Last week, the Wall Street Journal ran an article entitled “Drug Reps Soften Their Sales Pitches.”  In it, Jonathan D. Rockoff reports that several drug companies (including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck& Co and Eli Lily & Co) told sales reps to stop “detailing” doctors with aggressive, tightly-scripted sales pitches and instead provide information that doctors really want – i.e., patient education materials, caregiver resources and reimbursement guidelines.  In the process, physician satisfaction has improved and drug sales are rising.

With this shift, big pharma has discovered what the services sector has long known:  customers want conversations and solutions, not well-rehearsed messages.

The challenge, of course, is that real solutions are hard to come by.  As Chris Wright of Zs Associates notes:

“Shifting gears has proven thorny in some cases….Some longtime sales representatives, used to repeating  a scripted message, aren’t equipped to intuit and respond to what doctors want.  Promotion of drugs is highly regulated, making it tricky to give salespeople lots of leeway in what they discuss with physicians.”

In this respect, healthcare companies are quite similar to financial services organizations.  Both sell complex, sophisticated products.  Both are highly regulated.  Both have been slow to adopt new marketing and distribution models.  Both are under intense pressure to transform themselves due to new regulations and new financial strains.

Each sector has important lessons to teach the other, including:

1. Education and Personalization.  More than a decade ago, financial services companies understood that consumers are in the driver’s seat.  In response, they supplemented product campaigns with financial literacy programs, decision-support tools and advice.  They also customized products and educational programs by customer life-stages, behavior patterns and goals.
2.  Consultative Sales.  Years ago, money management firms replaced “sales professionals” with “advisors” and “planners.”  Today, big pharma companies are moving toward a more consultative sales model – as are health insurance companies, who are acquiring healthcare advisory firms and integrated care management firms at a rapid pace.
3. Endorsement-Marketing.  Pharmaceutical companies are experts at endorsement-marketing.  They understand the power of Key Opinion Leaders (e.g., doctors, researchers) – and the credibility of advisory boards and academic studies.  Financial services companies have been slow to enlist expert endorsement.  As consumers take on more responsibility for their financial futures, look for more guidance from highly-credentialed financiers and risk managers.

What other lessons can communicators and marketers in these two sectors teach one another?

Connect with Meg:

Phone:  212.840.0095
Email: meg@blisspr.com
Twitter: @megwildrick
LinkedIn: Meg Wildrick

A recent New York Times article “Doctors Hear Many Questions about the Health Law” found that both doctors and their patients, whether they supported or opposed the bill, are frustrated by the lack of information they are getting on healthcare changes. This suggests that for all the emphasis the Obama Administration placed on “selling” the healthcare plan ahead of the November midterm elections, they may be missing the mark.

The lack of information sharing is surprising from a Federal Government with a history of providing a plethora of information on related regulatory issues. For example, employers and employees can find everything from rules and requirements, to template notices and IRS tax filings from the Department of Labor website relating to the recent extension of the COBRA subsidy (designed to provide affordable healthcare to employees laid-off during the recession).

While the healthcare reform legislation is undoubtedly a more complicated animal, and confusion surrounding healthcare is unintentional, the Obama Administration’s healthcare initiative would benefit greatly from a more organized PR plan. The government has made some information available on the web at healthreform.gov, but it is largely focused on questions for individuals, not healthcare providers, and for many Americans the topic of healthcare reform is too daunting to confront without the help of a physician. 

To really “sell” their plan to the public, the Obama Administration needs to shift their PR focus to the physicians and insurance brokers who are on the front lines of reform implementation, and are fielding many of the questions plaguing average Americans. Providing doctors and brokers with information to help them answer some of these questions will decrease frustration and make the issue of healthcare reform more accessible to the public.

That’s our Financial Services Practice Group’s “Two Cents – how do you think the Obama Administration should share information about healthcare reform?

To reach Erica:

Phone: 212.840.1661
Email: erica@blisspr.com
Twitter: @EricaMichel

For B2B marketers – especially those of us who work with consulting firms, accounting firms and IT service providers – thought leadership is nothing new. We’ve been using content (e.g., trend reports, market analyses, by-lined articles, podcasts, books and e-books, microsites) for years to build differentiation and visibility. 

In the offline world, proprietary content has always been a valuable sales tool to start conversations, build credibility and open doors. In the online world, it has become a cornerstone of brand positioning and engagement.

Earlier this month, Gartner Group issued a news release on the benefits of Thought Leadership Marketing. In it, Gartner refers to the growing discipline of Thought Leadership Marketing (TLM), which analyst Rolf Jester defines as “giving away a little valuable intellectual property to establish your potential usefulness to [a] client in the expectation that the client will use your expertise and services.”

