Sunshine Act implications for CME marketers

PM360 published the results of a poll of a small sample of physician's views on the Sunshine Act. If the findings are representative of the physician population, there are some implications for CME marketers.

30% of respondents were afraid that erroneous data about industry involvement would be published, and 30% said they will be forced to stop attending industry sponsored CME to avoid being perceived as biased.

CME marketers who don't have any reportable industry sponsorship should include that fact in their promotions to reassure these physicians.    

Something to think about on October 1

"The biggest consequence is the obscuring of the true cost of health care from those who ultimately pay it,” says Paul Starr, a sociologist at Princeton University whose 1982 book chronicling the history of American medicine won the Pulitzer Prize. “I think that created the single largest source of pressure for rising health care costs.”--Quote from National Journal article on Obamacare.

By covering more people, health reform may obscure the true cost of healthcare from 50 million more Americans. While commendable from a humanitarian perspective, this will arguably exacerbate the phenomenon Starr elucidates in the quote above.

If the cost controls built into the Affordable Care Act fail, then we could see an acceleration in the rate of increase in healthcare costs going forward.

Health service advertising to grow

In today's DTC Perspective, Bob Ehrlich made what I consider to be a prescient comment:
 
"While DTC for drugs and devices may be flat, what will grow is spending for health care service advertising. If we define DTC more broadly than pills and devices, we are entering a boom period for direct consumer marketing of services. Hospitals, doctors, diagnostic test centers, insurance companies, laboratories, mini clinics and genomic services will grow dramatically in the next five years in their spending on marketing. Like it or not, consumers will get less subsidy from employers for health spending. Higher deductibles and co-pays will force consumers to shop more carefully for their services. Service providers will need to sell their points of difference as consumers realize that they are paying their own way at least up to a deductible level that is $2500 or more."

Amidst all the controversy over Obamacare, companies are fighting rising healthcare costs by putting employees on private exchanges. Like the public exchanges, these entities offer low cost premiums for high deductible plans. Along with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), these efforts shift more of the burden of routine healthcare spending onto the customer, which may induce price competition, but which will also reduce demand. Providers may need to boost marketing to generate demand to counteract the trend.

For healthcare marketers, this may represent an opportunity, particularly as Obamacare leads to more consolidation on the provider side. Big hospitals, physician groups, and integrated health systems become big potential accounts for big media and agency holding companies.        

Must read piece on content marketing for pharma

Deirdre Coleman of eyeforpharma wrote an excellent piece “Rules of Engagement: 7 Tips for Successful Pharma Content Marketing”. Here’s a link to it. I wanted to synopsize the highlights:

Definition--Content marketing is the publication of material designed to promote a band, usually through a more oblique and subtle approach than that of traditional push advertising.
 
The goal is trust--The key to approaching a successful and sustainable health care content strategy hinges on developing a trusted relationship using content. Trust is an emotion based on credibility, but it's also one built on aligned values. So, content providers HAVE to take a point of view on their content, otherwise it's a series of facts that anyone can find with a Google search. And this is where the balance is really critical for those that are establishing relationships that focus on health. Once trust is achieved, there can be many benefits for the company, including more sales
 
You are now a media company--Content marketers have to start thinking of themselves as media companies - with a distinct point of view. Their goal is to develop an audience for that content. But they have to balance that with how, when and where they will show their distinct and unique point of view.
 
Share your values--Consumers need to feel like the pharmaceutical company understands their values and beliefs - rather than just educating them to a prescriptive solution. Look at what Pfizer is doing with the "Get Old" site and that really begins to do that. It's content that makes us re-think what it means to be old, rather than prescribe ways to manage it”.
 
Be a friend who solves problems--the biggest thing is trying to be the solver of the problem right away. it can be collaborative, in essence a friendship - where the brand acts as a place that the consumer can feel safe and trusts.
 
Use the left and right halves of the brain—Use the intellectual approach to teach, and the emotional approach to change/enhance values/beliefs.
 
Don’t be egotistical--Nobody cares about your products and services (except you). What people care about are themselves and solving their problems
 
It’s all about the reader, not the writer--Content marketing requires a shift in your thinking, from “all about us” to “all about the reader.” Being a successful publisher – and now, content marketer — means delivering content that genuinely serves your readers’ needs, not your brand’s. In return, you gain their trust and their attention. The purpose of your marketing is to build relationships – to get people to know like and trust you and consider you when it comes to making a purchasing decision.
 
