Notes from the Back of the Book

My 13 Favorite Business Books of 2009

As 2009 comes to a close, I want to share my thirteen favorite biz books from this year that I found myself writing the most "Notes in the Back of the Book", and stimulating the greatest new thinking and ideas. The list of books covers social media, marketing and new marketing models, and innovation and leadership. For reference, here are also business book favorites by Fast Company, Mashable, Amazon and The Brand Bubble (John Gerzema).

If you're looking to better understand and excel in today's social media and web 2.0 worlds, here are four: Inbound Marketing is a must for anyone who wants to be found online, and is especially helpful for anyone who is actively considering how to get started with inbound marketing. Written by the leaders of Hubspot, they know what they're talking about. Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julian Smith shows how people use online social tools to build networks of influence and how you can tap into the power of these networks to positively impact your business. Because trust is essential to building online reputations, those who traffic trust are "trust agents" and key people for any business.  Putting the Public Back into Public Relations shows how to reinvent PR around two-way conversations with traditional and new influencers, bringing the "public" back into public relations. Both are consistent thought leaders in the area of PR. Web Analytics 2.0 by Avinash Kaushik begins to bring accountability to web 2.0 online programs with focus on customer- centered thinking and measurement, and builds upon his 2007 book.

Of course, to participate in our ever changing digital and social world, strategic marketing and a deep customer focus are still paramount.  How is marketing evolving? In Marketing with Meaning, Bob Gilbreath outlines the next evolutionary step in a progression following direct marketing and permission marketing. The book calls for the end of "push and sell" marketing in favor of adding value to customers' lives. Excelling in marketing also starts with listening...In Listen First. Sell Later, Bob Poole outlines the benefits of listening FIRST. And to remind us about customer- centered marketing, I Love You More Than My Dog by Jeanne Bliss is a great read. Who can argue that companies like Lands End didn't get it right early on?

Eating the Big Fish still feels as relevant today as it was when it was first published. The 2009 edition is packed with new examples and Morgan's eight credos still worthy of consideration-especially for small specialty and biotech Pharmaceutical brands. In FREE: The Future of a Radical Price, Chris Anderson (Long Tail) argues that in the digital marketplace, the most effective price is no price at all. He illustrates how savvy businesses are raking it in with indirect routes from product to revenue with such models as cross-subsidies and freemiums.  But when you stop to think about the real changes in expectations that the web has brought about, this is a book to think hard about.

Tim Brown's Change by Design suggests that innovation in today's world means taking a design thinking approach, and one that is human-centered. The CEO of global design consultancy IDEO offers a guide for thinking and organizing our everyday creative processes.  A great book and a nice break  from so much focus on social media...

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs is a must read for anyone looking to improve their own presentation skills. Why not learn from a master, who is consistently voted the most important CEO of the decade?  Knowing how to present is critical today, but this book goes beyond just presentation tips...Power of Less is a very useful reminder to focus (and act) on what is most important and forget the rest. It's simple and direct without the fluff. Born to Run, while not a business book per say, provides lessons in mind and body, and shows the advantages of anthropological learning from others, in this case a special Indian tribe from Mexico.

Favorite Business Books of 2009

1. Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs (The New Rules of Social Media) by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah

2. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

3. Putting the Public Back into Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business in PR by Brian Solis and Deidre Breakenridge

4. Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability and Science of Customer Centricity by Avinash Kaushik

5. The Next Evolution of Marketing: Connect With Your Customers by Marketing With Meaning by Bob Gilbreath Listen First Sell Later

6. Listen First Sell Later by Bob Poole

7. I Love you More than my Dog: Five Decisions That Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and Bad by Jeanne Bliss

8. Eating the Big Fish: How Challenger Brands can Compete Against Brand Leaders by Adam Morgan (2009 reprint)

9. FREE: The Future of Radical Price by Chris Anderson

10. Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation by Tim Brown

11. The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to be Insanely Great In Front of Any Audience by Carmine Gallo

12. Power of Less The: Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential...in Business and in Life by Leo Babauta

13. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race The World Has Never Seen by Chris McDougall

Other books you think should be on this list?

