Trend #1: Pricing influences

It’s not a new trend that consumers consider pricing a huge part of their decision-making. However, there may be a few behaviors linked to pricing that we have previously not noticed. For one, research firm EdemanBerland discovered that if an over-the-counter treatment purports to prevent an ailment, people are more likely to think they are susceptible to the ailment if the price tag is lower. Therefore, if something has a higher price point (say, $250), people are less likely to think that they will develop the ailment the product claims to treat. In the first scenario, a person buys a $25 product not only because it’s affordable, but because they’re concerned about preventing/treating the ailment the product is said to help. In the second scenario, the consumer does not purchase the $250 product, not only because it’s expensive, but also because they’re not sure they’re going to develop the ailment it claims to cure. This is very interesting from a marketers’ perspective. Price might influence more than just if consumers perceive the product as a deal; consumers are also weighing the likelihood that they’ll need the product.

Trend #2: Unmet needs for education

According to EdelmanBerland, 40% of patients said they don’t have enough tools to help them develop a minor-ailment treatment plan on their own. This may surprise you, considering the Internet is full of “web doctor” sites and advice forums. However, it seems like this may point to a bigger marketing opportunity for OTC medicine companies themselves. There is an unmet need for consumer education. What is your medicine used for? What other OTC medicines is it safe to use in conjunction in order to aid an ailment? At what point should a consumer consider seeing a physician? All of these questions can be answered on the brand’s digital properties, whether it be an app, website, or social networks in order to engage users.

Trend #3: The new consumer journey

Digital channels offer great ways to personalize marketing for your consumers. Paid search, emarketing, email campaigns and social media can all aid in connecting with your consumer at every point in their sales journey. With OTC medicines, the sales cycle is relatively short. You can stay top-of-mind by engaging with your consumer even when they don’t need your product. A great example of this is how Prilosec launched their social campaign + subsequent giveaway to get people to share the things they do without heartburn. It’s time for OTC brands to focus on the consumer experience and not just selling.

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Google Predicts Flu Season

According to Google, people in the U.S. get 1 billion colds a year, which is about 3 per person throughout the year. Flu + cold searches begin in September and reach their peak from December to February. But for what are people searching?

They, of course, want cold + flu remedies, whether it be medicine or just things that might make them feel more comfortable. This can impact a number of different industries aside from healthcare and pharmaceutical companies. If you’re a tea or soup brand, you could add in keywords like these during the fall and winter months to capture audiences who may need to consume a comforting, hot fluid. Companies like Netflix could add in these keywords to capture people who might be sick in bed and wanting to stream movies. In short, staying abreast of search volume trends that seemingly have nothing to do with your business may actually pay off in the end. Your competitors might not be thinking of varying their keywords for search engine marketing and may be missing out on opportunities like these.

This infographic also affirms the mobile search growth. There was an 88% increase in the 2010-2011 year for healthcare-related searches. People may be searching from the couch or on the go, but the key is for your brand’s marketing initiatives to be mobile-friendly in order to capture these visits from potential customers. Now, isn’t that more than you expected to glean from a simple infographic about cold + flu searches?

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The power of mobile for weight loss programs is obvious. First, they’re extremely user-friendly, since many people are spending tons of time a day in mobile apps anyway. Secondly, they set users up for success. They are easily accessible, which means users can get information while shopping at the grocery store, while ordering at a restaurant or while at the gym. Teaching is the primary approach for many of the weight loss mobile apps since education is the key to enacting lifestyle changes. The secondary approach of these apps are simply developing good habits. If users gets into the habit of using the app, they are likely to consult it when trying to make a decision about their health.

Automatic integration with the desktop version of the site is also a big component of these weight loss apps. Users do not want to have to enter in their information more than once, so this sync is important. It is also a great practice for the app developers and its marketers, as this gives them insight into their consumers’ behaviors away from the app.

In that vein, let’s discuss the best weight loss apps and their tactics for reaching their user every day:

1. Gym-Pact: This app is very unique in that it eliminates the “excuses” that people give for not going to the gym. You are able to link your bank account with the app and each time you miss a workout, it automatically withdraws the amount you agreed to. Additionally, those that do not break their gym pacts are paid with the funds withdrawn from those who did break it. Though it’s not a monumental amount of money, it can add up, and it gives users incentives–to lose money or gain money–beyond just losing weight or getting in shape.

2. Weight Watchers: This is probably the most popular weight loss program on the planet, and the app is a great tool. You can photograph your meal and it will give you the points total. This takes out the guessing game of entering food information, which gets tricky, especially at restaurants.

3. Fooducate: This app allows you to scan the barcode of products you’re purchasing and get up front information about them. This is important for those of us who are incredibly confused by the ingredients list on most foods.

4. Thin-Cam: Similar to the Weight Watchers photography ability, the Thin Cam will analyze the food you capture and upload by food nutritionists. It will also give you feedback on appropriate portions. It’s kind of like having tiny experts in your pocket.

