If your branding is all about buzzwords, it’s time to take a close look at the way you’re communicating with your scientific audience and ask: Is this what buyers really want? Catchy slogans designed to sell fail to develop deep connections with life sciences customers, who are discerning customers. Effective branding is accomplished through integrated marketing: reaching an audience through multiple media and communications efforts.

We know that a strong brand builds awareness, relationships and loyalty. And strong brands come from layered marketing campaigns that include newsletters, e-mail blast programs, videos, advertising, white papers, comparisons, news of products and services, and webinars.

Here are some tips to modernize your branding strategy so you can capture today’s scientific and life sciences audience.

Be the problem-solver. Brand should be directly tied to your company’s strategy, and at the end of the day life sciences companies are doing something to solve a problem. Content distributed to your scientific audience should focus on answering their questions in a non-promotional, honest way. Be the information source. Be the trusted adviser. When you act as an educator and journalist, you’ll start gaining the attention of today’s information-driven customers.

How you deliver content is critical. Be genuine—hold the sales language. In a Salesforce 2014 survey of branding, 80% of respondents said the authenticity of content is a driving factor of whether they’ll follow a brand.

 “Marketing is not the art of finding clever ways to dispose of what you make. It is the art of creating genuine customer value.”

― Philip Kotler – author of over 55 marketing books and respected marketing expert.

 Focus on engagement. Brand awareness is a primary goal for 89% of manufacturing marketers, compared to 85% for sales and 80% for lead generation, according to the Content Marketing Institute. That said, your branding should go beyond buzzwords, slogans and one-liners. Think about how you capture the attention of an individual in a crowded room. You’re more likely to earn their trust if you have a one-on-one conversation, and if you listen and respond to an individual’s needs. If you shout out messages to the room, many people will simply tune you out. But connecting with your scientific audience, giving them insight they’re asking for, is meaningful and valuable.

Layer your messaging. We know that 97% of life science research managers and professionals (our target audience) are directly involved in the buying journey for major purchases of R&D tools. How are you reaching this audience? A buzzword or slogan they hear for a moment may stick with them, but they’ll be more likely to trust and buy from you if they can continually rely on you to solve their problems and to give them information they need. Modern branding takes advantage of the many social channels and electronic means of delivering content: email, newsletters, online.

Think like your customer. Branding today focuses on making meaningful connections with scientific customers. Overused buzzwords blend in with the rest of the noise. You want your listing to stand out from the competition, and our research shows that the life sciences audience is more likely to buy from a brand it recognizes when faced with alternative supplier choices.

Gartner Research noted that by 2014, more than 40 percent of large complex marketing organizations developed a pace-layered application approach to integrated marketing. And content marketing such as e-newsletters plays a significant role in a company’s marketing mix, leading as the digital marketing trend of 2013-14 according to Forrester Research.

The goal of branding is the same as it always was: to drive sales. But the way smart companies reach that objective today is through integrated marketing that speaks to the scientific audience on multiple levels, in various ways. And, we can deliver effective brand-focused content if we remember a simple marketing rule. It’s not about you, the company—it’s about the audience.  

>> Find out how you can reach your scientific audience with authentic messaging that will influence buying decisions. Let’s talk more. Contact Biocompare at sales@biocompare.com