Category: Business

How marketing technology could transform healthcare

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I don’t know who  Mayur Gupta is but I’d give him a fist bump for this post. 

How marketing technology could transform healthcare

Convergence of Marketing Technology and Healthcare

The following is a guest post by Mayur Gupta, a pioneering chief marketing technologist and author of the Inspire Martech blog, who is now a senior vice president and head of digital atHealthGrades. Mayur is also on the board of advisors for the MarTech conference, and he will be one of our featured speakers at the San Francisco event, March 21-22. Check out the MarTech agenda and save $500 on registration before January 9.

We live in a digital world where, as a consumer, you now shop for fresh groceries on your phone and expect them to be delivered at your doorstep in less than four hours. You call for a luxury SUV or a taxi while you eat your last bite and expect your ride as you step out, without worrying if you have enough cash or a credit card in your pocket.

All this and more are part of our daily lives, thanks to the evolution and convergence of data, technology and consumer experiences. The last few years have witnessed exponential investment and growth at the intersection of marketing and technology, enabling experiences that successfully change consumer behavior and drive participation and engagement.

The world of marketing and storytelling is in a constant state of evolution as well: from multi-channel to channel agnostic and omni-channel thinking; from push and time-based campaigns to more always-on push & pull engagement; from pre-planned content to more automated and data-driven conversations. It is all happening in verticals like finance, retail, CPG, travel and hospitality.

But a key part of our lives that is still behind is the world of healthcare and healthcare services. A traditionally fragmented, slow, regulated and highly monopolized system that has been anything but consumer-focused. Most technology investments have been made to optimize the “health IT” systems to maximize the billing opportunities.

Even the most chronically ill patient spends only 1% of their lives in a hospital, but 80% of healthcare investment goes into the hospital infrastructure and not addressing the remaining 99% of the individual’s life. The focus has navigated around a “volume-driven” system: more interventions for more beds for more procedures for more people more often for more money.

But the future will not be the same

With the cost of care pushing towards the consumer, ever-narrowing networks and limited choices, and lack of transparency and communication, the consumer is finally pushing back. She now “owns her health” and is proactively looking for alternate solutions.

On top of that, the re-imbursement model has flipped on its head. The entire healthcare machinery will gradually be measured against outcome, the quality and success of a treatment leading to the positive health of an individual, instead of the sheer volume of treatment and utilization.

It’s a shift from volume to value, from sickness and treatment to health and wellness. The notion of “population health” has put the consumer at the center of a traditionally fragmented ecosystem, and consumer behavior is becoming the binding force. The health systems are now incentivized and rewarded based on how consumers behave in their daily lives, outside of hospital boundaries. And an urgent care hospitalization will represent an abject failure of the health management process, where the condition should have been predicted, prevented and managed higher up in the funnel.

Connected Healthcare Ecosystem

As a consumer, this is ripe for positive disruption — a transformation she has gotten used to in other parts of her life. But as a health system, provider, pharma or payer, I now have to fundamentally evolve my thinking, operations, and execution.

  • Always-on patient engagement
  • Behavior-based inter-visit conversations
  • Data-driven predictive models
  • Universal understanding of the consumer
  • Consumer insights and analytics
  • Omni-channel content strategies

…and a lot more.

“CMO” has another meaning in healthcare beyond Chief Medical Officer now: Chief Marketing Officer

For the first time, this industry is now looking at marketing as a strategic capability to drive top-line growth, brand loyalty, and better health outcomes.

Most health systems are now hiring chief marketing officers, especially from other verticals like CPG, finance and retail, where Marketing transformation is already driving consumer acquisition, maximizing lifetime value and top-line growth. This is taking the scope of marketing from the big hoardings, direct mail and television spots, to data-driven always-on digital engagement that influences behavioral change.

Convergence of Marketing and Technology

To accomplish this vision of “healthcare in a digital world”, marketing and information technology cannot continue to operate in isolation. The healthcare technology evolution cannot be limited to the EMRs and EHRs of the world or the advancement of technology equipment within the hospitals, OTs, or clinical data management. It has to include 99% of the consumer’s life when she is not being treated inside a hospital.

