whitepapers, I peel apart the use of life science case studies and reveal the multiple benefits they offer. I’ll discuss the two different types of case studies and show how the focus of each is very different. In future issues, I’ll reveal how to build the most effective (non-boring) life science case studies.
Your CRM is the lifeblood of your life science business’ future. CRMs can be complex beasts to install and manage, but that’s not the most critical challenge. All the technology in the world won’t help if your sales team isn’t using your CRM correctly. In this, the second of a two-part series, we look at improving the adoption of your CRM. We’ll dive into ways to lead your business development team through a transition—from their current state, where data is missing or just isn’t being captured correctly, to a more perfect union of protocols and personnel.
Is your life science CRM system working optimally? Are you tracking your new business opportunities effectively? Do you have the necessary visibility into your sales pipeline? Is everyone on your life science sales team using your system in a consistent manner? If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” then you’ve got a protocol problem—or is it a personnel problem? Or maybe it’s a technology problem? Let’s face it: CRM systems are complex beasts, with lots of moving parts, including software, protocols and personnel. Many life science organizations fail to use them effectively. In this first part of a series, I examine how to assess where the challenges arise in the adoption of proper CRM processes inside life science organizations, and what you can do about them. In future issues we’ll dive deep and develop a plan for getting the most out of your CRM system. The goal of all this: to tune your tools, so you can be more effective in your marketing and new-business development efforts.
In this issue, I explore the evolution of lead nurturing activities in the life sciences. I’ll begin by examining an all-too-common scenario that highlights the need for lead nurturing. And then I’ll be discussing the big change that occurred in lead nurturing’s recent past; then I’ll look at what the future could (and should) hold for lead nurturing within your own life science organization. To make this discussion more tangible, I’ll provide access to a tool that will help you assess the performance of your lead nurturing activities. Given the results of this assessment, you’ll be better able to guide the evolution of your lead nurturing activities in the life sciences.
In recent issues I’ve explored lead nurturing in B2B life science marketing, including why we should nurture our life science prospects and the eight different activities involved in lead nurturing. In this issue I’ll highlight the skills and abilities a marketing team must possess to maximize their lead nurturing efforts, and describe the evolution in lead nurturing activities that a typical life science organization undergoes. There are five stages of this lead nurturing evolution—from basic and piecemeal to comprehensive and strategic. I’ll discuss the tools and technology that are involved in each stage. In a future issue, I’ll share an assessment you can use to determine where you are on this evolutionary path. With this knowledge in hand, you’ll be able to determine where you should focus to improve your lead nurturing efforts.
There is a great deal of misunderstanding about lead nurturing in the life sciences. Apparently, some see nurturing as a chance to continue their strong-arm sales tactics. And some see nurturing as a waste of time. What is nurturing, and what’s the best way to go about it? In this issue, I begin to explore this fascinating topic by asking a very simple question—what exactly is nurturing?—and exploring opportunities for nurturing through each of the stages of the sales process.
Are you smarter than all the best knowledge on Google? Smart people in the life sciences know the answer to that question: "No." But apparently there's a substantial number of people that think they're smarter than all of Google. Their actions tell me so. They don't have any thought leadership on their site and they're [...]
– Second in a series – In my previous post, I talked about how most life science marketing is less than adequate (stinks), due primarily to the scientist’s need for Clarity and completeness. I introduced three key characteristics that, much like a funnel, make scientists want to become scientists: The search for answers The [...]
Since releasing his first book last December, David Chapin, CEO of Forma Life Science Marketing and author of Making the Complex Compelling: Creating High-Performance Marketing in the Life Sciences, has presented at four programs since January and is gearing up for two more events in the next two weeks. Click here for more details.
There are two trends that are changing the importance of the sales role in the life sciences. I’ll outline these trends, which you’ll easily recognize, and then I’ll talk about what this means for life science organizations. TREND 1: Ubiquitous information is reducing the power of the sales department. It used to be that sellers [...]
As I discussed last month, entering the life science market is not a trivial exercise. There are many factors that make this market unique and I’ll start by reviewing some of those. Then I’ll take a closer look at the audiences in the life sciences and some of the specific attributes they share. Understanding these audiences, and how to draw them closer to you, is a critical success factor for entering the life science market.
Many companies try to enter the life science market, lured by the promise of rapid growth and significant opportunity. But entering the life science market can be difficult; many companies try and fail. In this first of two whitepapers on the subject, I’ll provide an overview of some of the factors that make this market unique and identify what you can do to increase your chances of success.
