Today at 1 PM I interview an expert in “Customer Manages Relationship” marketing in my weekly Pharma Talk Podcast. You can listen in live! via your browser by going to the Pharma Marketing Talk Channel Page at 1 PM Eastern, today! The audio streams right from that page without you having to do anything but visit the page at the right time.
SORRY! DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, THIS PODCAST DID NOT STREAM OUT AND YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO AN ARCHIVE! I plan, however, to cover this topic in a future Pharma Marketing News article.
What is Customer Manages Rleationship Marketing?
The new marketing strategy of CMR – Customer Manages Relationship – is one way that pharma marketers can create a new beginning with their patients and customers.
How? By letting the patient in. Let them add their voices to your communications. How do you do this? First you must embrace the reality that people-to-people communications are more powerful than any DTC ad or unbranded education Web site. And that by letting the patient have the venue to create a community or state an opinion facilitated by your company is the best way to channel the power of peer-to-peer communications.
Customer Manages Relationship is taking off fast; it was inevitable once marketers saw the power of community and CMR sites (Myspace, Youtube, even Dove.com and Hellmans.com.) that they would figure out a way to embrace this as a tool to harness the power of peer-to-peer recommendations. And this can also be done offline, too, through grassroots and other community efforts.
Now it is Pharma’s turn to not “turtle” behind regulatory over-caution, and instead find a way to incorporate the power this new strategy brings and the positive impact it could have on both your company, your brand and to helping consumers manage the relationship.
Interview of Alfred O’Neil
In today’s podcast, I will be interviewing Alfred O’Neil, Senior Vice President, Group Director of Ryan TrueHealth, the healthcare division of Ryan iDirect, an integrated Relationship Marketing agency that has been around for more than a decade.
Some questions I intend to ask include:
- Who is the customer as far as pharmaceutical cpmpanies are concerned? Some think it’s the physician. Others say the patient. Which are we talking about?
- What’s the difference between CMR and CRM (Customer Relationship Management)? Is CMR just new wine in an old bottle? Hasn’t CRM been a disaster at pharma companies?
- Some of CMR’s concepts like peer-to-peer relationships, customer voice, people-to-people communications, sound like social network marketing. Are we talking about blogs, podcasts, etc?
- Explain how you see a CMR marketing strategy helping pharma companies regain consumer trust. You mention advocacy. Hasn’t this been part of pharma’s marketing strategy for a long time?
I hope you tune in. Again, here are the specifics:
- Air Date & Time: Tuesday, February 13, 2007, 1 PM Eastern US time
- Duration: Approx. 30-45 minutes
- Go to the Pharma Marketing Talk Channel Page for listening live and downloading audio archive instructions
SORRY! DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, THIS PODCAST DID NOT STREAM OUT AND YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO AN ARCHIVE! I plan, however, to cover this topic in a future Pharma Marketing News article.
P.S. You might be interested in this collection of reprints from Pharma Marketing News:
Relationship Marketing
Direct, Targeted, Permission-based Marketing Builds Relationships, Increases ROI and Improves Patient Compliance
