Small Talk

December 23, 2011 »

Customer Loyalty and The Future of Engagement

As we enter the last few days of the holiday shopping bonanza, stores in the area are swamped with last-minute buyers who are desperate to find that perfect gift.  And while these crowds should give most store owners a sense of satisfaction, the registers might not be ringing in direct proportion to the crowd volume. 

A recent article in the Boston Globe highlighted the influence of various smart phone apps on shoppers’ behavior. Price transparency coupled with incredibly intelligent software have empowered consumers to browse their local stores and then use their iPhone or Android to find that same item elsewhere - either at another nearby store, or from any number of online merchants.

This new era of shopping behavior represents substantial risk to those stores who fail to make themselves remarkable. Relying on the basics, failing to innovate, and doing things just like the year before will no longer cut it - it takes much more to stand out from the crowd of me-too merchants.  In fact, those merchants who have invested the effort to create an enjoyable and personal shopping experience (think: Zappos, Nordstroms, Apple and Harley-Davidson, to name a few) will be able to retain their customers over time, apps or no apps.  

Pharma marketers, take note!  If you want to be successful in selling the pills and inhalers and suspensions that you promote, learn from the lessons in the retail industry. There may not be apps to help someone find the lowest price for their prescription heartburn medication, but consumers are searching for a reason to believe the messages that drug companies are pushing.  And using the same approach that you took the year before won’t be good enough.

And therein lies the great opportunity!  Manufacturers can shift from being seen as ‘a company that sells me prescription products’ to ‘the company that partners with me on improving my health condition.’  That’s powerful stuff!  Think about it: these patients have an intimate relationship with your products - they ingest them into their bodies and place great trust in the integrity of the medicine you have sold them.  Do you treat them with the same level of care and trust?  Are you willing to embrace them in new ways in 2012 so that you earn their confidence like never before, and command great loyalty from your efforts?

If you’re being asked to do more with less, just think about how much it might cost you to create a meaningful and lasting relationship with an existing customer versus spending broadcast dollars in an effort to capture new ones?

Mark my words: customer loyalty and effective social marketing will be the pharma marketer’s keys to success in 2012. 

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