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Follow Bill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/founderandcdo/
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How to Tailor Your Messaging to Each Awareness Stage and Accelerate Your Life Science Sales:
“Marketing doesn’t work for us.” Yeah, I hear that all the time.
Honestly though, half the time you’re delivering the wrong message to your buyer at the wrong time.
Impossible you say?
If you’re not delivering the right message at the right stage of your buyers’ awareness, you’re not just missing a sale—you’re actually actively turning prospects off.
With irrelevant messaging, your once-promising leads disengage, trust erodes, and your marketing dollars go to waste.
Don’t tell me… you’ve been pouring months of effort (and dollars) into campaigns, only to see prospects slip away because they either don’t recognize their own problem yet or feel bombarded with brand pitches before understanding why your solution matters.
Each misaligned message is a huge missed opportunity and a step closer to losing market share.
In this episode, I break down the five stages of awareness, showing you how to pinpoint exactly where your prospects stand and adjust your messaging so it resonates.
Backed by real-life examples from the life sciences space, these insights will help you deliver precisely what your audience needs, when they need it—turning cold leads into engaged prospects and ultimately driving more conversions.
3 Buyer Awareness Insights for Life Sciences:
If you’re serious about growing your company, you really need to be firing on all cylinders (or energy cells?):
Pro Tip #1: Beyond Prospect Personas, Identify Secondary Influencers.
You probably assume the decision-maker is the person in your marketing database, but in life sciences, there’s often a hidden web of KOLs, purchasing committees, or department heads influencing the sale.
By mapping these secondary stakeholders and understanding their unique needs and awareness levels, you can create content paths that reach and resonate with all parties involved—well before a formal buying decision is even on the table.
Pro Tip #2: Use Specific Engagement Cues to Pinpoint Awareness Stage.
Instead of categorizing prospects by broad funnel stages, look for granular behavioral signals—like the types of research papers they download, the complexity of webinar content they consume, or the specificity of their search queries on your site.
These micro-signals can reveal whether they’re just waking up to the problem or already deep in solution exploration. Aligning your messaging based on these nuanced cues helps you deliver precisely the level of technical detail, proof, and urgency they need at that moment.
Better yet, rather than create any and all types of content, focus your limited content creation resources to developing specific content that maps this journey.
Pro Tip #3: Educate the Market Months Before They Know They Have a Problem.
Too many companies focus solely on late-stage branding or solution pitches.
Instead, seed your market months in advance with educational content on emerging challenges and subtle shifts in clinical practice or research methodology.
By the time your prospects realize they have a problem, they’re more than likely to recall your educational content and brand as the one who first put it on their radar. This “pre-awareness” cultivation strategy dramatically shortens the gap between their initial recognition of a problem and seeing your company as a trusted authority with the solution.
For more information on marketing your life sciences brand, check out this blog post: Life Science Marketing: A Comprehensive -
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Video Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@BillSchickFCMO
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In this episode of LifeSci Continuum, I'm thrilled to reconnect with Glenn Hanner as we dig into a critical challenge that many life science leaders face: the danger of tunnel vision when planning for an exit. Often, the excitement of an exit strategy can overshadow the need to establish a strong foundation and deliver on the promised value to customers. Glenn and I pull from our experiences to discuss how companies can balance long-term strategic goals with immediate customer-centric needs to avoid costly oversights.
Glenn and I explore how companies can get so fixated on the endgame that they neglect the foundational work necessary for sustainable growth, from quality assurance to customer satisfaction. Glenn shares examples from his career, illustrating how failing to invest in fundamentals can derail even the best-laid plans for an IPO or acquisition. This episode is a must-listen for life science professionals aiming to build lasting value, not just chase short-term wins.
For more specialized help with growth, check out my firm, Mesh.
https://meshagency.com/
#LifeSciences #HealthcareInnovation #ProductMarketing
00:00 Intro
01:45 Examples of Investors Affecting a Life Science Company’s Exit Strategy
04:40 Mistakes Caused By Rushing an Exit
06:37 Regulatory Oversight in Med Tech
08:25 Example of a Med Tech Product that was Rushed to Market
09:58 Lessons & Regrets from a Med Tech Marketing Associate
12:34 The Most Important Asset for a Med Tech Start Up Company
13:52 Delivering on the Value Proposition
14:14 Life Science Career Mistakes & Regrets
15:20 Examples of a Good Exit Strategy
17:00 The Ins & Outs of Life Science Regulation
18:56 The Value of Good Leadership
20:35 Why Marketing Function is Different in Every Industry
22:05 Alignment Between Marketing & Business Goals
24:42 A Book that Every Marker Should Read - Positioning by Al Ries & Jack Trout
25:24 Psychology & Bad Landing Pages
26:07 Storytelling
26:55 Your Customer’s Needs -
Eksik bölüm mü var?