  

Books I plan to read in the New Year:

1. Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today's Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves by A Penenberg

2. Googled: The End of the World As We Know It by Ken Auletta/What Would Google Do? By Jeff Jarvis

3. The Social Media Marketing Book by Dan Zarella

4. Chief Culture Officer: How to Create a Living, Breathing Corporation by Grant McCraken

5. Presentation Zen Design: Simple Design Principles and Techniques to Enhance Your Presentations by Garr Reynolds (due December 28, 2009)

6. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink (due out December 29, 2009)

7. Lynchpin: Are You Indispensible? by Seth Godin (due out January 26, 2010)

8. Rework by Jason Fried (due out March 9, 2010)

What about you? What's on your list to read?

  

Other blogs to read related to these favorite books of 2009:

If You Charged For Your Content, Would Anyone Pay? By Jonathan Richman Dose of Digital blog

Marketing With Meaning: Is there any other way? Advertising Age

Pharma: Are Current DTC Ads Meaningful? By Ellen Hoenig Notes From the Back of the Book blog

How Marketing With Meaning Can Save Pharma (3 Part Series) by Jonathan Richman

Book Review: I love You More Than My Dog - Small Business Trends

Pharma: Say NO To More Bullets! and Presentation Tips  by Ellen Hoenig

Pharma: Is Your Marketing Designed to Engage and Educate or Sell?  By Ellen Hoenig

For my list of top books of 2008 and 2007, click here.

Happy New Year to all! See you in 2010!

 

 

Some of the Best Healthcare Blogs and eBooks of 2009

As we move into 2010, I've been thinking a lot about what I've learned this year, much of it triggered by the tremendous number of thought leader blogs, eBooks and white papers that I've read this year.  While there is no way to capture all the great work happening 24/7, here's a smattering of a few (well maybe more than a ‘few') that you may want to read or re-read as we get ready to step into 2010...

Topics cover a range- from social media and technology, to ePatients and marketing, including implications for Pharma and Healthcare, in the US and Europe. Please feel free to share other posts that you found valuable. Happy reading...

Best Blogs

Social Media, Platforms and Technology

Ten ‘Thinks' You Should Know about Social Media by Shwen Gwee at Med 2.0 blog

Pharma Should Forget About Social Media Monitoring by Jonathan Richman at Dose of Digital

Pharma Don't Be Shy About Social Media by Wendy Blackburn at ePharma Rx, Intouch Solutions

10 Social Media Watch-outs for Pharma and Healthcare Marketers by Ellen Hoenig, Notes from the Back of the Book

7 Inputs to a Social Media Strategy by Adam Cohen, A Thousands Cuts blog

5 Social Media Myths by Digital Tonto blog

The 3 F's and 3 R's of Social Media Marketing by Chris Boyer, Hospital Online Marketing

Lee Aase, Mayo Clinic: The Future of Health Brands and Social Media and Greg Matthews, Humana: The Future of Health Brands and Social Media by Eric Brody at Healthy Conversations

A Clinical Infusion of Google Wave  and Healthcare's Google- Facebook -Twitter Platform by Phil Baumann

Is Google the New FDA? By John Mack at Pharma Marketing blog

Google Real Time Search and Crisis Communications and Google and Pharmacovigilance by Mark Senak at eyeonfda blog

Google Sidewiki and Implications for Pharma Brands by Adam Cohen, A Thousand Cuts blog, Rosetta

Why Pharma Needs to Pay Attention to Wikipedia, Guest post Eileen O'Brien at Notes from the Back of the Book

Readability of the Top 50 Prescribed Drugs in Wikipedia by Kevin Kruse, The Patient Will See You Now

Pharma and Twitter: Who's Got Hand by Mark Senak at eyeonfda blog

Follow the Engagement-visualizing #FollowPharma by Silja Chouquet at Whydotpharma blog

The Increasing Use of Social Media to Recruit Patients for Clinical Trials by Sally Church at Pharma Marketing Strategy blog

Video Games: Key to the Future of Pharma and Healthcare? By Ellen Hoenig, Notes From the Back Of the Book

