The life sciences industry is constantly changing, so marketing trends are constantly evolving. As we move into 2023, there are a few key trends that life sciences marketers need to be aware of to stay ahead of the curve. Some of the biggest trends we’re seeing include an increased focus on personalization, greater use of data and analytics, and a move towards more digital marketing channels. In this blog post, we’ll explore these trends in more detail and provide tips on preparing for them. By understanding the trends shaping the future of life sciences marketing, you can ensure that your campaigns are ahead of the curve and deliver solid results.
So, while you’re probably not even done with all your follow-up for 2022 and here’s 2023 already! New plans must be made, budgets to be approved, and micro-managing bosses must be kept satisfied.
So what are your plans?
Data, automation and software
Increased use of big data analytics
The use of big data analytics will grow in popularity as marketers look for ways to better understand customer behaviour and preferences.
Marketing automation is becoming the norm
Marketing automation is becoming the norm for life sciences companies. By automating marketing processes, life sciences companies can improve efficiencies and ROI while freeing time to focus on more strategic tasks. In addition, marketing automation can help nurture and qualify leads and track and measure marketing campaigns.
Software Platforms are replacing agents
The trend towards using software platforms to replace human agents in various industries is gathering pace, and the life sciences sector is no exception. There are several reasons for this shift, but perhaps the most important one is that software platforms can provide a more personalized experience for customers and patients.
In the past, life sciences companies have relied heavily on sales agents to promote their products and services. However, these agents often had little or no personal contact with potential customers, which made it challenging to build relationships and create rapport.
On the other hand, software platforms offer a much more personalized approach. Collecting data about individual users can provide highly relevant content and recommendations tailored to each person’s specific needs. This allows life sciences companies to create a more intimate relationship with their customers and better meet their needs.
Moreover, software platforms can often scale much more effectively than human agents. As a result, they can reach large numbers of people quickly and efficiently without the need for expensive physical infrastructure or extensive training programs. As such, they offer a cost-effective solution for life sciences companies looking to expand their reach and grow their business.
Evolving content writing for Life Sciences
In a world where consumers are bombarded with content from all sides, creating content tailored to your target audience’s specific needs and interests is increasingly important. With personalized content, you can speak directly to your Life Science audience and ensure that your message cuts through the noise.
For years, content has been the undeniable factor in positioning yourself as a trusted advisor, improving SEO, and driving traffic to your website. But, still, most life sciences companies we know of still don’t blog regularly, post promo pieces, and are like this: missing out!
Pitfalls for Life Sciences Content Writing?
The significant pitfalls we hear often are the lack of time, no inspiration for topics, and the inability to write well. We’re convinced that any company can efficiently deliver a blog every 2 or 3 weeks if they get planned well in advance and the commitment is present.
We work with Life Sciences companies that are always pressured for time- and deadlines, and we make it work. Never force people to write blogs; always show the value first and go from there.
Writing personalized content for Life Sciences
Personalized content creation is one of the most critical trends in life sciences marketing. It allows you to connect with your target audience more personally and deliver content tailored to their specific needs.
With personalized content, you can segment your audience and create messages that are relevant to them. This type of content is more likely to resonate with your target audience and help you achieve your marketing goals.
To create personalized content, you need to understand your target audience clearly. Once you know your target audience, you can determine what kind of content will be most relevant to them.
Creating personalized content can be time-consuming, but it is worth the effort. By creating custom content for your target audience, you can build a strong relationship with them and improve your chances of achieving your marketing goals.
Interactive content for Life Sciences
Interactive content is one of the most effective ways to engage your audience and get them involved in your marketing. There are many types of interactive content, but some of the most popular include quizzes, surveys, polls, and games.
Quizzes are a great way to get people to think about your brand and what you offer. You can also use them to generate leads or collect data about your target audience. Surveys are another excellent way to gather information from your audience. For example, you can use surveys to learn more about customer satisfaction and product preferences or find out which topics are most important to them.
Polls are a great way to get instant feedback from your audience on any topic. Games are also delightful and engaging to get people to interact with your brand. You can use games to promote special offers or products or just for fun.
Whatever type of interactive content you choose, guarantee it’s relevant to your brand and target audience.
Applying conversational marketing in your Life Sciences communication
Conversational marketing is an interactive form of marketing that allows customers to have real-time conversations with company representatives through various channels, such as live chat, messaging, and chatbots.
This type of marketing has become increasingly popular in recent years, as it allows companies to provide a more personal level of customer service and build relationships with their target audiences. In the life sciences industry, where competition is high, and margins are low, conversational marketing can be a powerful tool for differentiating your company from the competition and winning new business.
