Your Newsletter: It’s Not All About You
August 11th, 2009
Life sciences companies can be divided three ways: those who don’t have a newsletter, those who have one, and those who have one and understand the purpose. Companies often see the newsletter as simply a way to showcase new products, and see it as a monthly chore. As we’ve discussed, this ‘broadcasting’ of your products is much less effective these days, as customers have a lot of ‘noise’ to sort through during their daily routine.
A company newsletter should focus on your customers, not you. If they simply want to see a list of new products, they’ll visit the website. Here’s an example to help understand how to ‘turn around’ your thinking on newsletter content. I have a friend who’s a photographer, and I was trying to talk her into sending her clients a newsletter (yes, I think marketing 24/7). She replied “Why would I want to send my clients information about photography and how I shoot pictures?” She is thinking that a newsletter is about her company. Instead, I suggested that she give her clients information that may be considered tangential to her business, but very relevant to her clients. For example, for her wedding photography clients, send tips on the best locations and times for weddings. Where are the best deals on bridesmaid dresses? For her portrait clients, send couples or family-focused tips on vacation spots, and include some nice photography she’s done at the location. Her clients will start to look forward to her emails even after their pictures are finished, and will keep her in mind for themselves and friends.
How does this translate to developing a newsletter for your life sciences company that will contribute to your bottom line? Think about your customer first. What are their daily challenges, and how can you use what you’re already doing to help them even more? We helped chemistry building blocks and services provider BioBlocks develop a newsletter using this approach. BioBlocks’ scientists are very savvy with several classes of chemical building blocks, and they utilize this know-how to build their collection. Their newsletter focuses on helping their customers understand the research behind their choices, including patents and drug discovery publications. Of course, their newsletter is tied to their products, but it is not simply a listing of what’s new. As a result, they’ve received many compliments on their newsletter and their mailing list has grown substantially.
Want to get started? Contact us for a free consultation today. Newsletters, like other forms of social media, take time to develop, and there’s no time like the present to begin connecting with your customers. In the meantime, check out our Biotechnology Marketing 101 blog series, and sign up for email updates.
Subscribe in RSS reader or via email.