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Revisiting “The Four Ps” of Marketing During a Pandemic

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Whenever asked to come up with a marketing plan, many people refer back to the “The Four Ps of Marketing” and use them as the basic foundation to develop an integrated strategy.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of healthcare and health IT companies have had to totally rethink the four Ps—whether they know it or not. And, they’ve had to do this as fast as possible while trying to save lives—of frontline workers and infected patients—while remaining relevant and profitable.

Here’s an example. Currently all eyes are on the biopharma industry to see how quickly they can develop a vaccine that will effectively stop—and hopefully eradicate—the coronavirus.

  • The “P”roduct here is the vaccine, and there are many companies testing theirs to see which offer the best and safest results.
  • But have you also noticed a lot of the “P”romotions that these companies have been making in the national news? So far, none of them have been paying for these promotions—and that’s an important point of clarification—not all promotions are paid.
  • There are also a lot of national arguments on the “P”lacements of the vaccines. How will the vaccine be distributed and who will be first in line to receive it? How will they know it’s available and where to get it?
  • And of course, we’re also hearing a lot or rumblings about the “P”rice of the vaccine. Will it really be free (someone has to pay for it) or will there be a hefty cost when people pull up their shirt sleeves?

Because we’re in a pandemic, the whole healthcare industry has had to deal with its effects on their individual products and services. Here’s a recap of a few observations of what’s been happening.

Product

Because of COVID-19, many—if not all—health IT companies have had to take a very hard look at their products and solutions and how they can help health workers deal with and provide care to those in need.

Some of the products are back-end solutions that integrate with technologies such as EHRs—to provide faster service and track results. Certain companies may deal more directly with healthcare coordination or how data is being used and sent, while others may provide community-based services to those who are most vulnerable. And as mentioned above, many are dealing with therapeutics that help in delivering care to those affected with the virus.

Placement

Directly related to the product or solution is where and how it will be used. This will have an effect on how it will be marketed and determine the channels for those efforts.

Right now, in healthcare, certain products (think thermometers, COVID-19 tests, ventilators, etc.) are moving very quickly all around the world. But it takes sophisticated logistical operations to get equipment where it needs to be.

But this also affects how the public is informed and how the product gets used. For example, we’ve heard several instances of how someone may be feeling symptoms related to the virus but has absolutely no idea about where to go to get a test.

Promotions

This is probably the most confusing and difficult of The Four Ps to navigate during the pandemic. With so many companies wanting—and deserving—earned media placements, many news outlets are overwhelmed with requests. Having the right relationships with the media, and offering them true, compelling and factual stories is key to making sure products and solutions receive the attention they deserve.

Paid promotions are an obvious possibility, but with so much information “out there” companies will need to be very analytical, specific and targeted to reach their audiences and cut through the noise. Social media is also a good option to promote a product or solution, but knowing the right channel and frequency are keys to getting attention, followers, likes and shares.

Price

The most compelling of the Four Ps to the consumer of a product or service is the price! Remember all the fears about toilet paper and hand sanitizer shortages, and efforts to control supply and demand?

Many healthcare and health IT companies—in order to meet needs and create a common good for care delivery—provided their solutions for free. But they can’t do this forever because they’ll go broke. And, in an unstable economy, pricing dilemmas will surely consume many of these companies’ time—while trying to maintain and salvage relationships with clients and customers.

As has been demonstrated time and time again, The Four Ps of Marketing create the formula for a winning strategy and a profitable company. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have had to revisit all the Ps to make sure their product or solution gets where it needs to be or does what it can do for health workers.

Products, places, promotions and price are now more relevant to healthcare delivery—and saving people’s lives—than they have ever been before.

5 Reasons to Invest in Your Future, Despite the Scary Past

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Welcome to Q3, 2020. What does that mean for how public relations and marketing departments will invest in their futures?

Q4 will be the time to finalize budgets for 2021. After a tumultuous year including a pandemic, record unemployment, civil unrest and a to-be-determined presidential election, not to mention murder hornets and whatever else the universe chooses to throw against us this year, 2021 may be a welcome sight. But with the roller coaster year we’ve had, faith in budgets may not be so faithful.

Investors will tell you that when the stock market plummets, don’t stress out thinking you’ve lost a fortune. Instead, remind yourself that stocks are now on sale. Buy while prices are at their lowest.

Channeling money back into your business is solid advice any time but especially after a difficult year. Here are five reasons why hiring a public relations firm could be the wisest decision to help you make up for lost revenue.