According to Gartner, Thought Leadership is a company’s sampling program. Just as packaged goods companies encourage customers to “try before they buy” by giving away samples, so too do thought leaders write articles and blog posts, give speeches, host webinars and participate in online forums. By so doing, they give customers a chance to sample their expertise. They offer a taste of the individual and/or institutional knowledge that they build into every product and service.

On its own, sampling is a valuable tool. It builds credibility and helps reduce the risk of buying – especially when what’s being sold is an intangible such as advisory services, analytics or protection products. But thought leadership marketing has additional advantages, which is why it’s also gaining popularity among a broad range of B2B and B2C companies (e.g.,  banks, consumer health companies, product companies, pharmaceutical/device manufacturers and retailers to name a few).

Among the top five benefits:

1. Credibility: Thought leadership demonstrates your thinking and expertise. It’s a chance to showcase the “4 Ps” of Thought Leadership– i.e., predictive thinking, prescriptive advice and provocative yet prudent points of view. By offering up information, insights and ideas, you position yourself (and your company) as a trusted resource.
2. Efficiency: Most companies sell more than one product or service. Typically, thought leadership cuts across products to address issues that impact multiple customer groups – issues such as regulatory change, demographic trends and emerging technologies. As a result, a single piece of content can generate visibility, awareness and engagement for several products. In one-on-one meetings and conferences, sales professionals can use findings from reports and studies as door openers with clients. And, marketers can repurpose the same content (in the form of reports, transcripts, articles, media quotes, videos) to drive online traffic to company websites and microsites.
3. Engagement & Differentiation. Traditional marketing approaches are losing their impact. As a result, marketers are turning to thought leadership as a way to differentiate their products and services. Companies motivate customers with ideas and information. They start a dialogue in which they “engage with” prospects vs. “selling at” them. 
4. Searchability. Good content increases find-ability. As more companies launch mircosites and digital information hubs, the battle for readers/fans has become fierce. Search engine optimization (SEO) and link acquisition help you build a fan pipeline. 
5. Spreadability. Content and ideas are the raw material of social marketing. Nowadays, it only takes 10 fans (as Seth Godin reminds us) to make ideas and points-of-view spread. “Those ten people need what you have to sell, or want it.…If they love it, they’ll each find you ten more people (or a hundred or a thousand or perhaps just three).”   Social networks are tailor-made for sharing content. Good ideas – i.e., blog posts, articles, videos, analyses – spread broadly and quickly.

Of course, ideas – like most things – vary in quality.  Some are insightful and game-changing.  Others are inconsequential. As more companies scramble to develop Thought Leadership, the playing field becomes increasingly competitive and the bar for originality rises. Sampling programs only work, after all, when quality levels are high.

For companies that meet (or exceed) the bar for high-quality content, Thought Leadership Marketing is an approach that sells.

Is your company using Thought Leadership to drive revenue? If so, what’s working well? What’s holding you back?

To reach Meg:
Phone:  212.840.0095 
Email: meg@blisspr.com
Twitter: @megwildrick
LinkedIn: Meg Wildrick

Healthcare: During the Super Bowl pre-game show on Sunday, President Obama announced plans to assemble a bipartisan healthcare session at the While House. The session would be televised live this month, allowing Americans to see if/how Democrats and Republicans are working together. Read more here: http://nyti.ms/9A9d4p

Markets: We love Mondays!! Well at least the markets love Mondays. Since the start of 4Q, the S&P 500 has risen on 15 Mondays, dropping only twice, with an average daily return of 72 basis points. That’s enough to cure the Monday blues. Read more about this Monday effect. Also, while earnings season is just about coming to a halt, we still have some big names such as Coke and Disney reporting Tuesday. Economic data is a bit thin, with December wholesale trade numbers due out Tuesday, December trade deficit Wednesday and January retail sales reporting on Thursday.

Banking: As Obama tightens his hold on the banking industry, many of the big Wall Street banks are diverting cash donations they traditionally gave to the Democrat Party to the Republicans. The shift is seen as a protest by the banks to register their displeasure at the Government’s strict plans for the industry. The New York Times ran an interesting article this weekend discussing the message Wall Street is sending to the Government. For the full article please click here.

What has captured YOUR eye this week?

To reach Sally:

Phone:  212.584.5482  
Email: sally@blisspr.com
Twitter: @sallymartin
LinkedIn: Sally Martin

M&A:  This morning British chocolate makers Cadbury accepted a bid of 11.9 billion pounds ($19.7 million) from Kraft foods after 4 months of wrangling. The deal creates the world’s largest confectioner. Cadbury shareholders will get 840 pence a share, with 500 pence of that in cash and the rest in stock. Cadbury will also pay them an extra 10 pence per share as a dividend once the deal is unconditional. For full terms of the deal, please click here.