Patience persistence pays--Don’t expect results after one or two months. Businesses often give up just as they’re starting to gain influence with their audience. Content marketing is a long-term investment. There are no quick wins.
 
Raise the bar--It’s not enough to publish a well-written article; it has to be valuable, useful, fulfilling a need. Make it fascinating. 

 

Physician referrals are top source for patient visits to pharma Web sites

The most striking stat in this interesting Makovsky infographic about healthcare internet searches is that physician referrals are the top source of pharma Web site patient traffic.

That's an excellent reason for pharma companies to promote their Web sites to physicans via email.
Such emails should encourage physicians to refer patients to pharma Web sites, as they are excellent patient education resources.

Of course it is incumbent upon pharma companies to make sure their Web sites are indeed superb, objective resources for patients seeking information about a disease states and drugs.  

Increase email click-through rates 61% with specific, prominent calls to action

Designing email for mobile is important, as mobile accounts for half of email opens these days. But optmizing your call to action is the key to increasing open rates.

Here's a case study from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) about how a recent redesign increased click through rates by 61%:

  http://dmaemailblog.com/2013/09/06/email-design-change-driving-a-61-click-increase

Amazon=Sears catalog

Contemplating the success of Amazon seldom brings to mind any thought of the epic failure of Sears, except in the sense of an example of the best and worst of retail.

But I read a piece today that made the incredibly insightful point that Amazon is in fact basically a digital version of the analog Sears catalog.

Few remember that Sears had its origins, as did Montgomery Ward, as a purely catalog retailer, with no retail stores. Sears revolutionized marketing by enabling anyone, anywhere to buy virtualy anything via mail order. In what was then (in the 19th century) still a largely rural nation, with many small farmers, this was hugely disruptive, and raised standards of living nationwide.

The key to the catalogers' success was trust. As Sears, Wards, and the other catalogers evolved into retailers with physical stores, that trust was broken. Shoddy goods, sold with dubious promotional techniques, shattered the bonds between retailer and customer.

By the time the Internet came on the scene, the catalogers' brands were tarnished. Enter Amazon, which upon reflection is nothing more than a "Big Book" catalog in html. Amazon has built a reputation for delivering quality goods that are excellent values. It has out-priced the bricks-and-mortar competition.

The flaw in the business model as I see it is profitability--the low prices are made possible by razor-thin margins. So far, the stock market has made this unsustainable business model possible. Presumably at some point, Amazon will have to increase margins, which may be possible based on the power of the brand and the value it provides through a convenient, trustworthy shopping experience. 

The tragedy is that the old-time catalogers such as Sears and Wards squandered their dominance by disrespecting their customers. Had they maintained the  trust of their clientele, they could have made the transition to the online era, and Amazon would probably not have achieved the success it has enjoyed.   

Herein lies a lesson for all marketers. The most important asset a business has is a trusted brand. Focus on maintaining that, and you can survive any disruptive technology, as long as you don't develop a fetishistic devotion to the means of distribution. Sears was not in the catalog business, or even the retail store business. It was in the business of delivering value by providing affordable goods and services. Many American business, including the auto industry, lost sight of that in the 60s and 70s, By abusing customer trust, they sealed their fate, the the detriment of the customer, the company, and the country.  

Sunshine Act could cause 3rd degree sunburns

Check out an article in the August 2013 issue of MedAdNews entitled "Responding to Sunshine" (it isn't online yet as far as I can tell as of this writing).

Here's the scary part, which comes close to the end of the piece:

"Federal and state agencies will regularly consult the data to uncover investigation opportunities. The IRS may start auditing physician tax filings once they see the posted data. The DOJ will be looking for potential violations of the Ant--Kickback statute (AKS), where payments may be seen as inducements to prescribe products. And if a claim is submitted to a federal health care program for payment of items prescribed in violation of AKS, the False Claims Act could be implicated. We will see cases brought that link Sunshine to both of these laws."

So physicians will not just risk public exposure and embarrassment when they accept payments from pharma, they will be exposed to serious legal risks.

