Toggling Innovation Ebooks on my Nook

The nice thing about carrying around a Nook is that I can toggle back and forth between three books at once, multitasking while not carrying extra weight. So what am I reading now? Three books that address innovation and entrepreneurship in different ways.

Two of these are about successful internet powerhouse companies born in the online boom of the late 90s. The recent book I'm Feeling Lucky by Douglas Edwards, about the early history of Google. Fasinating case studies about the culture of a start up, and how engineering and technology overrules marketing. Another is Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh [Hachette Book Group]. Again, the hectic, sometimes chaotic life of a startup comes shining through, as well as the continual enthusiasm and perspective to stay happy.

Ten as a sports nut I am finishing up a biography of Babe Ruth, "Babe Ruth as I Knew Him," written by his teammate Waite Hoyt [Dell Pub] Certainly Ruth did not invent the home run, jsut as Google did not invent the search engine. But, again like Google he did make it is own, come to dominate, and even get his terminology: "A Ruthian Blast."

By the way, also interesting to read about Novo Nordisk putting diabetes health education management on the Nook and Kindle for patients, in a new, more cost effective distribution mechanism. I imagine it can increase distribution and reach beyond the doctors office

Lessons from Industry Conference on "Next Generation"

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Several lessons were learned at last week's Next Generation Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing conference in Philadelphia, at which The CementBloc had a panel and a booth.

The predominance of analytics and accountability was quite apparent, as several presentations discussed the need to measure effectiveness of initiatives. There was a start up company bringing dashboards across mobile applications. Another innovative vendor promoted multichannel analytics for "software as a service."

Representatives from BMS and sanofi-aventis discussed centralizing their closed loop marketing practices across categories.

Others emphasized the increased complexity of the pharmaceutical customer base, such as integrated delivery networks, and a resulting need for Strategic Account Management.

At The CementBloc, we emphasized our Convergent Branding across channels and in a panel marked by lively feedback. It was a pleasure participating.

Milestones - 10K page views

Dear readers,

When I was a kid, I used to hear about sweepstakes contests at supermarkets where the one millionth customers would get free groceries. Did that ever really happen?

Well, the blog counter is over 9,300 page views. Sure the page view is a silly metric; if you are a regular reader then you know that web analytics are about achieving brand goals. Yet, it is the only visible tally I have, soo...

If you visit this website and the reader on this blog turns to 10,000, let me know and I will send you a free:

a) copy of Healthcare Relationship Marketing, Gower Press

b) CRM half hour consultation

c) thank you for your loyalty.

Just let me know when it happens.

Flipping a Switch for losing 28 pounds

I have been able to successfully lose 25 pounds within the past two months, and 28 so far in 2011. It feels great, and I still have more to go, maybe 10 pounds more. I certainly am very thankful for Gina F. and The Diet Center for my success, but I have thought about what mentality was required of me to change my behavior and improve my wellness.

I am familiar with multiple theories of behavior change (working in CRM), but the best metaphor I can come up with is "flipping a switch" In other words, just changing completely the set of bad habits with my diet, and changing my approach to exercise. Stopping the delusions and dealing with reality. I now no longer eat bagels, muffins, pizza, cake, cookies, etc, that I convinced myself were OK once in a while. I have amped up my consumption of vegetables and salads, and dialed way down my consumption of carbs like bread and pasta. I also now exercise vigorouslu and regularly, not once in a while and piecemeal.

I have heard others who have lost weight also mention the phrase "flip the switch." In fact, there has even been a weight loss book written by this name, but I have not read it. But I do agree that one way to change bad habits is to turn them off and replace them with much better, more positive habits, that results in lots of positive reinforcement. I am living proof.

Social Media recruitment for clinical trials

In rare diseases, one often finds active social media communities of patients and caregivers hungry for information. These communities exist for sharing disease state information, offering support, and occasionally advice on treatment.

Another tremendous application can be recruitment for clinical trials. This is the story of a a recent Mayo Clinic study within cardiology. A team of cardiologists led by Sharonne Hayes, M.D., has contacted survivors of spontaneous coronary artery dissection, also known as SCAD, a poorly understood heart condition that affects just a few thousand Americans every year.

The patient community is within a patient network called WomenHeart

The finding was that for this pilot clinical trial study, the number of patients needed was exceeded within a week; the overflow patients are eligible for a second round, expanded trial.