80% of a consumer’s health is determined by non-medical factors — what she eats, where she lives, does she own or rent, does she drive or ride, how much she runs, is she married or single, her educational background, how much TV does she watch, what time does she sleep — even what she reads for that matter.

This is forcing health systems brands and marketers to be in an “always listening” and “always communicating” mode. This would not be possible without marketing technology — the convergence of marketing and technology, as we know it from the other verticals.

Context, Content & Care

The consumer journey in healthcare is a never-ending cycle with infinite ZMOT-like moments. There is indeed no funnel. The consumer could jump from being a completely passive and healthy individual to a patient looking for the best doctor, and the best hospital, in a flash. And on the flip side, she could be in a state of awareness and proactive health management for a very long time before an encounter.

Communication will be the next big intervention in healthcare

The “Right Content to the Right Person at the Right Time” cliché could not be applied in a more appropriate place than in healthcare. It will require a holistic communication strategy that may include personalized content around lifestyle, administrative, and healthcare needs. But none of this is possible without the adoption of a connected marketing technology and data ecosystem, the underlying machinery to deliver seamless omni-channel care experiences.

Capabilities such as:

  • Marketing Automation for Always-On Data-Driven Communication — Driving behavioral change and participation through rule-based, data-driven communication that could be anything from a reminder to book the next appointment or take a medicine or lifestyle content about the right food for that individual.
  • Web Experience Management Platforms for Personalized Relevant Healthcare Experiences— From generic pieces of content and mass communication to more personalized, relevant, and contextual experiences on a hospital.com site or any other third party platform.
  • CRM and Lifetime Value Management with Always-On Care — Establishing an always-on system of engagement that focuses on understanding consumer behavior and insights and leverages content across all channels to inspire behavioral change through participation. It also includes continuous listening to the consumer, both passive and active listening, to get her the care and information she needs even before she knows she needs it.
  • Predictive Models for Various Health Conditions — Leveraging big data across clinical, claims, financial, socio-economic, household, behavioral, personal and other areas to build predictive models that may signify an individual’s propensity against specific health conditions and using that insight to influence communication with that individual.
  • Data Management Platforms (DMPs) for Managing an Individual’s Universal Health Profile— None of this would be possible without a universal 360-degree view of the consumer across the offline and online world, across her clinical and non-clinical life. While the data has always existed, it has never been harmonized and connected. The DMPs not only provide this universal view along with consumer insights but can also feed that insight into various communication channels (pull & push) based on business rules, enabling the most seamless and connected healthcare experience.
  • Other Capabilities – Programmatic Buying, Social Monitoring and Consumer Engagement, Agile Mindset and Methodology — Everything that has been built to deliver immersive consumer experiences will now be applied in the world of healthcare, because the same consumer expects the same level of relevance, value, and storytelling in how they consumer healthcare services.

The human-centered technology ecosystem

Like any other vertical, the biggest opportunity lies in connecting these isolated pieces of “marketing and advertising technology” with the traditional healthcare IT systems to form the most connected technology ecosystem that puts the human at the center. This is where I believe the traditional definition and focus on healthcare IT is no longer enough.

That world has to converge with the world of marketing, advertising, and storytelling to deliver healthcare experiences that matter and to drive participation and behavioral change.

The “no baggage” healthcare industry will move fast

There is no doubt that healthcare is far behind in terms of digital adoption as compared to the other verticals. But healthcare has no historical marketing baggage. This offers healthcare brands and marketers an opportunity to adopt new capabilities and technologies with greater speed and agility, to deliver care experiences that are more connected, seamless, and immersive.

It’s no surprise that most leading health systems are already talking about “omni-channel experiences” and not just a “multi-channel” existence — a notion that took many years for all other verticals to understand and comprehend, let alone execute.

I am sure many will question the gap between today’s reality and tomorrow’s dream in healthcare. There are obvious questions around the broken ecosystem, conflicting business model with, let’s say, tele-health, lack of digital adoption, regulations, HIPAA compliance, and much more.