Clearly, the Sunshine Act is going to exert a powerful disincentive for physicians to provide any services or accept anything of value from the industry. There are clear downsides. Valuable industry-professional collaboration may cease to exist. Some industry business models may be vaporized, with a commensurate impact on sales.

However, there may be a silver lining to these clouds. Opportunities for new service businesses may arise to provide services previously rendered by physicians. Industry expenses may be reduced by enforcing rules that apply to every pharmaceutical company and physician, with stiff penalties for non-compliance. 

Only time will tell how these benefits and risks play out. But one thing is clear: physicians will be loathe to accept any money from pharmaceutical companies if the legal risks become clear as enforcement actions ensue.

Content marketing--use all the available tools

I took in a webinar the other day on content marketing. The presenter suggested a number of different ways to repurpose content (e.g., white papers) to leverage it for maximum exposure. These include:

• Email--this includes transactional emails, which can reference available content in signature lines 

• Slideshare using keywords that will attract your target market

• YouTube

• Podcast

• Web site resource center

• Infographic on Pinterest

• Press release distributed via service such as 24-7pressrelease.com

• Syndication via services such as zdnet and edocr.com

• Review sites such as Yelp

You put a lot of time, energy and money into your content. Be sure to use tools such as email and the others described above to publicize it. Content marketing doesn't necessarily work like the movie Field of Dreams--if you build it, they may NOT come unless you promote it.

65% of oncologists hard to see--an argument for non-personal promotion including email

I just read that ZS Associates has the 7th toughest interview process in the country. Since they're hiring nothing but the best and brightest, their opinions carry some weight.

So I read with interest a post on Pharmalot today citing a ZS study which found that oncologists are the toughest specialty for pharmaceutical representatives to see. Other specialties are tough too.

What's interesting is the trend: In 2008, ZS found only 17% of oncs were hard to see. Part of this, as ZS cogently notes, is the proliferation of onclology products over the past 5 years, each with an eager sales force banging on the doors of onciology practices across the fruited plain.

However another factor is involved as well: the fact that more and more practices restrict rep access.

To me, this marked increase in hard to see and no-see physicians is a forceful argument for using more non-personal promotion, including email. MMS recently surveyed physicians and found over 60% prefer to receive information about pharmaceutical products via email, whereas only 20% preferred sales reps. This may be in part due to the fact that they CAN'T see reps due to organizational restrictions.  

Here's a link to the PharmaLive piece about the ZS study:

http://www.pharmalive.com/oncologists-continue-to-shun-sales-reps-more-than-other-docs?cid=nl.phrm01

Here's a link to the MMS survey about physician information delivery preferences:

http://www.mmslists.com/email_2012/mms_2013_survey_results.pdf



 

The Strategic Importance of Email

At this year's Digital Pharma West, I had the privilege of hearing Dev Dutta of Merck speak on the strategic importance of email in  pharmaceutical marketing. In one 45-minute presentation, Dev summed up the message I would like all pharma marketers to hear.

His essential point was that email is not merely a tactic. When used properly, it is a strategic platform that can achieve important marketing objectives quickly and measurably.

So when Anna Stashower invited me to submit a Guest Commentary on the conference for publication in PM360 magazine, it didn't take me long to decide to write up Dev's presentation.

Here's a link to the piece:

 http://www.pm360online.com/the-strategic-importance-of-email

I strongly encourage you to read it, as it can change the way you use email in a very positive way.
   

Massachussetts healthcare reform poll shows troubling shape of things to come for Obamacare

For a view of the shape of things to come post-Obamacare, read this article on public opinion in Massachusetts, based on a Massachusetts Medical Society poll.
 

Causes for concern:

• Wait times of over a month for primary care are reported;

• ER use is at an all-time high;

• Cost remains a consumer concern;

• 2/3 of respondents do not want to see NP or PA instead of MD or DO.

On the bright side, most respondents are satisfied with and have access to health care. But since Obamacare is so similar to the Massachusetts system (aka Romneycare during the last election), the items above show the issues that will emerge in all likelihood. People who are frustrated with wait times will head to expensive emergency rooms. Costs will remain a consumer concern but will be even more challenging to the federal government. Substituting PAs and NPs for physicians, a logical solution to address cost and access issues, will be challenging based on consumer preference for MDs and DOs.