Why the Pharma Industry Should Care About Augmented Reality Guest Post by  Sven Larsen of Pixels and Pills   at Fard Johnmar's Walking the Path blog

Pfizer and Social Media-- an Update by Steve Woodruff at Impactiviti blog and consultancy

Social Media ROI for Hospitals and Health Marketers by Kevin Kruse and Kru Research blog

Splitting ROI by Just So You Know blog (Meredith Gould and Daphne Leigh Swancutt)

Europe You need to Tackle Social Media Now by Silja Chouquet at Whydotpharma blog

The Pachyderm in the Parlour: resisting the legitimation of DTC social media activates in Europe by Andrew Spong STweM blog and consultancy

Pharma, Marketing and Paradigm Shift

What's Hot In Oncology: A Review of 2009 and Predictions for 2010 by Sally Church at Pharma Marketing Strategy blog

Pharma Still Uneasy About Getting Social, Pharma Blog Review by Chris Truelove

The Pitfalls of Doing Nothing by Steve Woodruff at Impactiviti blog and consultancy

Ten things Pharma Companies Will Never Try (But Should) by Jonathan Richman at Dose of Digital

Will Patients Find Value in Discussions with Pharma? By John Mack

Question For Healthcare Marketers: Do You See Patients as Consumers? By Eric Brody at Healthy Conversations

Save Boobs Blasts Attention Glut (guest post Fard Johnmar) Just So You Know blog (Meredith Gould and Daphne Leigh Swancutt)

Refining Patienthood Project Launches: Aims, Goals and Many Questions Ahead by Jen McCabe, Jen's Posterous Health Management Rx

Why Programming Microchoice and Microcontrol into the Healthcare system will lead to the Equivalent of the Microprocessing Revolution by Jen McCabe Jen's Posterous Health Management Rx

Splitting Trouble  and Talking Trash by Just So You Know blog (Meredith Gould and Daphne Leigh Swancutt)

Pharma and Social Media: What Roles Should Personas Play? by Ellen Hoenig at Notes from the Back of the Book blog

CMO 3.0: Why Marketing is the New Finance, Odom Lewis, Healthcare Marketing and Medical Executive Search  

ePatients, Patients and Consumers

Video "Tale of 2 ePatients": Pecha Kucha Limerick Dr Val Jones via The Patients Will See You Now, Kevin Kruse and Kru Research

Mayo Clinic Music Fun  and A Bite of Life at Sharing Mayo Clinic

Disease Guilt by Steve Woodruff at Impactiviti blog and consultancy

Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here, Have Something Messed Up Happen? By Jen McCabe, Jen's Posterous

What Part of Give Us Our Damn Data Do You Not Understand by Dave deBronkart at e-patients.net

ePatient 2009: Voice of the Patient by  Kerri Morrone Sparling, at sixuntilme.com

A Patient's Perspective: Day Two of FDA Public Hearing (#FDASM) by DC Patient

Advice to a Cancer Patient Facing News He Didn't Want and Don't Let the Median Scare You To Death by Dave deBronkart, The New Life of ePatient Dave blog, Dave deBronkart

The Pew/Health Internet FAQ by Susannah Fox at e-patients.net (Leads Health Research and Internet Strategy for Pew Internet and American Life Project)

The Social Life of Health Information by Susannah Fox, Pew Internet and American Life Project

What Pharma Can learn from Communities' Opinions by Andrew Spong STweM

The Role of Physician Trust and Communication in Filling New Prescriptions by Kevin Kruse, Kru Research

Best eBooks and White Papers (free)

Best Learning Actions for Pharma and Healthcare Marketers in 2010? Reflections by 12 Sage Bloggers and Thought leaders, Editor Ellen Hoenig AdvanceMarketWoRx

Overcoming Our Social Challenges: Getting Started with Social Media in Biotech by Shwen Gwee

A Bright Future for Digital, a Dimmer One for Pharma by Len Starnes, Bayer Schering Pharma

Pharma and Healthcare Social Media Principles by Jonathan Richman Dose of Digital blog, Bridge Worldwide

Social Media: What's In It for Pharma? A Digitas Health Social Media POV by Sarah Larcker

