When considering how to communicate your science and its market potential, CEO & Creative Director, Stephanie N. Kuhla, shares five basic tips for life sciences marketing.

Big picture ideas include:

  • Do your research and double, triple check.
  • Communicate clearly.
  • Explore strategies to monetize your Intellectual Property (IP).

Five Basic Tips for Life Sciences Marketing

  1. Define your goals as a 5-year perspective.
  2. Determine your worth.
  3. Define your go-to-market strategy.
  4. Address the fundamentals of the house you’re building.
  5. Roll-out everything else.

Define your goals as a 5-year perspective

Defining your goals should be done prior to any monetary commitment when considering starting up a business. For life sciences marketing, “defining your goals” includes determining where in your lifecycle you need certain steps accomplished.

For example, in the first year, your audience will likely be different from your fifth year of business. You’ll need to focus first on investors and later on customers in your marketing. Recognizing this will help you define your marketing goals.

In the first year, your goal may be to garner $15M in capital investors. Your fifth year goal might be to complete Stage II Clinical research.

Determine your worth

Determining your worth is key when you begin your life sciences marketing. This helps you proportion your marketing budget appropriately, which informs avenues for advertising. It includes knowing who is on your team and their networking potential. More importantly, perhaps, it includes being flexible in recognizing the potential of your idea and not limiting yourself to preconceived notions. Stephanie cautions, “Look past your desire and adapt.” You might have a ground-breaking idea to treat the rarest of rare diseases, but if your solution also treats Zika or Ebola, consider marketing here, as well.

Define your go-to strategy

Your go-to strategy in life sciences marketing is your fundamental outreach and might include attending industry expos or venture capitalist meetings.

Address the fundamentals of the house you’re building

Thinking of your life sciences marketing as a “house” helps you focus your efforts. You wouldn’t build the roof before you built the foundation and support structure. Similarly, you wouldn’t package a product that hasn’t been produced.

The fundamentals of your life sciences marketing begins with your branding. Branding informs:

  • Logo
  • Business cards
  • Stationery and print collateral
  • Website (at least a one page website is needed)
  • PowerPoints (one for investor and one for clinical are needed)

 

Life sciences marketing fundamentals also includes preparing and practicing your elevator pitch. How?

  • Define/know your vision.
  • Define/know your mission.

Rollout everything else

In order to rollout everything else in your life sciences marketing, you have only two remaining steps. ID your competitors and review and refine your five-year plan.

Everyone has a competitor. Even if you think your idea is completely and utterly unique – someone out there is on the cusp of your idea or has something which relates to your idea and may reach the customers you are also targeting. Find out their angle, venue and time frame. Then, do it better, safer, smarter and faster.

Reviewing and refining your five-year plan helps you acknowledge your current or past obstacles to avoid them in the future and improves your preparation for the next five years to help ensure your ultimate success.

The life sciences industry is more competitive than ever. It’s vital to your company’s future to equip yourself well with a sound marketing plan from the start.

This content was first shared by CEO | Creative Director Stephanie N. Kuhla during the BioStrategy Partners’ Practical Knowledge Series panel discussion.