{"id":996,"date":"2016-07-18T09:20:23","date_gmt":"2016-07-18T14:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rx-edge.com\/blog\/?p=996"},"modified":"2016-07-18T10:57:59","modified_gmt":"2016-07-18T15:57:59","slug":"what-every-captain-knows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/what-every-captain-knows\/","title":{"rendered":"What every captain knows"},"content":{"rendered":"

As avid boaters, my husband and I have had an up-close relationship with Lake Michigan for many years.\u00a0 We have crossed it, crisscrossed it, and traveled it from top to bottom. \u00a0Shortly after buying a boat, we took classes offered by the Coast Guard auxiliary to learn about how to chart a course.\u00a0 But the real hands-on knowledge has come by way of our many trips.\u00a0 \u00a0Our first boat was not equipped with electronic navigation, so our maiden voyage across the lake to Saugatuck, Michigan required the use of paper charts, parallel rulers, and \u201cdead reckoning\u201d.\u00a0 We and our co-travelers literally leaped for joy and cheered ecstatically when we spotted the Saugatuck landmark. We were all a little shocked that we had not only made it to our destination, but had done so right on the mark.<\/p>\n

Electronic Marine GPS has dramatically changed navigation over the years but the fundamentals haven\u2019t changed.\u00a0 Planning and attention to detail are still essential.\u00a0 Modern systems make it easy to set a waypoint, which provides and stores your bearing, compass reading, distance, and direction to a certain location.\u00a0 But even if your waypoint seems clear, you still need to deviate a bit from your course along the way because of obstacles you might encounter \u2212 shoals, reefs, or land.\u00a0 And because Lake Michigan can present as many challenges as the ocean, a boater also has to be continually aware of other ever-changing elements that cause the boat to go off-course, like wind, waves, and currents.\u00a0 But in the end, the captain\u2019s measure of success is clear:\u00a0 Did I get there?\u00a0 Or did I hit a rock and sink?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Charting a course to\u2026.where?<\/h3>\n

Since we\u2019re in the midst of making plans for a boating trip coming up soon this summer, I\u2019ve been reminded of the analogies between boating and business. Every marketer needs to have a goal, figure out how to get there, and be prepared for potential impediments along the way.\u00a0 But when it comes to pharmaceutical marketing spending, it seems like many times brands are trying to chart a course without a clear idea of where they want to go or where they will end up.<\/strong>\u00a0 Millions of dollars are spent on advertising campaigns but it is difficult to relate the spending back to actual impact on sales.\u00a0 Things like as response rates to savings offers, website visits, brand awareness and television ad impressions are all contributing factors that are definitely important to know. But they are diagnostic in nature and do not give you the full performance picture. Sales data metrics, on the other hand, provide an unequivocal assessment of marketing effectiveness. Early in the planning process, the key performance indicators should be identified, which includes deciding on the benchmarks that will be used to reflect a quantifiable return. When a metrics plan is established in advance, and when it emphasizes true impact<\/em> metrics, the chances for a successful marketing effort increase substantially.<\/p>\n

See land and reach your destination<\/h3>\n

Marketers can then use this data to refine future efforts. For example, if a particular program met ROI goals, a marketer may want to evaluate how to scale it in the future to reach a larger audience. If objectives were not met, the information can be used to adjust strategies and tactics.\u00a0 Lifetime patient value is another critical consideration that cannot be overlooked in the ROI calculation. Marketers should quantify results with respect to not only the short-term impact of the marketing effort, but also the effect over the duration of treatment.\u00a0 Destination reached!<\/p>\n

Use the right tools, whether you\u2019re navigating a boat or a brand<\/h3>\n

Thinking back to that first boat excursion to Saugatuck, we really shouldn\u2019t have been all that<\/em> surprised by our success.\u00a0 We had used all the tools available to us at the time, knew what we wanted to achieve, and had applied caution and care in planning the trip.\u00a0 That\u2019s what it really is all about, whether you\u2019re navigating a boat or a brand.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When pharma marketers establish a waypoint, chart their course, keep the destination in sight and use the best tools available, they can successfully navigate their journey\u2014without hitting a rock along the way!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As avid boaters, my husband and I have had an up-close relationship with Lake Michigan for many years.\u00a0 We have crossed it, crisscrossed it, and traveled it from top to bottom. \u00a0Shortly after buying a boat, we took classes offered by the Coast Guard auxiliary to learn about how to chart a course.\u00a0 But the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=996"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1008,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996\/revisions\/1008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}