See a local press report with a  link to the survey results here:

http://www.golocalworcester.com/health/mms-releases-health-care-public-opinion-poll-for-2013/
  

5 magnetic headline types and 3 headline writing tips

Here's yet another winner from this month's Target Marketing magazine, authored by Joy Gendusa (www.poscardmania.com): 
 
Joy cites 5 types 5 Types of Magnetic Headlines that draw readers in:

• Type 1: Best/worst.  "The 3 Best Ways to Treat Damaged Hair" or "The 7 Worst Home Decorating Choices You Can Make."

 

• Type 2: How-to.  "How to Plant Your Own Garden," "How to Clean Your Own Jewelry at Home," etc. .

 

• Type 3: Fact vs. fiction/truth vs. lies.  "4 Things Your Mortgage Lender Won't Tell You." .

 

• Type 4: Dangling carrot. "3 Fast Ways to Turn a One-Pack into a Six-Pack.", "5 Best Purchases for HUGE Cash Flow." 

• Type 5: Danger-avoidance.  "Is Disaster Lurking Beneath Your Home?"

 
She adds 3 headline writing tips
 

• Use numbers: "5 Ways to ..." or "3 Steps to ...".

 

• Use engaging words like "supercharge," "outrageous" or "exciting" judiciously.

 

• Use pop culture references.

Read the entire article here:

http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/5-formulas-pull-traffic-3-tips-write-headlines-allure#

6 tips for newsletter publishers

Here are six great tips for newsletter publishers courtesy of the legendary Reggie Brady (www.reggiebrady.com) @rbinCT from the most recent Target Marketing magazine www.targetmarketing.com @TargetMktg:


• Use a snippet at the top of your emails to highlight additional topics not covered in the subject line.

• If you have a table of contents, use anchor links so readers can easily click to the article of interest.

• Check your width. With so many people reading emails on a mobile device, you want your content to be accessible. Keep your width as close as 500 pixels as possible.

• If you use columns, make sure the important information is in the larger left-hand column. Some mobile devices will only show the upper right-hand part of the screen.

• More than 40 percent of emails are read on a mobile device; therefore, you need to rethink font sizes. Headlines should be a font size of 22 and body copy should have a minimum font size of 13 to ensure certain browsers will not resize your copy. Any call-to-action buttons should be 29 x 44 pixels with 10-pixel padding.

• Sharing is important! Friends and colleagues are influencers. With newsletters, it is likely that you want to include sharing icons after each article to maximize exposure

Here's a link to the full article:

http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/how-e-newsletters-enhance-your-communication-strategy/1

MMS makes it in the Big Apple

Yes, MMS has finally made it in the Big Apple. We got our name in lights in Times Square! How, you may ask? Well, we sponsored a survey of recruiters conducted by the National Association of Physician Recruiters (NAPR) as well as a press release via PR Newswire publicizing the study.
Evidently, when you issue a PR Newswire press release, you get the pictured exposure.

Hopefully some of our potential customers looked up as they struggled to navigate the Manhattan pedestrian challenge.

The Newspaper

While reading this week's Crain's Chicago Business, I came across a photo of the office of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, legendary publisher of the Chicago Tribune. On the mantle of the fireplace is a definition of the word newspaper. As a long time reader and former employee, the Tribune is an institution that has a special place in my heart, and the Tribune Tower has always been one of my favorite Chicago icons. So I did a little Web research and found the full definition, which dates back to 1924:
 

"The newspaper is an institution developed by modern civilization to present the news of the day, to foster commerce and industry, to inform and lead public opinion, and to furnish that check upon government which no constitution has ever been able to provide."

 

While newspapers are on life support, substitute the word "media" or "journalism" or even "Internet" and the definition remains evergreen.

 

Journalists still present the news of the day, inform and lead public opinion, and provide a check on government. I would quibble with the reference to the Constitution, as without the First Amendment thereto there might be no free press in the US.

 

The clause referring to fostering commerce as part of the purpose of journalism, spoken like a true publisher vs. an editor, also struck me. Journalism has always been a business, and it is a positive contribution to foster commerce, as commerce makes everything else in our society possible.