Getting Started with Social Networking by Steve Woodruff of Impactiviti blog and consultancy

Pharma Twitterama: Exploring the Use of Twitter in Pharma and Healthcare by Shwen Gwee at Med 2.0 blog

WEGO Health Webinar: Twitter Power Tools for Health Activists by Shwen Gwee at Med 2.0 blog

140 Healthcare Uses for Twitter  by Phil Baumann

Social Media and Pharma: Is their value? By Richard Meyer

Monitoring Adverse Events in Social Media for Pharma's Biggest Brands: Hopeless Task or Simple Project? Mini-white paper, Jonathan Richman Dose of Digital

An Edelman Report: Insights and Recommendations in the Wake of the FDA Social Media Hearings, The Health Engagement blog

Considering Neuroscience to Improve Consumer Communications- FDA Advisory Committee Meeting by Ellen Hoenig, AdvanceMarketWorx Notes from the Back of the Book blog

ePatient White Paper by ePatient Scholars team, ePatient.net (2007- but still including this classic!)

Best Wikis

#FDASM by Fabio Gratton of Ignite Health

Pharma and Healthcare Social Media Wiki by Jonathan Richman at Dose of Digital

Hospital Social Networking List by Ed Bennett

 

 

Best Learning Actions for Healthcare Marketers in 2010? (free eBook)

Inspired by Alvin Toffler's quote: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn," we asked 12 leading bloggers and healthcare thought leaders to share their reflections: what would they recommend as top learning strategies for Pharma and Healthcare marketers in 2010?

Overall, there were six themes that contributors brought to life:

1)  e-Patients are at the center and critical to learning and design;
2)  Authenticity isn't a ‘nice to do', it's a ‘must' (and you won't be the one who decides whether you've succeeded);
3)  Don't' get distracted by ‘bells and whistles'-remember the basics and keep your brand core strong;
4)  New marketing challenges require new ROI thinking...the ROI of connection, authenticity and compassion;
5)  The marketing cycle of life is going through unprecedented change requiring all marketers and communications people to unlearn much-the movement from paid marketing to earned marketing requires a different mindset and skills; and
6)  Effective marketing and engagement will require new kinds of leadership skills.

Or as Steve Woodruff would say, "it's a holiday grab-bag of nuggets from the wise travelers--some myrrh, some gold, some SEO, some patient communities--stick your hand in and grab some goodies!"

My heartfelt appreciation to the 12 contributors-yet another example of the power of the community.

• Phil Baumann, Phil Baumann online blog, CareVocate Interactive Media Solutions
• Wendy Blackburn, ePharma Rx blog, Intouch Solutions
• Adam Cohen, A Thousand Cuts blog, Rosetta Interactive
• Dave deBronkart, The New Life of e-Patient Dave blog, Society for Participatory Medicine
  
• Angela Dunn, Odom Lewis blog, Executive Search Specialists in Healthcare Marketing/Medical Education
• Susannah Fox, Health Research for Pew Internet & American Life Project
• Fard Johnmar, Path of the Blue Eye Project, Envision Consultancy
• John Mack, Pharma Marketing blog, Editor-in-chief of Pharma Marketing News
  
• Jonathan Richman, Dose of Digital blog, Bridge Worldwide
• Marsha Shenk, Thriving Enterprise blog, The Bestwork People
• Andrew Spong, STweM blog and Consultancy, UK
• Steve Woodruff, Impactiviti blog and Consultancy

If you enjoy this eBook, feel free to blog it, tweet it or email it. (But please don't change it)...We also hope that you meet some new 'friends' to learn with in 2010. Lastly, we welcome feedback below or on slide share.

Download PDF;  also available on slideshare  (see below) and scribd

The Gift of Learning for Pharma and Healthcare Marketers In 2010 (free eBook)

View more presentations from Ellen Hoenig Carlson - Advance MarketWoRx.