But the consumer is now at the helm. She is calling the shots, asking questions, and exercising choice. Healthcare brand builders have no option but to focus on consumer experiences as much as clinical output. And if they want to maximize the lifetime value of this consumer, brands will need to become data-driven and operate at the intersection of marketing, communication, technology, and healthcare.

Come meet Mayur in person at MarTech this March in San Francisco and hear him speak onThe Omni-Channel Reality with Marketing Technology & Integrated Experience Planning.

Mission Viejo aims to save water, stay green by using smart irrigation controllers

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It is awesome to see the community recognize the awesome tech and customer experience we have been working on with our Signature client. To many more communities finding the courage to make change and do their part.

MISSION VIEJO – Facing mounting pressure from the state and the public, the city is turning to one of the few remaining options to save additional water: Technology.

http://m.ocregister.com/articles/water-696297-city-signature.html

Content Is Critical In The Tech Path To Purchase: Purch And comScore… — NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ —

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http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/content-is-critical-in-the-tech-path-to-purchase-purch-and-comscore-report-examines-key-consumer-influencers-300190351.html

NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — When it comes to online shopping, conversions are king. But what kinds of searches, ads and content are consumers interacting with before and after a tech purchase? Purch, a digital content and commerce company, and comScore, a global media measurement and analytics company, partnered to determine the answer in a new study released today—PURCHase Report: Consumer Technology. The research examines more than 3,000 qualifying purchases over a 90 day period to track key influences and behaviors of U.S consumers before, during and after a technology purchase. Purchases tracked include popular products such as mobile devices, tablets and wearables from top online retailers and brands including Samsung, Apple and HP. Findings point to inefficiencies in ad delivery and consumer focus on tech reviews and content both ahead of and after making a purchase.

To learn more about the research and share the news, click here: http://www.purch.com/purchase

“It’s critical for brands and marketers to gain a detailed understanding of the many factors that influence a consumer shopping for a tech product,” said Erin Kapczynski, Vice President of Marketing at Purch. “The Purch and comScore PURCHase Report goes a long way toward providing a more comprehensive understanding of the consumer path to purchase and helps marketers and publishers better service them via advertising, search, and editorial. The media landscape is saturated, but tech content stands out as a go-to resource in the month before consumers land directly at online retail destinations to make purchases.”

Data sources analyzed in the study include search, ad exposure, visitation, mobile and e-commerce. Key findings from the PURCHase Report include:

OVER HALF OF IMPRESSIONS OCCUR AFTER A PURCHASE
The majority (52 percent) of relevant ad impressions took place after the consumer had already made a purchase. This indicates significant opportunity to retune ad strategy and messaging to consumers for tech items such as smartphones, laptops and storage devices – to place the right ads at the right phase in the consumer journey.

TECH MEDIA IS CONTENT KING
On the content side, tech media sites are the most widely consumed content throughout the purchase journey (pre- and post-purchase), pointing to trust in product reviews and testing by neutral parties that relay accessible information. Tech media site consumption is followed by multi-category retailer and tech retailer sites.

TECH REVIEWS TRUMP NEWS 
On tech media sites, buyers read 80% more reviews/buying guide pages than news pages.  Both reviews and news article readership were split fairly evenly by platform, with 53 percent of pages views on PCs and 47 percent of pages viewed on mobile devices.

TECH RETAILER SEARCHES RISE AS PURCHASE APPROACHES
As consumers move into the final phases of their research and look to complete purchases, they shift their search behavior to retailers’ sites. The majority of their searches —67 percent – took place on retail sites rather than search engines on the day of purchase.

BEHAVIORS VARY BY DEMOGRAPHIC
Men dominate tech forums and women consume a slight majority of tech how-to pages, but the genders are split evenly when it comes to time spent on reviews/buying guides – indicating that reviews play an equal role in both genders’ decision making processes.

GEN X-ERS BUY MORE TECH PRODUCTS, BUT MILLENIALS OUTSPEND
Gen X consumers (age 35-54) accounted for 45 percent of the tech purchases in this research.  Millennials however, were the big spenders, spending an average of 8% more per purchase than older consumers.