  1. Pay the pros, not the employees. Even in the healthcare world during a pandemic, health-related jobs are not secure. If your company had to reduce its staff, it’s likely support personnel including social media teams and internal communications managers may have been the first people to go. Hiring a PR firm, however, comes with all these specialists, and so many more. Fully staffed agencies have writers, SEO and content marketing pros, just to name a few, and you won’t have to pay for their unemployment insurance, 401K contributions, or health insurance premiums.
  1. Investors aren’t. This June article from MobiHealthNews points out that in these uncertain times, investors aren’t investing, especially in startups. Smaller companies must find other ways to get their message out, and their brand recognized until they can score a big influx of cash. An agency with a proven track record is the safest option for small companies with limited resources.
  1. The press release is still king. In this blog recently contributed by my colleague, Brandon Glenn, most journalists (36%) still receive their news from the good old press release. A PR firm will staff writers to get your message out there, and better still, leverage it to your target audience. And what about news wire prices? Agencies negotiate rock-bottom deals because of the number of releases they send each year, which means that’s one less contract you have to maintain. The perfect agency will also understand your niche market, so its messaging is on-point, saving you valuable time on revisions and re-reads.
  1. Full service or customized options. The perfect agency is also one that is full service, meaning it’s a one-stop-shop for everything from social media to revamping your website. However, if you don’t have the budget or need for all services, ask for customized options to fill the gaps in your internal marketing department. Perhaps you have a great handle on social media, but your website or collateral material is outdated. Or maybe you want to launch a new product. A great PR firm will offer guidance on how to best utilize the money in your budget.
  1. Uncertainty of in-person events. If there’s one thing 2020 taught us, it’s not to count on a sure thing. For the first time in 58 years, the HIMSS Annual Conference was canceled. Much to the dismay of exhibitors, HIMSS didn’t handle the monetary situation very well. Many exhibitors slated for 2020 are trying to decide if they are going to boycott in 2021. No matter your opinion on this topic, the fact is in-person events may not be happening, at least with the same attendance levels, as they have in past years. While ROI on virtual events is showing improvement, it’s even more important to consider all your options when trying to fill your sales pipeline. Having a good, established agency that specializes in your market, and who has a lot of experience and many solutions, will be important for moving forward post-COVID-19.

We may all be happy to see 2020 in the rearview mirror. But let’s not be afraid of 2021 and the opportunities it has to offer.

My brother, who is a locksmith, knows one simple truth; the months he advertises are the months his phone rings. A full-service public relations agency will know how to guide you, and help you get the most bang for your buck. Invest in your future!

The New Normal in Public Relations and Marketing

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Even saying it seems like an oxymoron it’s not exactly normal if it’s completely new. Truthfully, the new normal will be defined by the choices we make today and most importantly tomorrow.

While it’s been said many times, the present experience is rather unprecedented. We can certainly learn from recent mistakes, but what we choose to learn and how we choose to change will define the new normal.

But enough of the philosophy. If we focus on one specific topic that of public relations and marketing the question is how will these professionals be changing strategies, communications, and audience perceptions?

One thing that has certainly continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is mass communication. As of April 16, there has already been more than 38 million pieces of news focused on COVID-19 and 163,000 in just the last day (that’s one day) across nearly 18,000 news outlets, with 44% of the news coming from the United States.

That’s a LOT of news. And, as you would expect, reactions from brands have varied from ultra conservative to very liberal.

Winners and losers

Before we get to the new normal, it’s important to discuss who some of the winners and losers have been throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In general, the market and consumers are being forced to embrace a new way of life that includes virtual meetings, online fitness, food delivery services, and even telemedicine. At the same time, industries supporting travel, festivals or conference entertainment, airlines, and hotels have seen a tremendous decline in stockholder value.

Aside from general financial stability and economics, what’s even more important for public relations and marketing professionals is who are the winners and losers as it relates to communication impacts during the pandemic. Brands that have remained empathetic, relevant and considerate have faired better than their peers.

In an example, Virgin Airlines announced they were using aircraft to help ship healthcare supplies to providers in need. Meanwhile a competitor airline ran ads of their planes “social distancing” and being 6 feet apart.

Needless to say, the latter fell on deaf ears and came across as insensitive as real people, family and friends were suffering with COVID.  In a similar tone-deaf scenario, Corona beer (despite the unfortunate coincidence in their name), launched an advertisement for their seltzer beers with the slogan: “Coming ashore soon.”

Obviously with the given crisis and the continued spread of COVID, this advertisement while intended to be playful was ill-timed and came across as insensitive.