 

While the traditional ink on newsprint newspaper is rapidly evolving into bits, bytes and pixels displayed on multiple screens large and small, the underlying purposes and activities of journalism remain remarkably unchanged almost a century after The Colonel so aptly defined it.

Copy--the long and short of it

Yesterday, I joined a discussion in the LinkedIn Direct Mail group about long copy vs. short copy. This is one of the most ancient debates in the direct marketing and copywriting world, and there are fierce advocates on both sides.

My basic philosophy on this eternal question is threefold: first, copy should be as long as it needs to be to get the job done; second, it is somewhat medium dependent; third, it needs to be tested perhaps on a segmented basis using age and other demographics.

In regard to medium dependency, for example, email, copy should be shorter in the message itself, with a call to action that may be used to drive readers to a longer form appeal.

Having just participated in a webinar about millennials and Generation Z (the next generation after millennial who are basically 13 at the oldest as I understand it) probably had a lot to do with my call  for generational segmentation.

I got some pushback on that, which was valid. Claims are made that the average attention span of the youth of America has declined from 12 minutes to five or less, Harry Potter novels still get read. Nonetheless, I still think that in this day and age it makes sense to test the most concise copy possible.    

I must share the latest comment in the fairly active discussion by Michael Gama: 

"I read an article years ago, written by an early DM copywriter (Caples?) who promised a friend (just call him John Smith) "I can write a full page ad for the NYT, total copy, with no photographs, and I guarantee you'll read every word of it." Mystified, Smith asked him how he could be so confident. The DM copywriter answered, "Because the huge headline will say, 'The Truth About John Smith.'" The point here is fairly obvious, and is still worth remembering today, I suspect. So, long vs. short copy is really, arguably, while not unimportant, still a secondary concern behind others such as proper targeting and showcasing benefits."
 

So the ancient debate goes on. The answer, as usual in direct marketing, is test and see what works best for you.

Healthcare Marketing Trends

Medical Marketing and Media magazine and Ogilvy Commonhealth Worldwide did a good study of health care marketing trends, which was published in the June 2013 issue.

Here's what I highlighted as I read the report:

• Direct marketing is being used by 67% of respondents, about the same as in 2012, but 35% increased budget devoted to direct marketing, whereas only 28% decreased spend;

• Marketing service companies must integrate their offerings and become more dynamic to serve the changing needs of the health care industry;

• Health care marketers use referrals and relationships as their primary method to find sources for marketing services, but procurement plays a much larger role in larger companies;

• Physicians remain the most important audience according to respondents, followed by nurse practitioners (NPs) and (PAs), although it is thought that Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation will make NPs and PAs a more important target;

• The elimination of lifetime health insurance benefit caps could substantially help marketers of high priced products.

       You can access the report here.

The state of medical association membership marketing

In another life, back before the turn of the century, I spent about a decade in membership marketing for the American Medical Association (AMA). While it was a challenging task, it turned out I did pretty well, as I still hold the record for number of AMA members and market share.

Although it's been a while, I still have an interest in what's working in membership marketing. As you might imagine, so do many of my current clients at MMS.

So I was interested in the results of a membership marketing survey we conducted of our health care professional association clients. It turns out that the findings are a lot like visiting an old hometown--much is the same but there are definitely some new developments.

We conducted the survey in July 2013. We asked a simple, open-ended question:

"Can you share what your organization is doing to increase membership? What media are you using—direct mail, email, telemarketing, social media? What’s working best?"

The respondents indicated they were using the following tactics:

• Direct Mail--the oldest of media was cited as one of the most effective for new member acquisition;


• Email--No surprise here, as email has by far the best ROI of any direct marketing media, 47:1 according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). In some cases, emails campaigns are conducted personally by local and national elected leadership rather than by association staff;


• Trade Shows--Exhibits are working well for at least one association to acquire new members. Trade shows are selected if current members belong to them, if their members responded well to direct mail and email, and based on partnerships with other groups;
  


• Social Media--I personally think social media has great potential for membership marketing when used in tandem with email. Because people are so price sensitive these days, the new style membership marketing vision is to use email to recruit potential members to social media such as LinkedIn groups, Twitter feeds, etc. Then the social media are used to warm up prospects with member discounts on member-only benefits such as trade shows, publications, etc.;
  


• Telemarketing--In some cases, association staff participated to recruit new and retain existing members. As when I was in the trenches, telemarketing was much more cost- effective for retention.