There are a few things to keep in mind when applying conversational marketing to your life sciences business:
- Make sure you have the right technology in place to support conversational marketing. This includes live chat software, chatbots, and other tools enabling real-time conversations with your customers;
- Train your team on how to use these tools and effectively engage with customers in a conversation;
- Develop clear guidelines and scripts for customer interactions so that everyone on your team is on the same page about what should be said (and not said) during conversations;
- Collect data about customer interactions to improve your conversational marketing strategy over time;
- Be prepared to scale up your conversational marketing efforts as your business grows so that you can continue providing an excellent level of customer service.
Life Sciences Website and Search Engine Optimization
Life Sciences Website Building
Your website is still one of the most important channels for marketing your life sciences business. Ensure your website is optimized for search engine ranking and mobile devices and contains high-quality content that speaks to your target audience’s needs.
Read more on how to create a good Life Sciences Website here.
Eternal Search Engine Optimization for Life Sciences companies
Get a guy or read up on it yourself, but it’s essential to ensure your website checks all the marks of a good website. It needs to be:
- solid from a technical perspective
- user-friendly
- straightforward interfaces
- fast load times
- optimized for mobile
- easily indexed by search engines.
You can also review the content itself to suit user satisfaction. As you may have noticed, Google’s Search Engine Results Pages now also show Featured Snippets, Knowledge Graphs, Google News, People Also Ask, etc.
These are all meant for the user’s need for answers to their question. To facilitate optimal indexing of your content, structure it well and remember that high-quality content is still essential for authority.
Increased focus on customer experience
There has been a shift in the life sciences marketing landscape in recent years. An increased focus on customer experience has led to a more personalized and tailored approach to marketing, which is evident in how companies now interact with their customers.
This trend will continue in the coming year as more companies look to improve their customer experience and build stronger relationships with their target audiences. To stay ahead of the curve, life sciences marketers need to be prepared to adapt their strategies and tactics to meet the ever-changing needs of their customers.
Some of the key ways in which marketers can improve their customer experience include:
- Listening to feedback and using it to improve your offering
- Delivering targeted content that meets the specific needs of your audience
- Creating a seamless and easy-to-use customer journey
- Providing a high level of customer service at every touchpoint
- Constantly measuring and analyzing your performance against key metrics
Omni-Channel Marketing for Life Sciences
The trend towards omnichannel marketing is one that Life Sciences companies are increasingly adopting. This involves using a variety of channels to reach and engage customers, including online, offline, and mobile.
Gone are the days when a single type of marketing would be enough to reach your target audience. In today’s world, it is essential to have a multi-channel approach that includes both online and offline channels. This way, you can reach your audience where they are spending the most time and ensure that as many people see your message as possible.
Data-driven decision-making
With so much data available at our fingertips, it is crucial to use data when planning your marketing strategy. By understanding who your target audience is and what they are looking for, you can create targeted content and campaigns that resonate with them and generate results.
Using an omnichannel approach allows companies to provide a more seamless and integrated customer experience and target customers more effectively with personalized messages. It is also essential for companies to consider how they can use data from each channel to inform their omnichannel strategy.
With the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning, we are seeing an increase in the ability to personalize customer content and experiences. Companies can now provide highly relevant and targeted messages to customers based on their specific needs and interests.
Increased influence of Gen Z professionals in life sciences marketing
As the oldest members of Generation Z begin to enter the workforce, they have an increasingly significant impact on life sciences marketing. This generation is very comfortable with technology and social media and is not afraid to use it to their advantage.
Generation Z professionals are often:
- more creative than their predecessors;
- not afraid to think outside the box when it comes to marketing;
- adept at using data to inform their decisions;
- not afraid to experiment with new ideas.
Because of these traits, Generation Z professionals are well-positioned to take advantage of the many opportunities that life sciences marketing offers.
In the coming years, we can expect to see more Gen Z professionals working in this field, and we can expect them to impact the direction of life sciences marketing significantly.
A focus on a reputable brand for Life Sciences
Increased use of Social Proof
As the life sciences industry becomes more competitive, pharma and biotech companies are turning to social proof to help them stand out. Social proof is the idea that people are more likely to trust a product or service if they see that others are using it and finding success.
There are a few ways that companies can use social proof in their marketing. One is by featuring customer testimonials and case studies on their website and in their marketing materials. This helps potential customers see that other people have had success with the product or service and provides them with specific examples of how it has helped people.
Another way to use social proof is through influencer marketing. This involves partnering with influential people in the life sciences industry who can endorse your product or service to their audience. This can be a powerful way to reach new potential customers and build credibility for your brand.