Creating the new normal

While brands struggle to stay relevant, considerate and compassionate during times of a pandemic, one can’t stop to question when we can get back to normal, i.e., the way things were. The unfortunate answer is never.

We must start creating the new normal. As public relations and marketing professionals, we realize things have changed. With the media focused solely on the pandemic (and rightly so), many brands have shifted communications online.

Social media has seen an abundance of activity in online presence. The digital era can be a blessing or curse to brands depending on how they engage with their online audience during this pandemic.

As of mid-April, we are just now reaching the peak of the COVID pandemic in some cities across the U.S. In the throes of a pandemic brands must be cautious to post social media that is timely, relevant and considerate of the readers.

Promotional announcements and advertisements will not only disengage the readers but may turn them away from your brand in the future. As we move into later phases of the crisis and we see more recoveries and fewer active cases, brands can reengage on social media in a more promotional manner but will need to still consider the impact that COVID has had.

Digital marketing’s role

In addition, digital marketing is playing a significant role during the pandemic. Some brands have decided to invest heavily in digital marketing as that’s where most audiences are in today’s world.

Depending on the industry, some brands have seen a huge interest through this channel which is delivering content and ads at lower costs than during normal times. The key is in the message and communication. Knowing when, where and how to communicate is critical.

Getting to non-COVID topics

And lastly, what most brands really want to know is when can I talk about something NOT related to COVID? Unfortunately, the answer is likely not for a while.

Does this mean you can’t connect to your audience or consumers? No. In fact, you should be connecting with your consumers and being there for future prospects. Now is the time to support current customers and deliver hope to future consumers.   

Build the foundation now

We started this blog by talking about the “new normal.” Unfortunately, the best crisis communication plan could not have predicted nor planned appropriately for COVID-19.

However, an attuned, savvy team of public relations and marketing professionals can help you feel poised and ready to embrace whatever the future may hold. The communication efforts and media sources used by companies will forever be changed but the vision and mission of organizations remains the same and will only grow stronger.

Take this time to build a solid foundation upon which to blast your value propositions and mission once the world is ready to listen.

How to Write During a Pandemic

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Writing is difficult, especially when you work from home, as many of us do here at Amendola. As I write this, for example, the COVID-19 virus pandemic is sweeping across the U.S., with New York City and Louisiana emerging as hot spots. I point that out for two reasons:

  1. To show that we at Amendola compose these blogs weeks in advance (and you should do the same for your site’s blog)
  2. To illustrate how difficult it is to write when there are many distractions

Not only is the local and national news about the pandemic a constant source of distraction, but I am also now home with my wife, who has a full-time career, and our 2-year-old and 5-year-old sons. It’s not an ideal environment for writing, but that’s the thing about writing: There never seems to be a good time.

Give Yourself A Deadline

At Amendola, most of us write a lot of content and all of it comes with a deadline. The concrete date itself can be a huge motivator, but even if you are not given a deadline by a manager or colleague, create one for yourself and let others know about it, such as the colleague who is going to review it before it’s shared with the rest of the team or your boss. Once you’ve set a realistic date for completion and shared it with others, it motivates us to put distractions aside and get started because we feel accountable to the other person and ourselves to finish the content. 

Ignore the Monkey

Apart from my kids who demand quite a bit of attention the distraction I feel is entirely self-inflicted. Writer Tim Urban, in one of the most entertaining blog posts ever about procrastination, blames this type of behavior on the “Instant Gratification Monkey” who takes control of our brain from the “Rational Decision-Maker” who we rely on to get our work done. The monkey, however, causes us to repetitively check the news, watch videos, scroll social media sites, or even clean the refrigerator instead of completing our cognitively challenging work.

The Instant Gratification Monkey is only interested in “maximizing the ease and pleasure of the current moment,” Urban writes, so we need to resist that urge. That starts with putting away all distractions as much as possible (I’ve put a website blocker on my laptop and sequestered my phone in the kitchen) and creating a plan for your content.  

Get the Plan on the Page

A good way to fight distraction while still not actually writing is research. Whether it is a blog post, white paper or thought-leadership article, you should have adequate source material available beforehand, but don’t let it stop you from putting words down on the page. There is a tipping point and it varies depending on the length of content, the audience, publication, etc. between inadequate research and too much.

A good way to figure out if you’ve reached that tipping point is to start listing the points you want to convey, or the most interesting facts from the research so far. That should give you a good idea if there are gaps that need to be filled with more research.

Simply getting started in this way can in itself be the most important part of the writing process because, as James Clear, author of the bestselling self-help book Atomic Habits, writes in his blog: “the willingness to start is the littlest thing in life that makes the biggest difference.”