All in all, 21st century marketing looks a lot like its 20th century antecedent, with the exception of the addition of two media which weren't around yet back then: email and social media.



  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to get a free copy of Forrester's Email Marketing Scorecard

I just got a copy of Forrester's Email Marketing Scorecard, courtesy of Exact Target, which is now owned by Saleseforce.com. It is a useful platform for benchmarketing, evaluating, and improving your email marketing progam.

I agreed with almost all the criteria used by Forrester, but here are a few that echo what I've been telling email marketers about best practices:

• Use email strategically based on advanced analytics--By strategy, Forrester means evaluating how well email programs engender engagement, incorporate email-specific customer research, deepen customer relationships rather than just driving email conversions, and integrate into a larger multichannel customer-communications strategy. Strategy also involves quantifying the long-term or lifetime value of email subscribers rather than just evaluating ROI on the immediate purchases triggered by a campaign. Forrester recommends a defined and documented email marketing strategy outlining program goals, metrics, and measurement methods across divisions;

• Include social media--Forrester research indicates that personalized, engaging, interactive content (including user-generated testimonials, images, and videos) resonates with users. 26% of US online adults have found websites through an email from a friend or family member. Therefore, Forrester scores incorporation of user-generated content and ease of social sharing;

• Use segmentation--Forrester recommends using preference based data combined with behavioral data;

• Test--Forrester recommends monitoring delivery issues, managing frequency, and testing various creative approaches and what they call the user experience (UX);

• Optimize UX--This includes the keys to email success. The subscription process should capture relevant data to drive segmentation concisely. Email content should be engaging and customized. A clear call to action should be placed "above the fold". Emails should be easily shareable. from lines should engender trust. Subject lines should compel the recipient to open the email by using descriptive, evocative, and benefit-focused copy. Layouts must be quickly scannable, including benefit-focused headlines and subheads, with concise copy. "Alt tags" should be used so that the message is clear even when images are suppressed. An option to view in a mobile-friendly format must be included--better yet, the message should be designed for mobile first.

Forrester also recommends quarterly campaign benchmarking and competitor analysis.

To get the Scorecard free, go here.

           

Mobile device use virtually ubiquitous among primary care physicians

The stats just keep on coming, but these are more remarkable than most. According to a survey of practicing primary care (FP and IM ) physicians conducted in April 2013 by Ipsos for Wolters Kluwer Health:

• Nearly 80%  use  smartphones in their “day-to-day practice.” 61% use mobile tablets.

• The top use is obtaining prescription drug information, such as side effects and interactions, and for dosage calculations--78% use smartphones for that purpose, 55% use tablets.

These statistics underscore yet again the importance of designing email and other medical marcomm for a three screen environment. The simplest way to do so is to design for mobile first.

Other findings of interest:

• Physicians use the larger-screened tablets more than smartphones for reading medical research--63% use tablets vs. 43% using smartphones.

• Phones however are the first choice for patient communications, used by 33% of respondents, only 17% of whom reported using tablets to communicate with patients. 

• Professional journals remain the most popular source for accessing the latest information for diagnosis, treatment and ongoing care of patients--84% of respondents report using journals  journals frequently or occasionally. But 80% reported using general Web searches on Google, Yahoo and others.

• Doctors do not think health information technology (HIT) is lowering the cost of care. In fact, almost 80%  they think it's raising costs. However most concede that HIT improves safety, quality, and evidence-based medicine. 

The rule of seven touches

In the midst of a lengthy New Yorker magazine piece ("How Good Ideas Spread", by Atul Gawande, MD about the important topic of global diffusion of medical knowledge, I came across a rather surprising reference to medical marketing:

"This is something that salespeople understand well. I once asked a pharmaceutical rep how he persuaded doctors—who are notoriously stubborn—to adopt a new medicine. Evidence is not remotely enough, he said, however strong a case you may have. You must also apply “the rule of seven touches.” Personally “touch” the doctors seven times, and they will come to know you; if they know you, they might trust you; and, if they trust you, they will change. That’s why he stocked doctors’ closets with free drug samples in person. Then he could poke his head around the corner and ask, “So how did your daughter Debbie’s soccer game go?” Eventually, this can become “Have you seen this study on our new drug? How about giving it a try?” As the rep had recognized, human interaction is the key force in overcoming resistance and speeding change."

