Life Science Marketing / Chemunity

Best of April @Chempetitive: When Harvard Talks... posted by Ken Li and Don Harder

Remember the tagline for old the brokerage EF Hutton? “When EF Hutton talks, people listen.”

In today’s era of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, the equation has flipped. When people talk, companies need to listen.

The recurring theme in April’s three most tweeted stories was the “power of the customer.” As life science marketers, we need to acknowledge this shift by connecting with them, not market at them.

We always need to ask, “What do customers want?” This philosophy is central to “creating brand content people actually care about,” according to a Fast Company story that was tweeted more than 2,500 times.

If customers don’t get what they want, social media will amplify their frustration –
especially if those customers include Harvard University. The Guardian wrote about (and 1,869 tweeted) Harvard’s extraordinary memo that called out journal publishers for their exorbitant rate hikes. Publishers suffered more than a few black eyes in the nearly 100 comments portraying them as “very little value” (and that from the kind commenters). The community also presented credible solutions on how to keep research free for all.

The final tweet we discuss is research (tweeted 2,037 times) linking moderate drinking to a boost in creative problem solving. What does this have to with customer power? We tell you and give you actionable advice that doesn’t require downing a PBR.

Take an 18 min. 53 sec. break and listen to our shortest podcast ever. (Bonus: @16:31, Don and I reveal our generational differences – think Daisy Wick vs. Daisy Duke.)

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The Spitting Image of Personalized Medicine posted by Kelly Quigley

large_shutterstock_82548574_0.jpg This spring – out of medical curiosity and for the sheer fun of science – I filled a small plastic tube with my saliva and sent it in for genetic analysis. Weeks later, when I got the results back, I learned something that will change my life forever: I’m a slow caffeine metabolizer.

That means the “drug” lingers longer in my body than it does for some people, and, unfortunately for a coffee lover like me, it also means that consuming more than a couple servings of java per day puts me at a higher risk of having a heart attack. I’m sad to say that this could be my last year of Gold-level status at Starbucks.

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Is the Promise of Personalized Medicine More than Just a Promise? posted by Erik Clausen and Rachel Lear

large_personalized_pills.jpgThere are many perks that accompany working in the flourishing life science hub of San Diego. Sure, access to miles upon miles of beautiful coastline ranks high on the list and don’t get us started on the weather, but another positive aspect that we try not to take for granted are the opportunities to meet and interact with the brains that are driving some of today’s most promising biomedical innovations.

BIOCOM, Southern California’s largest life science association, recently hosted a breakfast panel that examined the promise of personalized medicine. The thought-provoking panel moderated by GEN Editor-in-Chief (and master MC) John Sterling featured some of the top minds in the fields of diagnostics and bioinformatics from the region. While R&D scientists have pursued the utility of personalized medicine for years, never before has the promise been, well, more than just a promise.

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LinkedIn is Only Powerful if You Empower It posted by Erik Clausen

I was an early adopter of LinkedIn back in the yesteryear of 2004, but I was not an early convert. Similar to my original opinion of Twitter, I remained skeptical of the now ubiquitous social network for quite a while. Eventually, I saw the light.

Like many who have joined LinkedIn, I set up a profile and ignored it. Sure, I would occasionally accept a request to connect with a colleague or newfound acquaintance, but my account pretty much sat there collecting electronic dust for the next two years.

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Chemversation: Best of March 2012 @Chempetitive Twitter posted by Ken Li and Don Harder

What Tiger Woods did for golf, Carl Sagan did for astronomy: he made it popular with the people. His Cosmos series in 1980 – the most widely watched PBS special ever – educated, entertained, and fascinated us. He was America’s storyteller in the golden era of space exploration. What can life science marketers learn from Sagan?

As marketers, we would love for “billions upon billions” of people to find, purchase, and extol our companies’ products and services. This Best of Twitter Chemversation explores how, like Sagan, we can make science accessible -- through art, the written word, and video.

Along the way, we answer several questions including: How do you promote your company without pointing the finger at yourself (4.57)? What are the secrets to writing compelling press releases (13.15)? How do you get non-scientists to understand what you do in the lab all day (16.28)?

As a bonus, find out what Vladimir Putin has to do with science (11.35) and listen you will to the worst Yoda impression of all time (10.41) – done twice in fact.

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A Happy Engagement Means Saying ‘Yes’ to the Trade Show posted by Jessica Arendas

large_bride_tradeshow_1.jpg“What do you like better – Christmas or wedding season?”

As Chempetitive’s resident roadie, my life often resembles a scene out of Wedding Crashers. While I do enjoy wedding season, the season I enjoy most? Trade show season!

While others may cringe at the daunting thought of planning for a trade show (or a wedding for that matter) I see them as a time for celebration. Trade shows present one of the most exciting ways to kick off a new campaign, launch a new product, or even showcase your expertise. Instead of treating your next trade show as a chore, use it as a time to celebrate these achievements. Where to start?

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Chemversation: How Segmentation and Modeling Can Work for You posted by Don Harder, Sarah Crytzer and Kara Turtinen

If there is just one thing that companies should keep in mind when it comes to sales and marketing it’s that customers are, in fact, not all created equal.

Some customers bring more value than others while other customers may have specific needs that need to be addressed in a particular manner. It’s important to break customers into homogenous segments to create solutions that cater to each subset rather than the group as a whole. This is known as customer segmentation.

Seems easy enough, but what do you do once they are segmented?

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Putting The Fun In Your Media Buy Strategy posted by Stephanie Hoyle

medium_shutterstock_96396539.jpgA good media buy has a lot of moving parts and is often times a long and arduous process. One usually deals with large budgets for print and online media buys and skillful negotiation tactics are key when buying media. To make this process more manageable, we outlined some important media buying tips from developing a strategy to measuring the effectiveness of your campaign.

Start Early

Most outlets will reserve the best spots for current advertisers. Taking hold of these positions will give your company the best access to prime placement and pricing.. You should start developing a strategy no later than early Q4 of the current calendar year.

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