Markets:  All eyes are watching the special election today in Massachusetts for the late Senator Kennedy’s Senate seat. According to a survey by InsiderAdvantage/Politico, Republican Scott Brown holds a slight lead over Democratic runner Martha Coakley with a 52% to 43% gain. The pressing issue at hand is the needed 60^th vote for the healthcare bill. If Brown wins we will most likely see the bill dead in the water. If Coakley takes the seat some version of the healthcare bill will likely become law. To read more click here.

To reach Karlsson:

Phone: 212.584.5485
Email: karlsson@blisspr.com
Twitter: @kbanks
LinkedIn: Karlsson Banks

Bankruptcy: Since being bought out 2 years ago by a private equity firm, the troubles of the Reader’s Digest Association have been fairly well documented. For a number of years it has been trying to overhaul the magazine’s image both externally and internally, only to file Chapter 11 in August of this year. The weekend NY Times ran an in depth piece on Sunday detailing the demise of Reader’s Digest and how the company plans to reshape for the future.

Banking: Following the UK Government’s announcement earlier this month that they would be imposing a 50% tax on the portion of discretionary banking bonuses above £25,000 ($40,355), banks across the globe are debating whether to “spread the pain” of this new bonus tax among their global workforce by reducing bonus pools across the board. An article in today’s Wall Street Journal states that banks have two options. The first is that banks may choose to pay out the planned amount of bonuses to U.K. employees in order to keep their top people and simply shoulder the 50% tax. Or, they could offset the tax by lowering bonus pools across the firm as a whole.

Healthcare: The Senate on Sunday evening, voting 60-40, approved the first of three motions needed to close off debate on the health bill. The action made clear the White House has enough votes to ensure passage – potentially on Christmas Eve – of the broadest health legislation in a generation.

Retail: Cadbury PLC’s chief executive said Friday his company’s shareholders do not embrace Kraft Food Inc.’s $16.2 billion offer to acquire the British confectionery company. Since Kraft made its initial approach to Cadbury, no additional bidders have entered the fray. Hershey Co. and Italian chocolate maker Ferrero Spa have acknowledged that they are considering a rival bid for Cadbury. Hershey has lined up billions of dollars in financing for a potential bid but has yet to decide whether to go forward. Read more: here

An update from last week’s retail news: Urban Outfitters said Thursday its CFO John E. Kyees will retire and will be replaced by Eric Artz, CFO of VF Contemporary Brands, who will join the company effective Feb. 1, 2010.Kyees will take the title of chief investor relations officer on Feb. 1 through his scheduled retirement date of June 30. Read more: here

What news has captured your attention as YOUR week gets started?

To reach Sally:

Phone: 212.584.5482
Email: sally@blisspr.com
Twitter: @sallymartin
LinkedIn: Sally Martin

In my last blog post, I shared Six Tips to Jumpstart Thought Leadership. For many, the idea generation phase (i.e., deciding what issues to address, what to say and how to say it) is the hardest. For others, the execution phase (e.g., writing) is harder still. In this post, we offer four tips to make the writing process less stressful – and more effective.

• Write from the reader’s/audience’s perspective. Remember the end-audience. Put yourself in their place and make sure your content speaks to their needs and interests.

• Use subheads and transitional phrases – Subheads guide the reader. Many readers skim or graze.  Subheads and bullets help them understand the gist of your message quickly. Connector words – e.g., “furthermore,” “as a result,” “on the other hand,” “similarly,” and “still” – also help the reader understand your argument quickly and easily.

• Spend time on the headline and lead sentence. Headlines and leads grab the reader’s attention and acclimate him/her to your point-of-view. Here are 5 tips for writing them:
  • Use active vs. passive verbs.
  • Cleverness counts – readers need to be engaged upfront.
  • Simplicity counts too. Readers spend an average of 3 seconds on headlines – and an average of 30 seconds on the lead sentence. You need to communicate your message quickly and concisely
  • Use familiar words and phrases.
  • Make sure your headline relates to – and works with – your content. Your headline and lead serve as a preview. They should excite readers…but never mislead.

• Go back, cut out words, and simplify your writing. Your writing should communicate and persuade – not confuse with hard-to-understand words. Good writers edit and re-edit, cutting complexity with each pass. Look for ways to reduce a six-word headline to four. See if there are a group of words you can replace with a single word. Keep sentences relatively short. Pay attention to rhythm and clarity.

Good ideas rarely sell themselves. They need to be communicated clearly and persuasively. What writing tips work best for you?

To reach Meg:
Phone: 212.840.0095
Email: meg@blisspr.com
Twitter: @megwildrick
LinkedIn: Meg Wildrick

Getting the payment model right is important, of course. But equally important is helping consumers make smart wellness decisions throughout their lives. Studies show that simple prevention and screening programs are the most cost-effective way to keep patients healthy and productive. And, early detection allows the widest possible range of treatment choices.