The PURCHase Report uniquely provides in-depth information about relevant online behavior leading up to and following actual tech purchases. The research considers digital influencers holistically, with a look at ad exposure and other types of content important to consumers as they research products, i.e. reviews, news and searches across retailers’ sites, search engines and deals resources. The insight gleaned from this data is a valuable tool for advertisers and marketers seeking to connect with consumers in the right way during the purchase process. View the full report.

Study Methodology:
Purch and comScore partnered on an in-depth analysis of relevant digital activity on desktop and mobile devices by comScore U.S. panelists who purchased a consumer tech product online. comScore’s behavioral measurement software on panelist PCs identified over 3,000 qualifying purchase events in a 90 day period (May 2015 – July 2015), in any of 11 tech product categories ranging from laptops and mobile phones to wearable fitness devices.

To find out more about Purch, visit http://www.purch.com, or follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

About Purch    
Purch is a portfolio of digital brands that helps make buying decisions easy for 100 million consumers and businesses monthly. Its respected sites such as Top Ten Reviews, Tom’s Guide, Tom’s Hardware, and Live Science natively integrate commerce and content in more than 1000 product categories so consumers can make better choices before, during, and after an important purchase. The company helps marketers achieve their branding and performance objectives in a high-quality, brand-safe context. Its sites connect in-market shoppers with more than 7,000 marketers and sellers, driving industry-leading conversion rates and $1 billion in commerce transactions annually. Purch is a high-growth, privately held company with more than 350 employees and offices across the U.S. and Europe. For more information on Purch, visit http://www.purch.com or follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

About comScore
Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Reston, Virginia, comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global media measurement and analytics company that makes audiences and advertising more valuable. We help media buyers and sellers understand and make decisions based on how consumers use different media, such as TV, video, mobile, desktop and more. Through its products and partnerships, comScore helps its more than 2,500 clients understand their audiences, know if their advertising is working, and access data where they want and need it.

Retail relies on video

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Smartphones are an increasingly important device for video consumption, according to a new Digitalsmiths report. In Q3 2015, 41.1% of respondents from its survey of 3,153 US and Canadian adult consumers said they watch video content from their smartphones, a 4.7% year-over-year (YoY) increase in viewership. And 43.4% watch on a weekly basis, an increase of 2.8% YoY. This growing habit toward mobile video has huge implications for e-commerce brands and retailers.

Consumers like seeing videos when shopping online, which ultimately helps lead to purchase decisions, according to Animoto.

73% of US adults are more likely to make an online purchase after watching a product description video.
These videos also leave an important impression about the company itself — 58% of consumers consider a company with product video content to be more trustworthy.
71% say that they leave a positive impression of a company.
And 77% consider these companies to be more engaged with customers.
One example of this kind of success is British e-commerce pureplay Asos, whose site and mobile app offer runway videos of models walking and moving in the listed apparel product. And its overall mobile presence has gained traction worldwide. The company’s mobile app has been downloaded 5.4 million times — and mobile devices accounted for 60% of traffic and 44% of its total sales as of the end of August 2015, according to Internet Retailer.

MOBILE RETAIL APPS GAINING IN POPULARITY: Mobile retail app usage is growing among consumers, with 84% of US consumers having at least one retail app on their smartphone, according to comScore. In addition to merely downloading these apps, consumers are spending more time using them. Top retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target see a majority of their mobile traffic coming from mobile apps.

However, increased time spend does not necessarily mean more money will be spent.

There is still a 45% gap between how much time consumers spend researching retail on mobile and how much is actually spent on mobile.
What is responsible for this huge disparity? Mobile apps are not being developed properly for the space they occupy. Many consumers claim they are inhibited from making purchases on mobile apps because they’re not able to see product details or they have difficulty inputting personal and payment information. Brands and retailers that want to attract more users to mobile apps need to focus on designing an experience optimized for the devices consumers use — rather than simply transferring content made for desktop to the smartphone. This could include options like one-step checkout, vertical videos, or larger text sizes for the smaller screen. Otherwise, smartphones will remain a tool used for research rather than for e-commerce.

Hang W/ launches successful crowdfunding campaign

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https://www.crowdfunder.com/hangwith/invest

Please help spread the word, Hang W/ is an awesome technology.

Disclaimer: I am an advisor.