Editing is the Work

Some non-writers may be surprised once they start writing how smoothly their content is flowing from their fingers. After this revelation is usually when they realize that the composing part of writing isn’t the hard part of the process, but rather it is the editing. It’s the reading, re-reading, moving words around and cutting that’s the most tedious part of writing and the part that elicits almost as much procrastination as getting started. Fortunately, when you have arrived at the editing point it’s likely closer to the finish line. As both Urban and Clear point out, that momentum helps move you faster toward completion, even if you are not 100% satisfied with your final draft.

It’s Never Going to be Perfect

Hopefully, you will have someone reviewing and editing what you wrote to make it better. Everyone needs an editor, especially if you’ve been drafting a piece of content for a while without working on anything else. When the content is still very fresh in your mind, it can be difficult to assess its quality because you have edited it so many times and can remember the changes. If your deadline won’t permit a day or a week between your most recent draft and another look, turn the content in anyway. Another round of revisions before outside feedback won’t significantly improve its quality. As internal medicine physician Alex Lickerman M.D. puts it: “Recognizing that inflection point the point at which our continuing to rework our work reaches a law of diminishing returns is one of the hardest skills to learn, but also one of the most necessary.”

Experienced writers have a keen sense of that inflection point. For professionals who write less often, I would urge you to always edit and revise those first couple drafts, but then trust your gut when you feel a piece of content is done. A good editor or at least a proofreader will be able to truly review the content with fresh eyes and make changes or offer recommendations.

This post is my way of assuring you (and myself) that during this time of powerful stress-induced distractions, we can still get writing and work done. We just have to turn on “Paw Patrol,” ignore the Instant Gratification Monkey, do the research and start writing. The progress you make, even if you don’t finish the content, will reduce your stress and remove the self-inflicted obstacles to completion.  

PR in the Time of COVID-19

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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” The great gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson said this many years ago, and it certainly holds true today. During these disorienting times of COVID-19, in the year 2020, things are inarguably weird. And scary. And uncertain.

And in the midst of this chaos, those of us who are still fortunate enough to have jobs need to keep pushing along. It should not be lost on any of us who are steadily working through this era of social distancing and self-quarantining that an insane number of people have lost their jobs since COVID-19 began to run roughshod through every aspect of our lives.

It also should not be lost on any of us sitting at home typing away on a laptop (as I am right now) that there are exhausted doctors, nurses, first responders, hospital janitors, etc., on the front lines battling this virus every day. Delivery drivers, Amazon warehouse employees, grocery store stockers and cashiers, waste collectors, and many others are showing up to work everyday and putting themselves at risk because it’s either work or join the millions who filed for unemployment last week.

Strange and scary times indeed.

I don’t say all of this to sound preachy. Most of you don’t need to be told anything I’ve written so far. But it’s March 30, and I have a blog to write. And what else am I supposed to focus on?

During the head-spinning month of March, enough happened to pack years. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays at this point we can just call them all “day.” Bleary-eyed neighbors walk their dogs for the third time in 12 hours and binge-watching the Tiger King reminds us that things can, indeed, still surprise us with their craziness.

And those of us in the PR world still need to work. But how? And on what?

At our PR firm, we are fortunate to exclusively represent healthcare and healthcare IT clients who work directly with providers and insurance firms. These companies offer population health management solutions, telemedicine, and air ambulance services (to name just a few). Work will continue at a break-neck pace for them. And that means we must make sure the public is aware of how these companies can help during this pandemic.

Our clients can allow patients to video chat with doctors on their phones or computers; they can enable providers to identify patients more at risk with respect to COVID-19 and zero in on who needs immediate outreach; they can provide life-saving air ambulance transport to patients in rural areas.

But many other companies don’t have such a direct connection to the conversation that is dominating the world. And those companies and their PR/marketing/advertising agencies might feel like they have nothing worthwhile to add to the conversation that doesn’t seem like a stretch or, even worse, exploitive.

The best thing you can do as a PR professional is listen. Listen to the news. Set Google Alerts that have keywords related to both your clients’ specialties and news about COVID-19. Listen to your clients. Find out what they are doing for their employees during this time that could set a good example for other companies. What are they contributing to the battle against this virus? What are some innovative ways they can help all of us get through this?

The more you discuss these elements with your clients, the more angles you will find that add to the conversation in a constructive way. Creativity, now more than ever, is key.

The going is weird, friends. And it’s going to be weird for a while. So, we need to be the pros.