MarketingCOMMUNICATIONS

David Holdford, RPh, MS, PhDProfessor, School of PharmacyVirginia Commonwealth University

Communicating your value proposition

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Slides to Accompany Chapter 14 of “Marketing for Pharmacists”

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Learning ObjectivesDiscuss the purpose of marketing communications

Explain barriers to effective marketing communication, using the communication model

Describe the information processing model

Use the information processing model to discuss the relative effectiveness of various communication media

List the six forms of promotion used to communicate marketing messages

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of each of these forms of promotion

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Marketing CommunicationsTools used to communicate the promise made about a brand

More than just advertising

They comprise any contact between the marketer & customer that conveys a message to any of the five senses

Effective communications requires understanding the targeted audience

That understanding is used to craft the message and its delivery

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PURPOSE OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

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Designed to…1. Inform

“Prescription refills now on the internet”

2. Persuade“Our prices can’t be beat!”

3. Remind‘Don’t forget, we’re still America’s most trusted”

4. Influence behavior “Try this!”

EVERYTHING a pharmacist does, writes, or says sends a message

9www.flickr.com/photos/easylocum/

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BRANDS & BRANDING

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A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, design, or some combination intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors

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Name that brand!

__ __ __ __ __ __ __

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Name that brand message!

________________ _____________

BRAND AWARENESS

THE FIRST STEP

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Brand Awareness consists of…

•Which of the following pharmacies have you ever heard of? •Pharmacy A•Pharmacy B, etc.

BRAND RECOGNITI

ON

•Name all of the pharmacies you can think of.

BRAND RECALL

BRAND IMAGE

DOMINANT PERCEPTION OF BRAND

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BrandImage

Types ofAssociations

Favorability ofAssociations

Strength ofAssociations

Uniqueness ofAssociations

Brand Image is Made Up of Perceived Associations

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BrandImage

Types ofBrand Associations

Favorability ofBrand Associations

Strength ofBrand Associations

Uniqueness ofBrand Associations

Contrast Your Perceived Associations of Two Brands

What AdjectivesWould You Use Describe Each?

How Favorable,Strong, andUnique Are Your Associations?

WALMART

WALGREENS

BRAND EQUITY

ADDED VALUE THAT A BRAND GIVES

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Which would you prefer?

How much extra would you pay?

Measuring Brand Equity1. Assess consumer perceptions of a

brand’s reputation

2. Calculate the financial value added

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THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

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Consumers are exposed to thousands of promotional communications daily

Only a fraction are consciously noticed, and only a handful of the noticed messages achieve a desired outcome

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Sender-pharmacist -pharmacy

Encode- words

-pictures-observed behaviors

Media/Message-TV/radio

-print-conversations

Decode- perceptions

-attitudes-knowledge

Receiver-patient

-consumer-public

Modify- message

-media-strategy

Response- purchase-adherence

-loyalty

Noise

COMMUNICATION PROCESS

INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL

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Consumer decision-making is similar to a funnel where each step in the process allows fewer and fewer messages through

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A c tio n T a k e n in R e sp o n se to th e M e ssa ge

R e te n tio n o f th e M e ssa g e in M e m o ry

A c c e pta n ce o f the M essa ge

C o m p re h en sio n o f the M e ssa ge

A tte n tio n to th e M e ssa ge

E x p o su re to th e M e ssa ge

Message SentT h ro u g h a P ro m o tio na l M e d ium

Information ProcessingModel

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Important Points

Messages must run a path with multiple barriers to its progression

Failure at any step means ultimate failure of the communication

Communications must reach, grab attention, be comprehensible, be accepted, & be retained to be effective!!!

PROMOTIONAL METHODS

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There are numerous ways to communicate about brands

Two categories: marketer controlled and marketer influenced

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In marketer-controlled methods, the message, medium, and delivery are directly managed through monetary payment

Marketer-influenced methods involve no quid pro quo compensation for delivering the message

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In marketer-controlled methods, the message, medium, and delivery are directly managed through monetary payment

Marketer-influenced methods involve no quid pro quo compensation for delivering the message

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PROMOTIONALMETHODSMARKETER CONTROLLED

COMMUNICATIONSOral Two Way Personal Communications

Personal Selling (e.g., motivational interviewing)

One Way Non-personal Communication

Advertising(e.g., broadcast, print, Internet)

Individualized Non-Personal Communication

Direct Marketing(e.g., telemarketing, mailings)

Communication Designed to Promote Immediate Action

Promotional Sales(e.g., samples, coupons)

MARKETER INFLUENCEDSTRATEGIES

Strategies to Manage Public Image

Public Relations(e.g., political advocacy)

Strategies to Manage Word-of-mouth Conversations

Buzz Promotion(e.g., cultivating thought leaders)

PromotionalMethods

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Use of social media to serve the needs and wants of customers

Social media has upended traditional promotional communications

Social media can be done at a fraction of the cost of traditional promotional communications

A small number of social media savvy individuals can compete with billion dollar corporations with million dollar marketing budgets

Marketers just need a computer or smart phone to access social media platforms

The communications have also changed with social media

With social media, communications are more likely to be two-way with word-of-mouth discussions influencing decisions

Messages can be spread instantaneously across the world

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Primary Forms of

Social Media

Social networking

sites (Facebook, Linkedin)

Bookmarking (StumbleUpon)

Social news sites (Reddit)

Media sharing (YouTube)

Blogging and (WordPress)

Microblogging (Twitter)

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What people doShare Identity – reveal identities and information about themselves

Establish Presence - facilitate interactions by allowing users to know where others are located and what they are doing

Develop & Maintain Relationships – allow users to connect with other users to converse, share, meet up, or simply give a thumbs-up

Have Conversations - communicate with other users

Be Part of Groups - form and interact with communities and sub-communities of any type (e.g., professional) or topic (e.g., greyhound rescue)

Establish and Promote Reputations - users can identify the standing of others, including themselves via reputation measures like the number of recommendations, likes, or followers

Share Things – photos, videos, stories

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Types of Users

Spectators• Visit sites, follow others,

view posted content

Joiners• Signup, "like" posts,

establish and manage own page

Forwarders• Share posts, links,

photos, and videos of others

Commenters• Exchange public

messages and advocate ideas

Creators• Create and share new

content for others to consume

Moderators• Facilitates and manages

discussion threads in web conversations

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SummaryThe purpose of promotional communications is to achieve

objectives of the business

Achieving those objectives is hard due to

Noise in the environment

And ability of individuals to process, retain, & act on information

Understanding the strengths &weaknesses of different media can help improve chances that messages will achieve objectives

SEE ‘MARKETING FOR

PHARMACISTS FOR

MORE DETAILS

D HOLDFORD