Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve seen life science companies make an accelerated shift into digital marketing channels with continued success and scaleability.
Here’s what you can do right now to harness hidden growth opportunities in your current life science digital marketing:
What: Identify & optimize your top sales pages
Why: Visitors who start on a sales page are 50x more likely to become a lead
The Content Strategy Framework of the Top 1% of B2B Companies
How: Follow these tips:
Optimize your sales page content:
“Review the brochure sections of your site. Prioritize them based on traffic according to your Analytics. Use this checklist to make sure they’re working as hard as possible when the qualified traffic comes back.
“10-point sales page checklist
Source: 26 Ways to Get Ready for the Rebound: A Playbook for What to Do Right Now
Collect & publish testimonials:
Your customers are already talking about you. They’re likely some of your best hidden sales people. However, most testimonials miss a number of key criteria. Follow this checklist to create high impact testimonials:
Testimonial checklist:
Always make sure to confirm you’re able to share this information and consult your legal or regulatory team before posting. You can always scale back the level of information you share. For example, if you can’t include the specific company, replace it with something generic, like “Leading [Industry] Provider”.
Update your publications:
A big missed opportunity we often see on life science websites is listing outdated publications. Now is the perfect time to audit your scientific publications and make sure you’re following best practices. Follow these guidelines for reference:
Publication checklist
Example Abcam:
What: Add visibility, credibility and a “reason why” to your email sign ups to boost Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) immediately.
Why: Most email sign up forms are flat, impersonal, and see extremely low opt-in rates. Optimizing your forms today can create a reliable source of leads for years to come.
How: Follow these tips from Andy Crestodina at Orbit Media:
“If you have content, you have an email signup box. But most email signup forms are terrible. They lack the 3 P’s of high converting signup forms:
Prominence
It should visually stand out. It doesn’t have to be a popup window, but it should, at least, use strong color contrast and be available very close to your content.
Promise
It should tell people what they’ll get and how often they’ll get it. You’re trying to make an appointment with your audience. Commit to a frequency and tell them what it is.
Proof
It should include a third-party endorsement. You have very few subscribers in the beginning, so you can’t brag about the size of your list. Instead, use a testimonial quote from someone who loves getting your advice.”
Andy Crestodina 26 Ways to Get Ready for the Rebound: A Playbook for What to Do Right Now
Here’s how we’ve implemented these principles on our website:
Prominence
This is an example of how we are positioning our email newsletter. The email sign up is the first thing you see on the blog landing page and the second thing you see directly under the hero section of our homepage.
Promise
What you “get” is very clear – “get free marketing tips”. Using the word “get” in your headlines is a great way to quickly communicate a promise. Apple even changed their app store download button copy to “Get”. Help visitors answer the question in their mind, “why should I give up my email address? Because I will get [XYZ benefit].”
Proof
Although we don’t have a massive 100k+ emailing list, we do have an extremely focused email list which helps us boost our newsletter’s street cred. This is why we mention both the size and audience of our list – “Join over 1,500 life science marketing directors”.
Here’s how we’ve implemented these principles for our client Artel.
Prominence
Artel has invested in building an incredibly strong resource library. It’s made up of many multimedia formats including webinars, how-to videos, checklists, application notes, presentations, publications, case studies, and posters. We made sure visitors had a clear opportunity to easily sign up with their email and one click at the top of the page.
Promise
The headline here is very specific to their scientific audience – “Knowledge and practical liquid handling tips that you can put into practice”.
Proof
Similar to our own newsletter, we wanted to highlight both the number of people on their list and the specific audience – “Join 20,000 leading lab professionals and scientists” to prove to the reader they’ll be in good company.
What : With conferences and events canceled, shift budgets into content marketing assets.
Why : Trade show marketing is critical for most life science companies. Some life science companies rely on a handful of annual conferences to fill their sales pipeline.
How: Follow these tips:
With Trade Shows Shut Down, Advanced Instruments launches new
“When we learned trade shows were getting cancelled, we proactively looked for virtual opportunities to showcase the great content and product innovations Advanced Instruments had already developed. To that end, webinars have made a lot of sense…we are producing some cheaply and efficiently in-house, and we are also working with life science publishers in order to tap into the benefit of their large scale audience reach.
I can’t think of a better way right now to easily commandeer 45 minutes of someone’s attention if we have a product solution that can solve their problem. My advice to someone who wants to produce a webinar is to think like a consumer…and if you can speak to a problem AND offer them clear ways on how your company can solve it, you are more than halfway there.