A Smart PR Platform

Because of this, wellness and prevention have become key public relations platforms for organizations in and around healthcare. By providing information, advice and decision-support tools on healthy living, these companies generate loyalty from consumers, doctors, employers, payors and policymakers alike. They also generate trust and humanize the brand.

A good example is GE Healthcare. The unit’s former leader, Joe Hogan (who left GE earlier this year to become chief executive of the $29 billion Swiss-based ABB Ltd.) was the primary spokesperson for an e-health and wellness campaign, which included a blog, book, videos, bylined articles and speaking platforms. For many years, GE Healthcare earned a “wellness dividend” from this campaign, closing huge hospital equipment deals in the US and Europe.

Strong PR Dividends

With Hogan’s departure, the campaign lost momentum, leaving the door open for a new cadre of spokespeople. A number of companies in a wide range of industries – including financial services (MetLife) and consumer goods (J&J) – have taken up the mantle.  In May, GE reinvigorated its commitment to wellness with the launch of its Healthy Imagination campaign.  

At a time when healthcare is dominating the headlines (and public mind-share), wellness is an issue that pays high PR dividends. 

What steps has your company taken to improve public (and/or employee) health? Are there ways to publicize your commitment – and earn a wellness dividend in the process?

(Photo by Y)

To reach Meg:
Phone: 212.840.0095
Email: meg@blisspr.com
Twitter: @megwildrick
LinkedIn: Meg Wildrick

One Step Back

That’s a medical problem – as well as a communications issue – because mammography is proven to reduce breast cancer mortality.

Unlike ovarian cancer – for which there have been no large studies that demonstrate that screening saves lives – breast cancer research is conclusive, according to Dr. Michael Seiden, CEO of Fox Chase Cancer Center.  Breast cancer is 10x more common than ovarian cancer, and mammography has three decades of clinical data behind it.

As a result, “the guidelines tell an incomplete story,” notes Dr. Norton.  “The math is defensible, but it’s 10 years old.”  What the guidelines don’t take into account is the number of women who will be diagnosed with larger tumors – requiring radical surgery vs. lumpectomy – as a result of later-stage detection.

Two Steps Forward

Later-stage detection may also prevent women from taking advantage of two very promising new therapies, which target small tumors and pre-invasive cancers.  One such therapy involves gene sampling in small tumors to determine which cells are responsive to chemotherapy.

Another test (currently in animal trials) may allow doctors to detect – and treat – early stage breast cancer by identifying wandering (or “self-seeding”) cells.  Self-seeding cancer cells are believed to enter the blood stream (but not the lymphatic system) before metastasis occurs.

These and other women’s health issues were discussed at the Harmonie Club forum on Women’s Health November 18.  Speakers included Evelyn Lauder, Founder and Chairman of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation; Denise Grady, science and news department, The New York Times; Dr. Larry Norton and Dr. Michael Seiden.

Among the other Questions and Answers:

Question: Are ultrasound and thermography as effective as mammography?
Answer: No.  Mammograms detect calcium deposits and lumps.  Thermography and ultrasound only detect lumps.  Ideally, we want to find cancer before tumors form.

This Monday our weekly Top Line News Summary highlights three different sectors: banking, healthcare, and the markets.  Last week we covered bankruptcy, real estate and retail – more to come next week from our primary sectors.  To sign up to receive these posts regularly, click here.  

Without further ado, look for these topics to make the news this week:

Banking: With the Fed issuing a new rule that will require banks to get customer consent before they charge overdraft fees and Congress looking to draft legislation in the coming months on just this topic, it’s opportune timing that U.S. banks are easing how much they charge their customers in overdraft fees.  A new study from Moebs Services Inc. found that during the last 5 months, U.S. banks raised their standard overdraft fees at the slowest rate in 17 years, which is good news for those customers struggling in the wake of the recession.

Healthcare:  President Obama’s healthcare reform bill finally landed on the Senate floor.  Expect more news in the coming weeks as Democratic and Republican leaders debate major issues – the public option being one of them.  To read more: please click here.

Markets: There’s a lot of action in the markets today with home sales numbers released and soaring commodities and gold prices.  October home sales were up 10.1%, beating expectations.  The Dow gained more than 100 points and other stock indexes leapt as commodities prices soared amid dollar weakness.  Gold jumped to fresh record highs as metals prices rallied, defying underlying fundamentals as the unprecedented weight of investment money helped lift the markets to fresh 2009 highs.

What will YOU be looking out for in business news this week?

(Photo by JWorld)

To reach Karlsson:

Phone: 212.584.5485
Email: karlsson@blisspr.com
Twitter: @kbanks
LinkedIn: Karlsson Banks