Dilemma of Healthcare Marketers
During my interactions with Healthcare providers (HCPs), I have often heard them say, "I know, you are a marketer and will always tell yours is the best solution" I would respond with a polite smile without saying anything, but I would quietly tell myself, “Of course, that’s my job”.
Aren’t the marketers supposed to do that?
By definition, Marketers are biased. They are hired to build strategies to develop a market for their product/service, with the ultimate goal to grow revenue and market share. Marketers do this by analyzing the uniqueness of their offerings, the market landscape and then developing messaging and multi-media promotional content. The goal is to tell powerful stories that grab their customers’ attention.
Though marketers are supposed to be creative and punchy, in healthcare marketing, the message is always based on the data and approved indications. Without clear data, it is hard to develop messages that will resonate with skeptical audiences consisting of physicians, administrators, and CFOs. Unfortunately, at the time of many medical device product introductions, the data is scarce and marketers stretch their imaginations to come up with an impactful storyline that best utilizes the available data.
Then they have to cross another barrier- the watchdogs of the organization- Legal and regulatory teams. Every customer-facing content must be blessed by these support partners. The legal and regulatory teams are not interested in whether or not the product gains market share, rather they want to ensure the company does not get in trouble with governmental and regulatory authorities for making misleading claims.
Though it sounds like the right thing to do from a compliance perspective, if the legal and regulatory teams are not open to understanding the full context, chances are, they will become so conservative that it will take away the business value of the new solution.
Dealing with the conflicts
As marketers in healthcare, you must know how to operate in a highly regulated space. It means that you must have the ability to clearly convey the value of your solution within the compliance framework. However, it also depends on the quality and knowledge of your support teams.
I have worked with partners who were too rigid to understand the full context and took a very restrictive view of what can be said. This can be detrimental to marketing messaging. I have also worked with teams who were very open to understanding the big picture and supportive of finding mutually agreeable language. The more seasoned they become they understand what is the safe balance between compliance and business needs.
As a strategy, while working on your storyline, build early engagement with the support partners. It has two benefits-
It allows them to develop an understanding of the big picture and the context
It also creates a sense of comradery and they appreciate being invited sooner than later. A personal connection always helps negotiation
Most importantly, as a marketer, you must educate your support teams. The best way to convince them is to show data from other sources such as equivalent examples of claims from competitors. Obviously, these partners are not acting against you but only protecting the bigger interest of the whole organization.
Before starting the negotiation, I always acknowledge the hard job they do and then state my commitment to be compliant while addressing the commercialization needs. This approach removes the defensiveness from both parties and makes communication more smooth.
With data, patience, perseverance, and open communication with support partners, Marketers can still build compelling messages, though sometimes, that means subtle tweaks to the language, adding disclaimers and fine-print footnotes. Ultimately, you have to decide what to let go and what to fight for.