What’s more, I am a fervent believer in making sure content works as efficiently as possible…it cannot be a singular event. After a webinar livestream, the content will be made available on-demand on our website and incorporated into content nurture campaigns for new contacts and leads.”
Cara Alderucci, Sr. Manager, Marketing & Digital Strategy at Advanced Instruments
Celularity is a recent project Supreme completed in collaboration with Alpha Tauri 3D
“Trust is the foundation for every successful business relationship. Technical expertise plays a significant part in credibility; however, trust is built in a different way. Trust is earned by adhering to the highest moral standards and displaying integrity, sincerity, and kindness in your everyday business activities.”
Marcin Klapczynski Founder & Scientific Creative Director at Alpha Tauri 3D Graphics, LLC
Labiotech & Merck Form Content Creation Joint Partnership
It offers an interesting guide for biotechs that outlines the biologics development process of:
What : Double down on search and gain a competitive advantage now while competitors are scrabbling to regain traffic in 6-12 months.
Why : According to a Cloudflare report, there are more people online right now. Many countries are seeing a 30-50% surge in total monthly internet usage.
How: Focus on building quality content. Read more below:
Focusing on quality content optimized for search will reap rewards for years to come.
Any budget invested now, during recession, will result in a much larger return on investment in the months and years following the recession.
This is particularly true when your competitors have stalled on search content and put their own marketing efforts on pause. Even a slight head start now can lead to an impenetrable moat of industry specific keywords and backlinks.
“Even a handful of evergreen posts can deliver consistent traffic for several years. A site with 20, 30 or 50 evergreen resources will outpace a site with thousands of non-evergreen articles.”
Jimmy Daly – 5 Content Marketing Power Laws
Examples of high ranking life science content:
StemExpress – Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells: A Brief Review
What: Use a UX checklist to audit your website. Based on your findings, determine if you need to make some quick adjustments or relaunch your website.
Why: On average, every dollar invested in UX brings $100 in return according to Forrester’s research.
How: Use a UX Audit Heuristic
Heuristic is a fancy word for a simple process: go through a checklist and determine whether your website meets the requirements. If it does, excellent. If not, you have an action plan for issues to fix.
Heuristic evaluations are amazing tools for getting your store to baseline levels in the areas of usability, familiarity, and functionality rather than for thinking through your branding and positioning.
Below is our UX Audit heuristic checklist for life science lead generation and eCommerce.
Start with a UX checklist. Our Website UX Audit service uses one of two baseline checklists depending on the type of website.
From Baymard Institutes UX guidelines for B2B companies.
It’s also common for companies to have a hybrid site that sells directly through eCommerce and services. If the goal of your website is to make direct sales and generate leads, then look at both UX audit checklists.
After you’ve completed the audit, either implement the fixes on your existing site or use the list to build an action plan into an RFP. However, before seeking a web development partner, read #7 – How to invest in your business safely.
What: Invest in your business growth safely through a recession
Why: Standing still is not an option. Invest in your business and de-risk your decision making.
How: Follow these tips:
Ask colleagues
Remember, when it comes to finding design and marketing talent, you’re not alone. Others have been in your shoes. Reach out to colleagues and ask for recommendations if you’re nervous about making a new expense.
Find case studies and testimonials
Talk to the agency
Make sure you have a natural rapport with the team you’ll be working with. Poor communication is the #1 risk when working with any agency or vendor. Make sure you keep an open line of communication with the seller throughout the buying process. Clarify your concerns. See how they address them. You may find that some worries are magnified or common.
Seek leaner options with partial or full remote teams
Supreme has been remote since our first day of business. We all work online and thrive in a digital environment so our workflow has been relatively uninterrupted. Instead of large operations with high overhead tied to physical workspace, consider leaner operations that specialize in your industry.
Seek industry experience – Lower-priced options may be higher risk
Risk is the most important factor you need to assess, not price. If someone is less likely to recoup your investment or cause costly re-work, lower priced options may be significantly more expensive. Seek options with experience related to your specific industry.
Supreme is the first digital marketing agency exclusively for life science companies. Specifically, our clients specialize in the following areas:
Basic Science
Translational Science
Clinical
What business activities reduce risk?
These are just some options that reliably reduce risk when investing in your business. Now is the time to audit your marketing channels and explore options that will move the needle for your business.
How Supreme Can Help
The bottom line is that investment decisions made today on optimizing digital performance will have a lasting impact on your organization’s performance for years to come.