Later in the article, Gawande interviews an Indian nurse and asks her why she has listened to a less experienced trainer's suggestions on delivering babies. The answer is poignantly simple:

 “She was nice.She smiled a lot. It wasn’t like talking to someone who was trying to find mistakes, it was like talking to a friend.”

In one sense this is a powerful argument for the importance of personal promotion in medical marketing. However, in an era when expense and access make personal promotion more scarce than ever, the lessons can also be applied to non-personal promotion (NPP).

First, the rule of seven touches can be applied to NPP. My personal experience and industry best practices confirm that it takes up to seven contacts to influence behavior. Certainly, NPP can be integrated with personal promotion to leverage relationships, reminding health care professionals (HCPs) of messages first introduced through personal contact.

Second, there is a matter of tone. Emails can be sent from a person known and respected by the recipient. Language can be friendly and personal, as opposed to bureaucratic and impersonal. Can an email "smile"? Yes, if it includes a flattering, cheerful photo of the sender.

Certainly these assertions can be tested. But Gawande's New Yorker article certainly provides food for thought.

10 fundamental, universe-defining communication truths from Roger D'Aprix

I never heard of Roger D'Aprix until this morning. But now I'd like to meet him. Because he is a sage wise man, with over 50 years of experience in communications. Imagine that: 50 years. In these days when seniority and experience seem to be considered liabilities, it is refreshing that Ragan Communications saw fit to share the wisdom of a lifetime in a post entitled  "10 fundamental communication truths and their solutions"

It is a great read, but I'll share my favorite insights (the ones I tweeted @tjpnugent).

• Stop being bedazzled by the newest technical delivery platforms. They’re just transports. It’s the cargo that counts;
• Get over fear of measurement. Correlations are as persuasive as you can get. Cause-and-effect of success is almost never clear;
• Become a perpetual learner and change expert;
• Understand that only outcomes count; the rest is mere activity.

Wisdom is rare and must be treasured, and often translates into simple common sense. In Roger, it is abundant.

4 billion email addresses

There are 3.6 billion email accounts in 2013, and by 2016, the number will reach 4.3 billion according to Campaigner.com (@CampaignerEmail).

Given that there are about 7 billion people on the planet according to the US Census Bureau, there is still room for growth. World email market share is about 50% by that measure. Email penetration in the US is higher at about 66% according to eMarketer.

MMS has email addresses for over 70% of US physicians, which is pretty consistent with the statistics above, indicating that physicians as one might expect are somewhat more likely than the general population.

One may expect that US email penetration will eventually approach 100% both in the general population as well as among physicians and other healthcare providers. Which is perhaps one reason why email is experiencing something of a renaissance. Another factor is the mobilization of computing. Email becomes perhaps the best way to reach people wherever they are--at home, at work, or on the go, as they are always able to check email regardless of location.

Another factor is the ability to use email as sort of a unique ID using something called "hashing". Hashing uses an algorithm to convert emails into 32-character hexadecimal strings which can then be used like cookies to segment and target customer lists without exchanging active email addresses. Learn more about that here.       

All and all, the future looks bright for email marketing.

MMS Moves

My employer, MMS, Inc. moved last week from Wood Dale, IL, our home for the entire Nugent era (1989-) to Schaumburg, IL, home to Woodfield Mall as well as MMS World HQ.

Our new address is:

935 National Parkway, Ste. 93510
Schaumburg, IL 60173-5150

Phone numbers are unchanged and our Web site still resides at www.mmslists.com.
   

Welcome to the Nugentverse

Welcome to the Nugentverse. The name is something of a double entendre. I envision that this blog will be a way to share my view on the universe, one perspective among the 7 billion+ human perspectives available, set forth in verse (actually prose, but Nugentprose just doesn't resonate).

Most of my posts will probably relate to my profession, which is direct marketing to health care professionals. But I may venture into other arenas should the muse summon me there.

The views I express here are not necessarily those of my employer or anyone else.