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Crisis Management for Brands

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When leading a brand’s marketing strategy, it is important to recognize that many external and internal factors can arise and cause challenges for day-to-day business operations and marketing efforts. These so called “crises” in the supply chain industry can include financial changes, recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and more, and all have the potential to impact marketing tactics and strategies.

Businesses should have a crisis management plan in place specifically for marketing and PR, so that leaders are able to quickly and successfully navigate any challenges that may arise for businesses.

Read on for examples of PR crises that other brands experienced and how your brand can learn from them to be adequately prepared for potential PR crises.

  1. Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson had a swift PR turnaround in relation to a crisis with Tylenol in the 1980’s, when seven people died from Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide. The product was recalled nationwide, and the crisis led to the adoption of tamperproof packaging for all over-the-counter medicine going forward.

The company reacted to the crisis quickly, recalling 31 million bottles of Tylenol, and also working with the media and law enforcement, ensuring the safety of the public foremost. With this example, Johnson & Johnson showed that their brand is authentic and trustworthy, as the decision to recall the product further built trust and the brand’s reputation.

  1. Reese’s

For a more social media oriented example of handling a PR crisis, in 2015, Reese’s released candies for the holiday season that were advertised as Christmas tree shaped, but customers reacted saying the shape did not in fact look like Christmas trees.

Reese’s responded by starting a social media campaign called #AllTreesAreBeautiful, which turned the negative crisis situation into another marketing opportunity.

Brand’s past PR crises, and the way that brands respond, can be lessons to current brands. Quick and transparent crisis management reassures customers that a brand is empathetic, takes responsibility, and acts quickly to maintain brand image.

The medical distribution industry has faced many business and PR challenges in recent times, including the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and more. If your company could use assistance planning a marketing strategy that can plan for and navigate potential crises, Share Moving Media has extensive experience working with health systems and medical sales reps to create marketing content that can assist brands in times of crisis. Contact Scott Adams at sadams@sharemovingmedia.com to set up a time to meet to learn more.

Storytelling and Branding: A Look at the StoryBrand Process

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If you’ve seen or heard an advertisement that stood out, elicited strong emotion, and resonated with you, it is likely that the brand that created the ad was using the storytelling framework.

There is a proven framework to use when creating marketing content that tells a story. According to a Business to Business (B2B) video on “Building a StoryBrand,” by Donald Miller, storytelling allows advertisers to cut through the noise, get customers’ attention, and grow a business. The framework to follow when using the storytelling method includes creating a marketing campaign where a character has a problem, they meet a guide, the guide gives the character a plan, and then the guide calls them to action, the plan helps them avoid failure, and the story ends in success.

Psychologically, humans share a need for survival, safety, relationships, and self-actualization, and the storytelling method closely follows those themes. StoryBrand breaks down how to properly execute each aspect of brand storytelling:

A character

For a business, the “main character” in a marketing context is the customer.  A brand should focus on the customer foremost. To compel customers, clearly articulate what customers should want within the context of your business.

Has a problem

The “problem” within a marketing campaign’s story should be personified. For example, frustration as a problem within an ad’s story is not as effective as presenting an outdated, time-consuming process that makes a customer feel frustrated. The problem presented should be relatable and singular.

Meets a guide

This step in the storytelling process is where the company comes in. The character/customer in this step meets a guide (aka the company). To position a company as a guide in a marketing context, it is important to recognize that consumers are looking for two characteristics in a business: empathy and authority.

Customer receives a plan

There are two forms of a plan within a storytelling marketing format, The Process Plan, or what steps a customer can follow to do business with the company. This includes steps such as scheduling an appointment, creating a customized plan, or executing and reviewing KPIs. The second type of plan is The Agreement Plan, which is a service level agreement that tells customers what they can count on if they make a purchasing decision.

Call to action

Customers need to be called to action; businesses must send an obvious message to customers to persuade them to act. This can be done through direct calls to action, such as “call today” or “buy now,” or transitional calls to action, which are informational, such as the ability to view blogs, webinars, videos, so the customer has more potential to be called to action in the future.

Leveraging storytelling in your brand’s marketing campaigns has the potential to increase customer engagement and brand awareness. Share Moving Media has over 30 years of experience adapting business’ marketing campaigns to succeed in the healthcare supply chain industry. If your business could benefit from the creation of online content such as blogs, podcasts, webinars, marketing material, and more to set your business apart in the medical supply industry, contact Scott Adams at sadams@sharemovingmedia.com to set up a time to meet.

Virtual healthcare and the impact on the supply chain

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Health systems have begun to adopt virtual nursing to address workforce challenges, including OSF Healthcare (Illinois), MUSC Health (South Carolina), CommonSpirit (Chicago, IL), and more. With growing industry workforce shortages, more hospitals and health systems are implementing virtual healthcare programs to streamline workflows.

The pandemic has changed many aspects of the healthcare industry, and the healthcare supply chain has experienced the impacts too. Read on to learn how healthcare supply chain leaders can navigate virtual healthcare and be successful in the dynamic and ever-changing industry.

What is virtual nursing/healthcare?

Virtual nursing is delivering patient care and services from a remote location. The purpose is to supplement care and reduce the burden on bedside nurses. It is used in many healthcare systems such as acute care, home health, mental health, chronic care management, and more. These programs aim to reduce burnout and make workflows more efficient.

