At the time of this posting, the WHO declared the outbreak of coronavirus, or COVID-19, a global pandemic. As the experts in the field of life science marketing, we've been paying close attention to the conversations about how to prevent and cope with the coronavirus. As with most things in this modern era of discourse, [...]
Image courtesy of jesadaphorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Did you play Go Fish growing up? It’s a great card game for kids because the rules are simple. The goal is to collect pairs of cards to lay down on the table. If you need an “8,” you ask for it, and the next player has [...]
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles @fdigitalphotos Every year, I set out with the best of intentions. I make resolutions to be healthier, do more charity work, or even spend more time with friends and family. Things always start well but somewhere around January 15th, something comes up and I go off track. The same [...]
In life science marketing our clients are almost always scientists of some sort. Scientists are smart, they have been trained in the scientific process, they make decisions based on data. So when they are forced to rely on their gut to make a decision they can freeze and enter what is commonly referred to as [...]
Choosing a name for a life science company, product or service can be difficult. Any choice will generate a strong, almost instantaneous response, carry great emotional weight and (ideally) last a long time. How do you choose a name while avoiding the emotional rollercoaster that such choices often bring? I outline an eight-step process. But first, let’s talk about the importance of choosing the proper name.
The terms User and Customer research are sometimes used interchangeably, and while there can be some similarities between these two types of research, there are distinct differences. In general, both of these types of research focus on understanding behaviors, needs, and motivations through observation techniques, task analysis, and other feedback methodologies. However, that is where [...]
'Why don’t you call someone who cares?' Definitely not the nicest thing you can say to someone but not the worst idea when it comes to user research. One of the most versatile and therefore commonly used methodologies in user research is the individual interview. The individual interview is just as the name implies -- a [...]
"Perfect" is an emotion commonly felt when a researcher finishes crafting a question. The question is clear, the answer choices provided inclusive and mutually independent, there is no way this question will not return invaluable data! Unfortunately, this is sometimes just not the case. It is for this reason pretesting is an incredibly important, and surprisingly [...]
It is a moment met with many emotions. Excitement. Nervousness. Fear even. You have just received a final data set, now you will learn if the hours you spent discussing, crafting, programming and checking the survey instrument were worth it. For many researchers this can be a moment of analysis paralysis. There is just so [...]
Carrie Crowe has joined Forma Life Science Marketing as a Director of Client Services. In addition to her role as an account manager for some of Forma’s largest clients, Carrie is building upon her expertise in life science marketing research by exploring methodology alternatives and interpretation of outcomes. She has 15 years’ professional experience in [...]
Getting feedback on your marketing initiatives is vital to improving their effectiveness. Without feedback it is difficult to know what’s working, and what isn’t. There are many types of feedback, and many ways to obtain it. This month we look at the process of asking for qualitative opinions about your marketing initiatives. It seems simple, but there are many pitfalls that can be easily avoided with a little advance planning.
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.
Having worked in the life sciences for quite a while, we have seen a number of common marketing errors made by life science companies. This month we will address some common strategic errors – next month we’ll cover tactical errors.