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Follow Bill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/founderandcdo/
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Video Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@BillSchickFCMO
Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2380430
Follow Marc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/digitalmktggeek/
This is the chat life science marketing agencies don’t want clients to watch.In this episode of LifeSci Continuum, I'm joined again by Marc Frechette.
In this episode, Marc and I pull back the curtain on life science digital marketing agencies. Both of us have been on both sides: we've hired agencies as clients and worked inside them, so we know the dirt.
We dig deep into common pitfalls agencies face, and by extension, their clients, like lack of actionable insights in reports, misunderstood keyword strategies that drive clicks but not leads, and vague campaign objectives. We reveal how agencies often focus on vanity metrics instead of meaningful results, and why their hundreds-page reports are often impossible to act on.
Our conversation goes beyond the surface, addressing how agencies miss the mark on critical analysis, how SEO and ads are often poorly executed, and the frustrations clients face with vague, hollow campaign promises. But we don’t just stop there. We also discuss what companies can do to get big wins, what to demand from your agency, and how to actually turn your digital marketing investment into tangible growth.
This is a candid, no-holds-barred conversation about the real issues that plague life sciences marketing, and it’s packed with practical advice you can start using today. If you’ve ever felt like your agency was missing the mark or wondered how to drive real ROI from your marketing campaigns, this episode is for you.
Establishing metrics and KPIs right from the start is critical because they provide a clear framework for measuring success and guiding strategy. For life science startups, these metrics ensure that every decision—whether it’s marketing, product development, or customer engagement—is data-driven, allowing you to assess what’s working and pivot quickly if needed.
For life science founders, the most important awareness metrics should directly impact your company's strategic goals and align with the complexity of the industry. Here’s a deep dive into critical metrics:
Number of Cold Prospects Warmed Up for Retargeting: Measure how many cold social media prospects you’ve engaged through educational or entertaining content and can now target with remarketing efforts.Qualified Leads Generated: Track high-quality leads from key life science decision-makers, not just volume.Referral Sources from Scientific Communities: Assess awareness driven by reputable scientific publications and communities.Content Engagement by Key Decision-Makers: Monitor downloads of technical resources by your target audience.Organic Search Traffic from High-Intent Keywords: Ensure you rank for specific, high-intent scientific keywords relevant to your products.Scientific Citations/Backlinks from Reputable Journals: Measure authority-building citations and backlinks from trusted journals.As a fractional CMO in the life sciences, I can help you establish, track, and optimize the right metrics and KPIs that align with your business objectives. This includes defining what success looks like for your specific stage of growth, whether it's early lead generation, nurturing prospects, or moving toward commercialization. I'll ensure that your marketing efforts are measured using data-driven insights, helping to identify opportunities, optimize campaigns, and make informed decisions to accelerate growth and ROI while minimizing wasteful efforts.
For more specialized help with growth, check out my firm, Mesh.
https://meshagency.com/ -
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Video Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@BillSchickFCMO
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In this episode of LifeSci Continuum, I'm joined again by Kathleen Mitchell as we dive into B2B content mapping and how to align your content strategy with overall business objectives. We explore the importance of customer-centric campaigns, from creating content that resonates with target audiences to nurturing leads through content refreshes and retargeting efforts.
Kathleen also shares insights on understanding your customer’s value journey, and how this knowledge can enhance content marketing, ensuring your efforts are continuously engaging and relevant.
Are you struggling to make your content marketing efforts truly impactful? Maybe you've been creating tons of blog posts, white papers, or emails but still aren’t seeing the engagement or conversions you expected. Chances are, you're missing a critical step—connecting your content with your customer's actual journey. Without a clear strategy, even great content can fall flat, failing to move your prospects through the sales funnel. That’s where content mapping comes in.