May you and yours enjoy a rich and rejuvenating holiday season. We look forward to more learning and collaboration in 2010!


credits: eBook production: Courtney Justice, The Cournell Group

 

2010 Outlook: 10 Ways to Win With Patients and Improve DTC Efforts

[Full article: 2010 Outlook: Doom and Gloom For DTC? 10 Points for Winning with Patients, published in DTC Perspectives, December 2009]

Despite many gloomy predictions for DTC advertising and the pharma industry overall, there's never been a better time for marketers to forward their brands and consumers' lives with new thinking about what constitutes patient marketing in the 21st Century (DTC 21).  Ten prescriptions can help improve focus and strengthen DTC efforts in 2010.  Important media and technology trends are also "musts" to actively consider for those who want to bump impact and value.

1. Adopt an updated definition for DTC that considers the full picture of how consumers will interpret and interact with a brand TODAY. This calls for attention beyond "big bang" marketing spends, and begs for identifying meaningful levers to drive education and growth. DTC is no longer just an awareness or acquisition vehicle to move "eyeballs" through a linear marketing funnel; it's every influence and touch needed to bring new information and education, help convert, instill loyalty and inspire advocacy.
2. Consider "long-tail" marketing; don't be afraid to focus on smaller targets that matter. Long tail marketing has the potential to treat consumers as individuals with unique interests and needs.
3. Go to your consumer--surround them where they get their facts, learn, and socialize.  Today's consumer is not looking for your marketing messages.  Study after study points to both the growth of the Internet, and the fact that consumers and e-patients get their information from multiple sources. (The Social Life of Health Information - PEW Internet and American Life Project) Depending on your target, this suggests a mix of relevant touches and begs for the right combination of off line and on line media and social media tactics.
   
4. Move beyond selling to engaging and providing meaningful marketing and value. Look for new ways to extend patient value, and support a more positive customer experience along each and every touch point. This also means giving consumers and e-patients what they are looking for and not just your "brand sell". Engagement requires looking at each patient as a unique human being who, by the way, would "rather not e your customer" (After all, who wants to have a chronic condition and take medication for the trust of their life, whether it be your rand or a competitors?). Think hard how you might provide relevant value real-time, every time. To improve engagement, 6 C's are crucial:  1) Content that is based on meaningful insights and provides context; 2) Customization via new ways to personalize treatment, process or support; 3) Conversation is encouraged for better service, learning and sharing: 4) Confidence is built with trust and transparency; 5) Community Connectedness - directly or indirectly- create your own, or better yet, tap into an existing one; and 6) Consistent Commitment is demonstrated to your customer base--no one shot deals here.
5. Consumer power is a fact of life requiring brands and companies to walk and talk "patient-centered" -- consumers are finely tuned to what's valuable and authentic. Ask yourself one simple question over and over:  Will this bring meaningful value to our patients?
6. Keep your brand's strategic core strong and grounded, despite the onslaught of messages and tactics, and the speed with which they require action.  A strong core requires a compelling and relevant brand promise that focuses every strategy and tactic so they're synergistic and supportive. The payoff is staying on message by protecting the brand from chasing every new, cool digital and new media tactic coming your way.
   
7. Insist on elegant solutions that do more with less. Smaller budgets don't negate innovation and may have just the opposite effect in spurring new thinking.
8. Don't overlook the details. While they may seem small and trivial, find out which are important to patients and their families.  This can help instill better ROI efficiencies.
9. Refresh brand metrics and measurement to drive current brand objectives and initiatives. Think beyond traditional reach and frequency measures and try to ensure a flow of metrics and measurement from beginning to end of the patient "buying process" for maximum learning.
   
10. Be the best listeners in you category. Listen with vigilance, and act on learning across the organization. Listening, and what you do with your learning, is the responsibility of the entire organization.  Be sure that each 'tweet" or customer learning gets mapped back to a rightful "owner' in the organization.

In 2010, important media, social platforms and technology trends can't be neglected. Below are some helpful questions to ask as media and technology continue to quickly change (yes...an understatement!):

 

Pharma: Are you ready for 2010?  Despite continued budget tightening and generic growth, and open areas such as health  reform and  FDA social media and web guidelines, it's going to be a big year for those willing to step up and experiment with new ways of marketing and 'not marketing'...What do you think?