Hang w/ sits at the intersection of several powerful digital, social and pop culture trends. Live streaming video has burst into the technology scene and is resonating at the next big trend. Monetized digital video and mobile advertising are already a multi-billion dollar industry looking for better engagement with audiences. And the cult of personality is at an all time high. Hang w/ has the technology, the team and the track record to weave all three trends together into a product that generates significant revenue through monetized live content.

What is the difference between Hang w/ and Periscope?

Hang w/ aims to occupy a very different space from Periscope. They are a live social media app with no monetization strategy – and no opportunity for users to generate revenue. We are a live content distribution platform – with an opportunity for users to generate revenue from their own content.

How does Hang w/ make money?

Today, Hang w/ generates revenue in three ways. • Pre- and Post-roll advertising generates a CPM (cost per thousand views) from advertisers and ad networks. • Pay Per View Digital Tickets allow users to sell tickets to digital content. Hang w/ keeps a percentage of all ticket sales. • Digital Tipping allows users to gift one another digital coins with real monetary value. Hang w/ keeps a percentage of the value of gifted coins.

How can a Hang w/ user make money?

Broadcasters keep a percentage of revenue from the Pre- and Post-roll advertising shown on their channel. • Broadcasters keep a percentage of revenue from their own Pay Per View Digital Tickets. • Broadcasters keep a percentage of revenue by redeeming their gifted coins for cash. • All payments are made to users using PayPal.

What will the funds raised be used for?

• Deepen our focus on music and grow the platform where it is strongest with events, sponsorships, and a focused marketing campaign. • Extend the Hang w/ platform into a number of targeted verticals. • Improve platform functionality with new features that can be implemented across the vertical ecosystem. • Build our our sales and business development team and create custom marketing integration opportunities. • Legal, Misc Fees, General Admin • Technology infrastructure, server costs, maintenance, streaming, etc.

What is the exit strategy?

The platform is expected to generate significant cash flow upon scale. The strategy is to exit through acquisition by a major media company, social media company, or content-based technology provider.

Why are you the team to do this?

Members of our team have collectively developed more than 300 mobile applications – with many of them reaching as high as #1 on the Apple App Store. • Our team has collectively driven tens of millions of downloads of mobile applications. • We have been innovating in the live streaming space and fine tuning our product for more than two years.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Backed by 50 Cent, Timbaland, Elton Brand and Larry the Cable Guy
  • Millions of users with more than 3,000,000 live broadcasts
  • Average user session as high as 17+ minutes at 2-3 sessions per day

ELEVATOR PITCH

The most advanced live-streaming mobile platform – with major celebrity endorsement, millions of users and revenue generation built into the model.

TRACTION

Millions of users with more than 3,000,000 live broadcasts

NOVEMBER, 2015

Achieved 1 Million users in the first 9 months – faster than Twitter and Facebook

NOVEMBER, 2015

Average user session as high as 17+ minutes at 2-3 sessions per day

NOVEMBER, 2015

Patents filed over 2 years ago ahead of Twitter’s Periscope and other live streaming services

NOVEMBER, 2015

Users were found to be 361x more likely to “Tune In” on Hang w/ than to “retweet” on Twitter

NOVEMBER, 2015

A Hang w/ 50 Cent concert from SXSW resulted in 50,000+ simultaneous live streams

NOVEMBER, 2015

Official Live Streaming Partner for events such as Style Fashion Week, Cupid’s Undie Run, Bottle Rocket and Mysteryland

NOVEMBER, 2015

WE HAVE BEEN SAYING IT FOR A WHILE NOW- B2B IS STILL PERSONAL

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Few B2B companies are implementing truly effective customer experience programs and achieving higher revenue growth, with the majority surviving but not exactly thriving according to a new study.

An Accenture Strategy report, 2015 B2B Customer Experience, surveyed 1,350 B2B sales and customer service executives in ten countries and found that only 23% could claim to be achieving a strong return on their customer experience investment.

Some 20% were generating little or no return with the remaining 57% somewhere in between.

These three groups were categorised as Leaders, Strivers and Laggards. Accenture’s research indicated that Leaders generated an average of 13% annual revenue growth and Strivers managed 6% while Laggards recorded a decline of -1%.