Content mapping aligns your content with the stages of your customer value journey, ensuring that your messaging not only attracts attention but also nurtures leads and builds trust along the way.
See, you might be producing relevant content, but is it reaching your audience at the right time? Are you providing the answers they need when they are looking for them? That’s where the real magic happens—targeted, timely content.
Today, content quickly becomes stale. A white paper from a year ago, no matter how in-depth or well-researched, may no longer hold the attention of your audience. Trends evolve, new competitors emerge, and what was once a high-performing blog post may now struggle to rank in search results.
With content mapping, you continuously refresh it, optimizing keywords and repurposing it for different stages of your buyer's journey, ensuring it stays relevant and engaging.
Your content strategy should guide prospects toward a purchasing decision. With a well-constructed content map, you can plan specific assets for the awareness stage—where your audience first realizes they have a problem—through to the consideration stage, where they evaluate different solutions, and finally, the decision stage, where you help them feel confident in choosing your product or service.
More importantly, content mapping allows for retargeting. It ensures that if a potential customer leaves your site after consuming a piece of content, you can continue to engage with them across platforms, pulling them back in with tailored follow-ups that address their evolving needs.
The benefits go beyond better engagement. When you align content with business goals, you’re creating a system that not only nurtures leads but moves them forward through the pipeline with precision. Whether you're educating potential customers, addressing their pain points, or reinforcing your solution’s value, content mapping provides structure and clarity to your strategy.
Stop wasting time on random acts of content creation. Get strategic with content mapping and start turning your content into a powerful lead-nurturing machine.
For more specialized help with growth, check out my firm, Mesh.
https://meshagency.com/ -
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In this episode of LifeSci Continuum, I'm joined by Karthik Ramachandran, a Biotech Executive and Co-Founder of Likarda, to tackle three major misconceptions that new life science founders face.
We examine critical challenges like customer acquisition, the “build it and they will come” fallacy, and understanding the information customers need to make high-stakes purchasing decisions. Karthik shares insights from his journey as a scientist turned entrepreneur, offering valuable advice on business planning, product development, and navigating the complex world of biotech startups.
The "Build It and They Will Come" Fallacy
The "build it and they will come" fallacy is the mistaken belief that simply creating a great product will automatically attract customers. Many life science startups fall into this trap because they focus heavily on product development and assume that their innovative solution will naturally generate interest and sales.
However, without a well-thought-out marketing, sales, and customer acquisition strategy, even groundbreaking products struggle to gain traction. In life sciences, this is particularly problematic because the markets are niche, highly competitive, and require deep customer education and engagement for success.
To learn more about the Build it and They Will Come fallacy or myth, what contributes to it, and how you can overcome it, check out my blog: https://meshagency.com/life-sciences-misconceptions-the-build-it-and-they-will-come-fallacy-a-myth-busted/
Scientists, clinicians, and engineers often fall prey to the "build it and they will come" fallacy because they are trained to focus on solving technical problems and developing innovative solutions. They assume that if the product is scientifically sound or technically advanced, it will naturally attract interest.
However, they may underestimate the importance of customer education, marketing, and the complexities of market adoption. Additionally, their expertise in research and development can lead to a bias toward the product’s capabilities rather than the customer’s needs or market readiness.
Here are three things life science founders can do to avoid or overcome the "build it and they will come" fallacy:
1. Develop a Customer-Centric Strategy Early: Engage potential customers from the start through interviews, focus groups, or surveys to understand their needs and ensure product-market fit.
2. Create a Go-to-Market Plan: Build a marketing and sales strategy that includes how to reach customers, educate them, and create demand for the product.
3. Prioritize Partnerships and Networking: Collaborate with key opinion leaders (KOLs), healthcare institutions, and industry influencers to build credibility and accelerate adoption.
For more specialized help with growing your life science company, check out my firm, Mesh Agency. https://meshagency.com/
#BiotechInnovation
#LifeSciencesGrowth
#HealthcareInnovation -
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In this episode of LifeSci Continuum, I’m joined by Glenn Hanner, FCMO and experienced marketing leader in the industry to explore how life sciences companies can tap into the power of storytelling and the voice of the customer to create product differentiation and develop new market niches.
Glenn shares his insights on turning customer feedback into compelling marketing messages, building strong product positioning, and crafting stories that resonate emotionally with end-users. From copywriting to crafting a go-to-market strategy, this episode covers critical aspects of successful life sciences marketing.