The data collected by these apps is virtually endless and can be used to entice relevant advertisers as well as make the user experience better. Most apps also incorporate a community aspect, mostly through forums and “friends,” which can help drive motivation and encouragement throughout the process. These communities are all housed online, so it’s possible for this information to be mined through social intelligence research to glean insights about making the apps and services more comprehensive.

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It’s Time to Customize your Marketing

So what is Sharecare exactly? It’s a social platform for patients to gain insight and knowledge about their issues, and a place for doctors and hospitals to garner referrals, book appointments and more–all online. By answering questions and engaging with their patients online, the hope is that more people will be apt to seek a healthcare physician, namely one that participates on the platform and helps them. It’s actually a pretty great idea. As our recent health infographic points out, 3 out of 5 Internet users searches for health information online. Additionally, 35-40% of adults search for hospitals or doctors online, though it’s often on a search engine. But if a social platform makes it easier to find information and get referrals for physicians, it seems likely that people would migrate to using it. After all, web-savvy Jeff Arnold (the founder of WebMD) and Dr. Oz are the partners behind Sharecare. To this end, they have also launched a HealthMakers 250 video channel, which houses over 2,000 videos from healthcare professionals answering questions and educating the public. These video assets are just another way that the partners are capitalizing on a growing web trend.

So what does this shift mean for those in healthcare marketing? Essentially it means that people are looking to engage with professionals online in order to get clear, concise and accurate information. There is a lot of garbage out there–even on sites like WebMD–which will inevitably show results for some type of cancer in practically every symptom search, effectively scaring the user. Therefore, if there is a more trusted, aggregated source and it happens to capitalize on the social sharing trend, it seems like it would be a win-win for both patient and provider. The importance of engagement with patients from healthcare professionals is not new, but how patients wish to be connected with is invariably shifting. Participating in forums, on social media and on platforms like Sharecare could be a wave of the future, removing the severity and intimidation from visiting a doctor’s office. Capitalizing on the trend of social sharing in healthcare can not only positively impact your bottom line, but give you insight into the new patient and consumer.

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Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis is a good place to start on a small or large scale. Whether it’s choosing new markets for your national brand expansion or simply offering competitive pricing and experiences to customers, competitive analysis can give you a good indication of how to improve in your industry. Competitive analysis used to entail watching out for competitors’ billboards, commercials and radio spots. And while the use of those channels still indicate a significant marketing budget, online competitive analysis can tell you much more. How many people visit your competitors’ website a month and how many of them are unique visitors? What features on their website attract repeat visitors (have they posted a class schedule, for instance)? What actions can you take on their websites and how do they encourage you to do so? What promotions do they run throughout the year and do they ever fluctuate? Knowing these things will give you the upper hand when you are ready to optimize your offerings.

Leverage Marketing Data

In addition to monitoring your competition, you can leverage results of your marketing initiatives to predict trends and optimize toward actions. If a January paid search campaign garnered a lot of visitor transfers, but did not generate the KPIs (key performance indicators) that you wanted it to, you may want to test different messaging and/or targeting to optimize toward the actions you want the customers take. Some examples of meaningful KPIs for paid search, email or social campaigns can include signing up for a monthly gym newsletter, signing up for group classes in advance, purchasing/upgrading a membership, etc. These should align with your overall business goals and have a proper measurement system in place.

Social Research

Social research can help you enact operational change in accordance to what your customers desire most. When people are frustrated or happy, they take to social media to publish their thoughts. By listening to social conversation about your brand (and your competitor brands), you can discover the unmet needs of your target consumer and work to enhance their experience. If you discover that there is a trend of people tweeting about the treadmills being too crowded, you can add more machines. If you see a trend in people asking for another location on your Facebook page, you can explore the option of expansion. Sometimes people just want small things like lockers or a snack machine, but they’re not looking for a suggestion box. Social research is a great way to keep up with unsolicited comments, suggestions and opinions about your brand.

Brand Management + Customer Service

It is smart to utilize features on your website and your fitness center’s social media handles to manage conversation about your brand. Being proactive about customer service issues and feedback is the best way to turn a negative experience into a positive one. Let’s say that a non-member writes on your company Facebook page that she had a negative experience with a trainer. You can reach out to her and ask her to formally file her grievance with your company and give your contact information. The benefits are tri-fold: 1) The woman feels like she has been heard and has a viable line of communication with your business; 2) You are able to take the conversation off of your social channel and resolve the issue; 3) Anyone who visits the page sees that problems do not go unanswered by your company. Businesses cannot always make people happy, but they can always offer to right wrongs. Often times, customers just want to feel like their opinions and concerns matter.

These are just a few options for improving business analytics + intelligence within your company, thus improving operational efficiency and catering to your customers. Be data-driven in 2013 and discover how you can move your company forward by going beyond the status quo.

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