He’s not a doctor, but he does play one on TV and Mr. Gervais’ secrets for success are the perfect prescription for becoming successful in content marketing. His 3 steps from his recent secrets for success article in TIME are simple: Work hard Be original Write about what you know. He was writing about his success [...]
Content marketing is the great equalizer. Using content marketing, small life science firms can be as effective and engaging as much larger firms. Unfortunately, as content marketing gets more and more popular, being seen as unique becomes more and more difficult. But there still seems to be real opportunity in content marketing in the life sciences; there are areas of content that are not yet heavily populated by competitors. In this issue, I’ll identify what you need to do to be able to take advantage of this "blue ocean" (a place where the competition is not yet heavily focused [i]).
There is significant misunderstanding about how marketing works – that is, of the mechanism by which it affects people’s attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. In particular, many scientists believe that they are immune to marketing’s effects. But if scientists are immune to marketing’s effects, why do so many companies continue to spend significantly on marketing campaigns? The reason is simple: this supposed immunity is just a myth; marketing actually works. To understand how, let’s examine the marketing mechanism of action.
Inbound marketing, when done well, should result in a deeper relationship between your organization and your prospects, developing into a steady stream of well-qualified leads. In this issue, we attempt to strip away the hype surrounding inbound marketing and specify the approach needed for an effective inbound marketing effort in the life sciences. We’ll see how the various components of inbound marketing reinforce each other, interacting to drive effective results.
Marketing is getting more complex as buyers retreat into anonymity. To be effective, the Marketing function must shift from focusing on simple, outbound promotional activities to attracting prospects, and then converting them from visitors to leads to customers. Inbound marketing is more complex and is more synergistic than outbound marketing. For example, outbound marketing is designed to culminate in a single exchange of value, that is: products or services exchanged for money. Inbound marketing is designed to employ many small exchanges of value and this shift requires changing the way we think about marketing in the life sciences.
Inbound marketing, when done well, should result in a steady stream of well-qualified life science leads. In this issue, we begin our look at inbound marketing in the life sciences by considering the issue from the viewpoint of a prospect. What makes them consider you, rather than one of your competitors?
Marketing automation is a hot new tool in life science marketing. But what does it take to harvest the most benefit from marketing automation? In this issue, we look at the life science marketing practices attitudes, skills and resources necessary to implement a successful marketing automation program.
A seismic shift in marketing is happening right now. The Internet gives each and every company access to a stage with microphones on it. This is a tremendous advantage to small companies, because content marketing “levels the playing field” for these organizations. But unless these companies act quickly and begin to create compelling, unique content, [...]
Social media provides numerous opportunities for life science companies to interact, engage and educate their audiences. With multiple platforms available, many companies don’t know where to start this process. Thus, many life science companies either avoid social media or spread themselves too thin trying to cover all of their media bases. Unfortunately, neither of these strategies will lead to successful content marketing and social media campaigns in the life sciences. A successful online marketing or content campaign must start with a thorough understanding of the audiences you are trying to reach.
In this issue we give you access to a tool you can use to assess your own marketing-based lead-generation efforts. Take 10 minutes to answer some short and simple yes-no questions about your brand and you’ll receive valuable feedback on your lead-generating efforts. We’ll also look at common patterns in the responses.
In this issue we continue our examination of the ladder of marketing-based lead generation for life science, med-device and biotech companies. We pose questions that will help you get the most out of your ladder by optimizing your portfolio of lead-generating activities. We discuss how you can improve your lead generation by “climbing” the ladder over time.
In this issue we examine in more depth the ladder of marketing-based lead generation for life science, med-device and biotech companies. We discuss the six uses for the ladder. We outline a process for creating your own ladder, and provide a link to a template you can customize for your own use. Next month we’ll finish our discussion on the ladder of lead generation by discussing some tactics you can use to improve your lead generating initiatives.
The ladder of lead generation is a useful tactical tool for understanding, assessing and managing lead-generation activities in life science, med-device and biotech companies. In this issue, we’ll take a closer look at the ladder of lead generation. We’ll review the foundation that is necessary for effective lead-generation initiatives and provide some specific suggestions for improving your lead-generating activities. Next month we’ll look at ways to use the ladder as a planning tool for creating your own lead generation initiatives.