Finally, you can also use social media to your advantage when it comes to social proof. For example, posting positive reviews and testimonials from customers on your social media channels can help show potential customers that your product or service is worth considering.
Corporate Social Responsibility
There’s no doubt that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a top priority for life sciences companies. As a result, many Life Sciences companies make CSR a core part of their business strategy.
According to a survey by the Boston Consulting Group, nearly two-thirds of life sciences executives say that CSR is critical to their company’s success. And nearly half of those surveyed say that CSR is one of their top three strategic priorities.
This CSR focus is driven by several factors, including pressure from investors, customers, and employees. But it’s also a recognition that CSR can positively impact the bottom line.
There are several ways that life sciences companies can incorporate CSR into their marketing mix. Here are a few examples:
- Make sure your website includes information about your company’s CSR initiatives.
- Use social media to promote your company’s commitment to CSR.
- Highlight your company’s CSR achievements in your marketing materials.
- Sponsor events or programs that support your company’s CSR goals.
Showing representation, accessibility and inclusivity
As the life sciences industry strives to become more innovative and agile, marketing must also evolve to meet the needs of patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals.
Some top trends that will dominate life sciences marketing in 2023 include showing representation, accessibility, and inclusivity.
Showing Representation: It is vital for life sciences companies show representation in their marketing materials to connect with patients and caregivers from all walks of life. You can do this by featuring various people in advertising campaigns and other marketing collateral. Additionally, companies should use inclusive language that everyone can relate to.
Accessibility: With the rise of digital health tools, it is becoming easier for patients and caregivers to access information about their health conditions and treatment options. Life sciences companies need to ensure their websites and content are accessible and easy to navigate so that users can quickly and easily find what they are looking for quickly and easily. Additionally, it is essential to provide educational resources tailored to meet different audiences’ needs.
Inclusivity: To create an inclusive environment, life sciences companies need to ensure that their products and services are available to everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. This includes making sure that clinical trials are representative of the population as well as providing financial assistance programs.
Brand consistency
Brands tend to develop over time, just like you do. During your career, you hopefully refine and improve yourself, and with these skills, you also try to grow your company and change the brand for the better. Eventually, after improving for a while, you might find that the brand has evolved so much that it’s necessary to look at your entire arsenal to see if it all still meets the standards of your brand book.
So, take some time to check and remediate brand deviations from verbiage and visuals, for instance.
Employee activation makes Life Sciences marketing more efficient
The life sciences industry is under pressure to do more with less. As a result, marketing budgets get slashed, and Life Sciences marketers must generate more leads with fewer resources. Employee activation can help life sciences companies save on marketing costs while still reaching their target audiences. In addition, employee activation can help make marketing more efficient by empowering employees to be brand ambassadors and advocates. Employees are more likely to go above and beyond to promote the company and its products when they are engaged and invested in the company.
Employee activation can also help life sciences companies save on marketing costs. Life Sciences companies can reach their target audiences by enlisting employees in marketing efforts without paying for traditional advertising channels. In addition, employee-led marketing efforts tend to be more personal and authentic, which can create a more favourable impression of the company among potential customers.
How can life sciences companies activate their employees? There are many different ways to activate employees. For example, some companies use employee advocacy programs, while others hold contests or offer incentives for employees who participate in marketing activities.
Employee advocacy programs are designed to mobilize employees to participate in marketing and sales activities. These programs typically involve training employees to effectively promote the company and its products. You may also offer incentives to encourage participation.
You can also use contests and other incentive-based programs to activate employees. These programs reward employees who participate in marketing activities or generate leads. The incentive offered will depend on your budget and objectives.
Outsourcing to Life Sciences Marketing Agencies
In recent years, there has been a shift in the way that life sciences companies market their products and services. In the past, most companies relied on in-house marketing teams to develop and execute marketing campaigns. However, more and more companies are now outsourcing their marketing efforts to specialized life sciences digital marketing agencies.
There are several reasons for this trend. First, digital marketing agencies deeply understand the online landscape and how to navigate it effectively. They also have access to cutting-edge technology and tools that you can use to reach and engage target audiences. Additionally, life sciences digital marketing agencies can often provide more cost-effective solutions than in-house teams.
If your company is considering outsourcing its marketing efforts, choosing a reputable and experienced agency is essential. Do your research and ask for references before making any decisions.
Did you know we have a track record of helping biotechs set themselves up for success?
With the right digital marketing strategy, biotech startups can successfully attract the attention of investors and secure the funding they need to grow their businesses.
