Why we need to do our homework to get an A+ in biotech product launch.
When launching a biotech brand, it is critical to fully understand the needs, desires, and motivators of our target audience.
Understanding the product benefits and attributes is just one side of the equation. The next critical step is to take those benefits and translate them into a story that engages our audience and speaks in their voice.
Lessons from the past
When I was in college, my GPA was riding on one particular professor. Unfortunately, his theories were irrelevant, his thinking was archaic, and he was a downright prickly bastard. To ensure I got the grade I needed, I read his published work and journal articles, talked to other students who had him previously, and studied his personality to determine what motivated his actions. I took all these learnings and wrote a final paper that truly spoke to my audience of one. It might not have represented my personal beliefs, but, hey, I got an A. This was my first introduction to marketing.
The A, B, Cs of higher learning
For a biotech brand, our audience is much larger than just one ornery professor and may include many physician specialties. Taking steps to understand all the nuances of your audience will help you make the grade:
Adapt your thinking and put personal beliefs aside—We all like to think that our product is revolutionary and the best thing since Lady Gaga wore her meat dress, but we still need to put personal biases aside and look through the audience’s eyes.
Be realistic—Do not overpromise with your messaging. Nothing turns off an audience more than when it doesn’t get what it is expecting. Don’t risk losing credibility.
Create segmented messages, if needed—Messages that speak to a primary care audience won’t necessarily resonate with a high-science neurologist. Be sure to examine commonalities and key differences in thinking, and modify your messaging for each target audience.
Do your homework—Be sure to study your audience to fully understand its unmet needs, prescribing habits, and motivating factors.
Conduct market research and talk to KOLs to help develop a highly targeted message.
Find your niche—Once you recognize your audience’s drivers, you can develop messaging that speaks directly to its needs and ensures that it knows exactly how, where, and why it should use your product.
So, whether it’s a college professor or electrophysiologists, you have to do your research and get inside the mind of your audience to develop a launch plan that puts you at the top of the class.