Organizations most often use videoconferencing technology for virtual healthcare, and physicians and nurses work together to monitor patients, document care, and respond to questions.

How does virtual nursing impact the supply chain industry?

COVID-19 undoubtedly impacted the healthcare and healthcare supply chain industry. Supply chain leaders have faced challenges due to the pandemic including a higher incidence of virtual healthcare, supply chain shortages, and disruptions.

What can supply chain industry leaders do to navigate health industry changes such as virtual nursing?

Adapting to the new reality, such as with virtual healthcare changes post-COVID, is critical for supply chain leaders to be successful. To address and overcome these challenges includes identifying alternate vendors to meet immediate short-term needs, collaborating with other distributors in the industry to understand current supply chain issues and trends, and learning how to transition into the new, highly virtual world of the current medical supply chain.

The challenges that have been presented in the healthcare industry post-pandemic can be navigated by healthcare supply chain leaders taking advantage of technological solutions. Share Moving Media has over 30 years of experience adapting to and navigating changes in the healthcare supply chain industry. If your business could benefit from the creation of online content such as blogs, podcasts, webinars, marketing material, and more to set your business apart in the online sphere, contact Scott Adams at sadams@sharemovingmedia.com to set up a time to meet.

Trends in the Supply Chain Industry

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If you’ve been scrolling through social media and experienced multiple business’ ads integrated throughout your feed, you have experienced a marketing trend. Social media advertising has become popular for businesses throughout many industries. Marketing trends greatly impact advertising tactics and drive consumer behavior especially within the medical distribution industry.

A “trend” is defined as how industry changes or develops over time. The healthcare and medical supply chain industry experiences many phases of marketing trends, and leveraging them has the potential to impact the success of marketing campaigns. Changing a business’ marketing tactics to reflect current trends may be crucial to stay up-to-date and stand out in the dynamic world of marketing.

Many outside factors influence the industry in general and the medical supply chain industry’s success of certain marketing campaigns, such as the higher incidence of chronic disease, the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer demand changes, and more.

To advertise successfully, companies must be aware of these trends and develop marketing strategies with them in mind.

Read on for 3 marketing industry trends and how to leverage them for success in medical device marketing.

  1. Identify Popular Trends and Emulate Successful Campaigns

Research other companies’ marketing campaigns to evaluate what trends and tactics make other brands in the industry successful. Determine what tactics are similar across brands, and develop a strategy as to how you can fit your unique brand message into the trend.

  1. Build brand awareness

Identify your brand’s specific target audience and tailor all marketing and communication efforts toward that goal. This will allow your company to determine what works from a marketing perspective and allows leaders and marketing professionals to gain a better understanding of what is and isn’t popular with consumers.

  1. Know the industry

When leveraging marketing trends, it is necessary for a company’s leaders to be very familiar with the industry. It is important to understand the current state of the industry, its challenges, and the future direction of the industry. This will allow a business to create niche and informed marketing content.

Share Moving Media has worked within the medical distribution industry for over 30 years, and has a thorough understanding of the industry, its trends, and how to create informed marketing content that stands out. If your company could benefit from insight into successful marketing campaigns that work in the industry, or if you could benefit from the creation of blogs, podcasts, webinars, or other marketing content, contact Scott Adams at sadams@sharemovingmedia.com to schedule a time to meet.

Sources: 4 Ways to Leverage Marketing Trends for Viral Growth | Entrepreneur

The 4 Ps of Marketing

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In the healthcare supply chain industry, a successful marketing campaign can include a variety of techniques and strategies. The world of marketing is dynamic and always changing, and there isn’t a “one size fits all” way that works to promote all brands.

It can be helpful when first developing a brand’s marketing strategy to have a framework, or outline, of what a brand hopes to accomplish through marketing efforts. This allows a brand to stay on track and successfully market its product or service.

One example of a framework that can guide marketing efforts is the four “Ps” or a “marketing mix.” A marketing mix is the different campaign strategies that a brand employs to market their product or service. The “marketing mix,” or the four “Ps” include product, price, place, and promotion. Strategies can include social media marketing, email campaigns, print marketing, and much more. Read on for a breakdown of each aspect of the four “Ps” marketing framework, and how businesses can integrate it into their business plans and campaign strategies.

  1. Product

Product is the goods or services that are being marketed by a brand to a specific audience. It is important for a company and its employees to have extensive knowledge and experience with the product or service in order to best represent it to customers in marketing campaigns.

  1. Price

Price is how much a product or service costs. Cost is a crucial aspect of the 4 Ps, as it determines who a brand’s audience is and the amount of profit a company can make from selling it to a specific audience.

  1. Place

Distributing or selling a product in a place that is easily accessible to consumers encompasses the third “P”. In the medical distribution industry especially, considering place is of utmost importance when selling products. Medical supply reps should have a thorough understanding of the needs of the hospitals or physician offices that they are working with, and how to best address those needs with certain products.

  1. Promotion

Advertising a brand’s product or service is the definition of promotion. Promotion includes print advertisements, TV commercials, and content marketing such as blogs, emails, and social media.

The 4 Ps can guide a brand’s preliminary marketing strategy. If your brand could benefit from further assistance planning marketing strategies or developing content specific to the medical distribution industry, contact Scott Adams at sadams@sharemovingmedia.com to set up a brainstorming session. Share Moving Media has over 30 years of experience creating content for the medical supply chain industry and can assist your brand in developing creative healthcare marketing ideas.