Healthcare professionals want to talk to you, but on their terms!

Today’s healthcare professionals are busier and busier everyday.  They are getting bombarded with information on a daily basis–evidence-based medicine, disruptive medicine, Affordable Care Organization (ACO)….  It’s amazing to me how much changes on a daily basis.  Can you imagine how healthcare professionals feel in this day and age in treating patients? It’s not only about treating the patient anymore.  Now they have to know about what each managed care is doing, how is ACO affecting their patient management and treatment, EMR, etc.  Control is leaving the doctor more and more.  So should it be so strange that a doctor doesn’t have time to see a sales representative to talk about the same drug they’ve been using for several years?  No, it shouldn’t.  However the communication to healthcare professionals is crucial.

The digital world offers endless possibilities, but with that comes pharma reluctance.  Let’s not even add all the reasons why medical, regulatory, and legal may have a problem with what may at times be an uncontrolled dialogue.  I get it.  It’s scary, but it’s essential to grow.  It’s as essential today as the need to nurture current business relationships and find new leads are to corporate success.  This is how people want to be talked to today.  It’s not about your control. It’s about theirs.

If you are fearful start small.  A recent survey came out that was conducted by HealthLink Dimensions. “Less than 10% of healthcare professionals use email often to connect to industry professionals.” Less than 10%.... so a vast amount of healthcare professionals use email to connect with the industry?  That’s a huge amount.  They want to be communicated with but on their terms.  They want information to read when they can, not by when industry says they should.  So send information.  Consider what you are sending. Content is still king. Healthcare professionals want to be educated and not sold to. That never changed–disease state information, patient education materials, CME events, etc.

Social media is a trend to start doing, and watch the growth among healthcare professionals. The growth is booming.  Become comfortable with the channels most used–LinkedIn, Sermo, Facebook and Twitter. 

Social Engagement - It's NOT about the platform.

For the past 6 years, I have spent a ton of time talking about digital marketing platforms and their ability to reach consumers in an effective way.  Early on, it was all about the platforms themselves - how easy it was to target certain consumers or patients based on geography, likes or interests.  Back then - it was enough to convince clients to just get out there and try some targeted advertising, the risk was minimal and the reward could be great.  "Create a Facebook page" I would say, "what do you have to lose?".  Yeah - there are days I yearn for those simpler social media times.

Since then, I have changed my tune quite a bit. Now, my favorite line is "it's not about the platform!" and "don't EVEN go there if you don't have a content plan ready.  I'm not going to use the overused cliche of Content is King, but, well.....it is.   What many marketers struggle to understand is that the best content has nothing to do with them, what they want to sell or who they are.  The best content is ONLY about the audience (consumer or patient)  and what the store, product or brand can do FOR them.  It's hard for marketers to make that shift when for decades, advertising and marketing was about blasting out your message without any ability for consumers or patients to talk back.  Now, customers and patients are talking back AND talking to each other.

 There is a recent stat that says over 40% of people would be influenced by social media in their choice of physician, hospital or other health care issues.  The more frightening stat is the one that said over 90% of people 18-24 trust the healthcare information they learn on social media.  From a brand, product or store perspective, to not engage would be ridiculous.  You want to be IN the conversation, you want to be talked about in the conversation.  The key to doing that is by creating a functional and iterative content plan.

Not to over simplify it, but content doesn't have to be that hard.  Start with a blank calendar and fill in anything that you know you do every year.  If you are a store and have an anniversary sale, - write that down.  If you are a brand that is in the diabetic space, then mark down National Diabetic Month.  Fill in the calendar with messages that you want to send and things you want to say.  THEN, and most importantly - figure out how to make those messages about you, NOT about you. For the anniversary sale - it should be positioned as "Thanks to you, our loyal customers, we are celebrating our 20th anniversary - and we want to say thanks by offering YOU x".

There is an art to taking content and authentically connecting.  Start with your plan and forget for a moment that you are a marketer.  Think like a human.  What would you want to hear?

McKesson Idea Share - Opening Session

It is always fun to talk about Innovation and New Ideas and it was especially fun yesterday at the McKesson Idea Share Opening Session. The crowd was really engaged and seemed to be enjoying themselves.  Thanks everyone!!!!