Life science startups play a crucial role in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device industries. They're more agile and innovative than the huge enterprise juggernauts at the top of the food chain, and they're able to deliver one-of-a-kind solutions to a market that is constantly evolving. The challenge for these small businesses is: how do [...]
What do CROs, CDMOs, biotech, lab instrumentation, and medical device companies all have in common? Answer: very few of them understand how to make the most of their marketing budgets. In the life science industry, where competition is fierce, regulation is strict, and resources are often limited, the effective allocation of your marketing budget can [...]
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, [...]
The root problem of poor sales performance is often poor differentiation and poor positioning. We examine a typical growth pattern of service organizations in the life sciences and see how better sales traction begins with a clearly defined marketing strategy.
In this issue, I complete my examination of the process of rebranding. I’ll outline the last 5 steps in the rebranding process, and discuss the importance of introducing your new position and brand-story to your internal and external life science marketing audiences.
In this issue, I examine the process of rebranding. I’ll outline the first 5 steps in the rebranding process for a life science organization, product or service. Once you’ve decided to rebrand, you should begin by developing a clear-eyed understanding of your environment, your audiences and your competitors. Then you must select a position and an archetype.
Explore this infographic to find out if it's time to rebrand your life science organization.
In this issue, I provide some guidance on the makeup of your life science rebranding task force. Having worked with many such teams over the past two-and-a-half decades, I’ve learned that some attributes are essential, and some should be strenuously avoided. I’ll begin this issue by outlining how to guide the rebranding discussion and I’ll close it by discussing the issue of timing: how do you know when to rebrand? In the next issue, I’ll provide a decision tree to help you make the decision: Is it time to rebrand my life science organization, product or service?
In this issue, I examine the diverse set of factors that typically trigger the discussion about whether a life science organization should rebrand. I’ll also discuss the positive and negative consequences of rebranding. In the next issue, I’ll cover the attributes, roles and responsibilities that should be part of any rebranding task force.
Isn’t it ironic that marketing, the one business function that is (supposedly) responsible for clear communication, is also the one with widespread confusion about the meaning of one of its central terms: brand? There are actually at least four meanings, all very different. So I’m going to begin the discussion about rebranding by clarifying some terminology. And then I’ll point out the eight foundational assets you must have for an effective “brand” in life science marketing. In future issues, I’ll cover the reasons to think about rebranding, discuss the team you need to undertake this effort, provide a decision tree that will allow you to determine whether it’s time to rebrand, and give you a roadmap to follow as you rebrand your life science organization, product or service.
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.
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.
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.
The root problem of poor sales performance is often poor differentiation and poor positioning. We examine a typical growth pattern of service organizations in the life sciences and see how better sales traction begins with a clearly defined marketing strategy.
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.
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.