“B2B companies overwhelmingly recognise the importance of customer experience to their corporate strategy and bottom line, but the majority are wasting their investments on changes that are delivering mediocre results,” said Robert Wollan, senior managing director, Accenture Strategy.

“With consumer-like expectations and a substantial threat from new entrants, B2B companies must be ready to design and execute a transformed customer experience or not invest in such improvements at all,” he declared.

More than three quarters of survey respondents thought higher customer expectations for tailored B2B solutions would have a substantial impact (78%) and that customers are now more knowledgeable, self-directed, and continually evaluating suppliers (76%).

But only one third (32%) of executives felt they were equipped with the skills, tools, and resources necessary to deliver the desired B2B customer experience.

They pointed to a lack of C-suite attention, customer experience processes, and necessary cross-organisational integration as factors that needed to be addressed.

“Strivers are ‘racing to become average’ and average is a precarious position to be in these days,” observed Wollan.

“Leaders see after-sales service as a critical part of the customer lifecycle and they invest not just in new digital technologies, but in traditional customer connection points too,” he said.

“Leaders realize that a multi-channel approach is needed to reach B2B customers seamlessly and consistently.”

NOT SO FAST BRANDS! YOU CAN’T IGNORE VR AND AR

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AUGMENTED REALITY WILL ‘REPLACE THE SMARTPHONE’: The future of mobile technology is in augmented reality (AR) — not virtual reality (VR), according to a recent report by Citi. While much of the recent commotion surrounding wearable headset devices has been focused on VR, AR technologies will likely be the most likely to disrupt major digital markets like e-commerce and m-commerce, gaming, and even smartphone hardware.

Citi estimates that, by 2025, the combined VR/AR industry will represent $674 billion. The AR industry alone is predicted to be worth $120 billion in 2020, while VR will be worth $30 billion, according to separate predictions made by Digi-Capital. Eventually, AR technologies will replace smartphone handsets, notes Citi.

Two reasons in particular explain why AR is a much greater potential disruptor to the current mobile market than VR, according to the report:

Prospects are good for AR applications. While VR content may give users a fully immersive experience for gaming and entertainment, AR technology is better suited to integrate digitized reality into the settings of the physical world; meaning, AR systems can be used without wholly interfering with work and everyday life. This could be compared to using a smartphone to watch a movie, rather than going to the cinema.
AR will prove particularly useful in enterprise settings. Although gaming and other entertainment-oriented content may be the immediately obvious use case for AR technology, enterprise and commercial applications present a much more lucrative industry in the long term. Furthermore, they are much more suited to AR. The benefits of using AR in the workplace could include facilitating work in factories and manufacturing plants, operating machinery and electronic equipment, and in areas such as material handling in warehouses and at distribution hubs.
For the time being, AR hardware is too cost prohibitive for mass consumption. While VR headsets are slightly better, they’re still too expensive for most consumers. The average price of VR headsets will likely range between $350 and $500. This price may not include other parts or the cost of a computer powerful enough to run the headset. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s promising AR device, the HoloLens, is priced at a whopping $3,000. As the prices of these devices decline over the next several years, they’ll become more popular in the consumer market.

Rishad Tobaccowala Pinpoints the Beginnings of a Tectonic Change in Marketing | Adweek

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1. The title CMO needs to be done away with. Chief marketing officers need to become chief facilitating officers.

2. Marketers need to stop advertising—they need to offer utility. “People don’t want to see your stupid message,” he said (clearly implicating himself in his message as much as the audience).

3. Video will indeed be everywhere, but he encouraged marketers to look more at the YouTubes and Netflixes of the world than the CBS’s or NBCs. “The future more often comes from the slime than the heavens,” he said.

4. Owning data is an obsolete idea. The secret of success with data is how to access it and use it.

5. Mobility: “Where you are is just as important as who you are.”

6. Finally, one thing all marketers need to remember: “In a silicon world, we are still talking to carbon life-forms.” In other words, be human and tell stories.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/rishad-tobaccowala-pinpoints-beginnings-tectonic-change-marketing-167917