 

Other Suggested Reading:

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson. Wikipedia's summary of long tail here.

Pharma: Are Current DTC Ads Meaningful? The Next Evolution of Marketing My Book review.

The Next Evolution of Marketing: Connect with your Customers by Marketing with Meaning by Bob Gilbreath, Bridge Worldwide

Susannah Fox, PEW Research Center: The Social Life off Health Information, Twitter and Status Updated, Fall 2009

Pharma: Is Your Brand Patient Centered? 5 Critical Success Factors by Ellen Hoenig, MedAd News, November, 2009

I love You More Than My Dog: 5 Decisions that Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty In Good Times and Bad  by J. Bliss

Strong Brand Core: More Core Than Ever? 

Pharma: Is Your Marketing Designed to Engage and Educate or Sell? My book review of Listen First Sell Later by Bob Poole

Pharma: Do You Elegantly Use What You Have? My book review of In Pursuit of Elegance by Matthew E May

Photo Credit:  Courtney Justice/The Cournell Group

Pharma: Is Your Brand Patient-Centered? 5 Critical Success Factors.

[As originally posted in MedAd News, November 2009]

Almost every pharma company likes to think of itself as "patient-centric," but prescription brands can become patient-centered only by putting consumers at the heart of their business model through every stage of product development and deployment and by focusing relentlessly on patient experience and outcomes. This means integrating tough consumer questions and learning into every phase of commercialization. Consumers increasingly demand direct communication and they expect the kind of standards to which they are accustomed in other industries. This is a major challenge, with substantial rewards awaiting those who find their way.

Adopting five critical success factors improves success. Marketers must put patients at the center of every decision right from the beginning; translate clinical benefits to real world health grains; encourage a more collaborative relationship between doctor and patient; improve patient and caregiver experience through the treatment pathway; and take nothing for granted, understanding that even small details can be meaningful to patients and families.

A newcomer might wonder why pharma needs reminding to center on the patient; it's a stated part of virtually every company mission. Traditionally, patients were not viewed as the primary customer—physicians were, and in some ways still are. New drugs were positioned to get maximum uptake and support of the primary gatekeepers: healthcare professionals, who were thought to know their patients. New products reaching their primary end points without safety issues were launched to physicians. While consumer companies can more easily design desired product features and benefits into the development process, drug recovery is fraught with special hurdles, plus limitations of what benefits new prescription or biologic entitles deliver in clinical use. As a result, many compounds fail before FDA approval.

Historically, development and commercialization was largely led by physicians and clinical experts. Marketing's voice carried less weight, often came late, and focused largely on physicians. Also, because physician-focused sales people were often promoted into marketing functions, they brought little consumer expertise. Increasingly, hospitals and payers have become important customers.  And with the exponential growth of generics and with healthcare reform looming, business models are morphing to accommodate hospitals and payers faster than the shift to patients and caregivers.

U.S. healthcare is encountering the Information Age and Web 2.0, slowly and painfully shifting from a physician, sales-driven approach toward "patient centered" and market-driven. This reflects a growing recognition that incorporating individuals' perspective and greater involvement in healthcare results in better outcomes and satisfaction. Patients make the ultimate decision about whether they will live healthy, fill prescriptions, and adhere to prescribed medications. Social media platforms connect consumers to each other and encourage health information sharing. Companies and brands are publicly assessed. Dialogues include patient-caregiver experience, efficacy, cost, and side effects, and will likely include one or more conversations with a physician. Consumerism was, and in many ways still is, an unpleasant surprise for pharma. Business and marketing practices, while improving, have not caught up.

So the question remains, what will it take for the industry to get current?
To win at the five critical success factors, marketers need to put the patient at the center of decisions at critical junctures along the clinical and commercialization pathway as early as Phase l and Phase ll of development. Early and more integrated cross-functional teams are more likely to succeed. Companies should establish high standards right from the start, including a focus on translating clinical benefits to real-world health gains and staying true to the Six C's: Content with context; Conversation; Customization; Community Connectedness; Confidence Creation; and Consistent Commitment.

Read/Download PDF version of patient-centered article