When people responsible for sales and marketing in the biological sciences hear the words “lead generation,” an outbound call center is often the first thing that springs to mind. But outbound calling is just one way to generate leads. This article categorizes a wide variety of lead generation activities and puts these activities into context using “the ladder of lead generation.” By examining the different rungs on the ladder, we’ll compare the resulting quality of leads and the time to result, two important attributes to consider as you build your own lead generation initiatives. In the next issue, we’ll discuss how to craft an effective lead generating strategy.
Most life science companies need to step up their content creation efforts. They don’t have an active program to engage their customers by providing compelling content. Now a recent article points out the trends in this area, and the clear implication is that the time to begin this is right now. Forrester Research Inc. has [...]
Having worked in the life sciences for more than two decades, we have seen a number of marketing errors commonly made by life science companies. As a follow-up to last month’s article about strategic errors, this month we’ll discuss some widespread tactical errors and provide suggestions about how to both identify and address them.
Checklists are a great way to ensure that you cover all the basics. They are used daily by thousands of people in situations where the results really matter (like flying planes and surgical procedures). If you were going to create a checklist, what items are so important that they would appear on your life science [...]
In the life sciences, many firms’ offerings are often very close to their competitors’ – almost identical in fact. This is due to many things; perhaps most important is the regulatory scrutiny that drives similarity in processes. If you are similar to your competitors, it’s not reasonable to assume that you can stand in a [...]
“Social media” sure is a popular term, isn’t it? It is not hard to find seminars, blog posts, newsletters and all sorts of experts to teach us how to harness social media. People are all atwitter (pun intended) about getting on the social media bandwagon. Social media is the marketing flavor of the month, maybe [...]
In sales, if you are going to hear "No," you want to hear it early in the process, so you can move on from uninterested prospects to qualify someone else – someone who might be a better fit. If you are developing a medical device, you want to develop tests that will bring problems and [...]
Content marketing is an effective way to drive your life science brand’s positioning and engage your audiences and prospects. In this issue we’ll introduce the idea of a content life cycle, known as P7. Managing the P7 life cycle from Step 1, People all the way through Step 7, Promotion will allow you to harvest the greatest possible benefit from your content.
The basic premise of content marketing is that giving away information that an audience finds useful and relevant will encourage them to respond with trust and give you the opportunity to engage them in dialog. But why does giving away thought leadership influence people? Social science has some answers. One of the pioneers in this [...]
Content marketing can establish your life science brand’s positioning and engage your audiences, but attaining these benefits depends upon having compelling content. To create this content, you need the right focus, the right form, the proper filters and the optimum frequency. In this issue, I discuss these factors and provide some tips for creating compelling content.
Content marketing is the hot new trend in marketing, specifically life sciences marketing, and for good reason. Effective content marketing can help to position one in the space they strive to own, provide increased exposure, build brand awareness, establish and/or increase one’s reputation by generating thought leadership and help one achieve expert status in the [...]
Content marketing is an effective way to drive your life science brand’s positioning and engage your audiences and prospects. In past issues we covered the attitudes and behaviors that must accompany a content marketing initiative; we now focus on planning this initiative. Planning should be based upon an intimate understanding of the six factors for content marketing success. They are known by the acronym S-T-R-E-A-M: your Strategy, Topics, Resources, Environment, Audience and Measurement. We’ll start this issue with a real-world example of the results that content marketing can achieve.
Content marketing is all the rage in some marketing circles. But many life science companies use surprisingly little content marketing. We’ll start this issue by continuing the comparison between content marketing and peer-review publishing begun in the last issue. A diagram will make the comparison clearer. We’ll look at how fundamental changes in the way people access information has driven an increase in choice, which in turn is driving the importance of content marketing. We’ll conclude with a list of changes in attitudes and behaviors that accompany a content marketing initiative. In our next issue, we’ll provide a series of “How to” suggestions for beginning a content marketing initiative.
At Forma, we work with companies in the life sciences to Make the Complex Compelling. In this sector, there is lots of subject matter that is complex. The borders of knowledge have been pushed back quite far, so the questions being addressed are often very complex. And the audience is often technically sophisticated. They have [...]
Content marketing is all the rage in some marketing circles. But many life science companies do not use content marketing – particularly on their web sites. This is surprising because the scientific community has been practicing a form of content marketing for years. In this issue, we’ll look at the similarities and the differences between content marketing and peer-review publishing. In the next issue, we’ll examine both the benefits of content marketing and the attitudes that must change for content marketing to be successful. And in the subsequent issue, we’ll look at how to create and execute an effective, focused, content marketing strategy for your life science business.
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