This is a great example of Acquisition for clinical trials, where social media can be a viable alternative, or complement, to paid media or other event recruitment.

Web analytics trends: more focused, less bouncing

A recently published study, reported on the KissMetrics Blhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifog, is The 2011 Web Analytics Review. The source of the data is traffic trends from hundreds of thousands of websites across the globe, which have participated in Google’s ongoing study of web browsing behavior.

The study shows year over year differences of a three month time period: Nov. 1 2010 to Feb. 1 2011, versus the same time period a year before. The findings generally show:

* lower bounce rates (leaving from the first page) at 47% on average now
* shorter time on website, at 4:50 average now,
* and fewer pages viewed, down to 4.5 on average.

These figures make good benchmarks for judging engagement of one's own website, although realize that results will differ by country, category, and media mix.

Yet, the trends above hold true worldwide, and also in the USA. There are results for other countries in the report as well.

What might explain these trends, over such a large sample? It can well be the benefit of targeted advertising, combined with improvement of website navigation to be more goal oriented. With this combination, a website has more qualified leads, people with interest and intent, who come to visit. Those interested visits are quickly led to a goal page, or to the information they need.

There are also results broken out by source of website traffic. The most efficient source of all? Cost Per Click paid search, with the lowest bounce rate, the shortest time on websites, yet the highest page totals consumed. This is consistent with the interest of a search initiated customer.

Pharma professional print ads and FDA compliance

I must say I was astonished to read the assessment (in the online journal PLos One) that well over half of pharma print ads to professionals are non-compliants with FDA guidelines.

Working for an agency that makes such materials, I do know that there is a rigorous review committee process by pharmaceutical company specialists to approve ads before
placing the marketplace. Thus a process exists for adhering to these guidelines among agencies and pharma companies, with the FDA regulations squarely in mind.

The findings are somewhat subjective, but this may introduce a cautionary note into the already existing process. Especially in light of the FDA "Bad Ad" program that so far has resulted in two warning letters.

Trend: Big Data, Competing on Analytics, and MBA programs

A recent WSJ article pointed out that a wider range of business schoools are adding analytics to the curriculum, core or as an elective.
Indeed MBA graduates need to be more familiar with analytics and its potential. In fact, I can see the increased awareness expanding now due to the popular press of articles like Davenport's Competing on Analytics (Harvard Bus Review Press) and the publication by McKinsey Global Institute on "Big Data" and derivative articles such as this Computer Weekly article for implications.

Note that, even with increased awareness of business executives, the trained specialists in statistics, data mining, and I.T. will always be ever more in high demand, and can have analytics as a career. The MBAs can be their "clients," internal or external, and together they will partner to achieve business impact

Analytics within a pitch: tying a bow

When a team gives a major presentation (often called a pitch), the analytics leader comes in at two places, typically:

* the beginning, to comment on market sizing or segmentation, and
* the end, to discuss how all that has been presented will "go to market" and be measured for success.

In the case of the mini-presentation at the end, I have received an allotment of anywhere from 2 minutes to 15 minutes to tie everything in a bow, and show confidently how we will execute and measure achievement of business goals.

But in this role one does not sit around and wait one's turn. Actually, I find I have to listen very actively, take copious notes of which of my colleagues has used which phrases and which examples. That way I can "back point" to my peers and show connectons and team chemistry. I am also continually reading the faces of the audience, to determine who is attentive and who is distracted. That helps me know where to direct eye contact at the end.

Thus, always be present in a critical meeting, even if you are bringing up the rear.

Long term consistency: harder than it looks

There has been lots of attention in the USA this past week spent on Derek Jeter of the Yankees getting his 3,000th hit. This is a measure of an expert artisan performing well at his draft for over 15 years, a model of consistency. Even as the game has evolved around him, and some competitors changed.

What does consistency mean in analytics? It means continually providing valuable consulting and insights, even as the promotional channels and the hardware platforms evolve. Even as the clients become more cost conscious than ever, and even as the marketplace for analytic services becomes more competitive. Consistency also means staying ahead of the curve on the prevailing technology trends,and the newest data sources and software tools.

Yet, just like a base hit to the opposite field, some principles of analytics endure: synthesize the right data, reduce the dimensionality, show the insights that are directly linked to business decisions and actions.