He discusses how leveraging the voice of the customer is pivotal in driving product differentiation and creating new market opportunities in life sciences. By deeply understanding customer pain points and needs, companies can tailor their marketing strategies to solve specific problems, offering unique value.
Glenn also emphasizes the importance of using emotionally engaging storytelling and clear, concise copywriting to communicate this value, ensuring your product resonates with both technical and non-technical audiences. Additionally, we dive into the process of carving out new niches by listening to customers and creating solutions that fill unmet needs. This episode offers practical guidance on how to stand out in a crowded market while keeping the customer at the center of your strategy.
Why are we focusing on voice of customer?
Technical and science-based founders in life sciences often overlook the voice of customer because they tend to approach product development from a problem-solving mindset. They assume that the issues they perceive will be equally apparent and valued by the market. This leads them to believe that customers will automatically recognize the value of their innovation, especially when it solves a technical or scientific challenge. However, customers may not always share the same priorities, and without direct feedback, founders risk creating products that don’t align with real-world needs or user preferences. Additionally, these founders often undervalue the importance of marketing and customer insight, assuming that the superior functionality of their solution will drive demand on its own.
This disconnect stems from a belief that a product’s technical brilliance will lead to adoption, but in reality, the customer’s experience and perceived value often dictate success. Listening to customers helps align product features, messaging, and benefits with what matters most to the market, ensuring the solution is seen as essential and not just an interesting innovation.
Here are three quick tips to work around the tendency of technical founders to overlook the voice of the customer:
1. Engage Early with End Users: Involve potential customers from the product ideation stage through user surveys, interviews, or focus groups. Their input will reveal whether the perceived problem and solution resonate with them.
2. Create Customer Personas: Develop detailed customer personas based on real data to ensure the product and messaging align with the actual needs and priorities of the target audience.
3. Iterate Based on Feedback: Implement feedback loops to regularly refine product features, positioning, and messaging based on customer reactions and market demand.
#LifeSciences #HealthcareInnovation #ProductMarketing -
Follow Bill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/founderandcdo/
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Follow Marc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/digitalmktggeek/
About Marc: Marc is a veteran digital marketing and communications professional with a proven record in medical devices, consumer goods, and industries ranging from industrial robotics to liquor and wine. He is shamelessly scientific & unapologetically passionate. -
Follow Bill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/founderandcdo/
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Follow Kathleen Mitchell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/canadiankate/
About Kathleen: She is a Strategic marketing executive with 20+ years of experience leading growth and innovation across start-ups, nonprofit associations, mid-market companies, and global enterprises.
In this episode, I sit down with Kathleen Mitchell, a talented senior marketing leader, to explore the launch of a healthcare virtual pharmacy app in the Canadian market. We dive deep into omnichannel marketing strategies, discussing how to be ubiquitous and make an impact using all media channels. From social media to paid media to account-based marketing (ABM), learn how to master marketing in healthcare and maximize visibility in a competitive space.
This episode is particularly valuable for life sciences companies launching new products because it explores how to effectively reach a diverse and specialized audience. The strategies Kathleen shares—are critical for creating impactful, targeted campaigns that drive awareness and adoption. Life sciences companies can learn how to market their products in a highly competitive market, ensuring they're visible across all relevant channels and engaging key decision-makers with precision and relevance.
#HealthcareMarketing
#LifeSciences
#OmnichannelMarketing
#VirtualPharmacy
#CanadianHealthcare
#AccountBasedMarketing
#PharmaMarketing
#NicheMarketing
#DigitalPharmacy
#LifeSciencemarketingagency
#HealthcareTechnology
#ABM
#MarketingStrategy
#TargetedMarketing
#lifesciencemarketing -
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Follow Russ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russouellette/
Russ's Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@RussOuellette @RussOuellette
In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Russ Ouellette, founder of Sojourn Partners, an executive coaching and leadership firm. We explore how to work with highly intelligent individuals, build strong leadership teams, and transform top contributors into effective leaders. With over 10,000 people coached, Dr. Ouellette shares key insights into building a culture of trust and accountability. Whether you're leading a team of bright minds or developing leadership within your organization, this episode offers practical strategies to help you succeed.
Dr. Ouellette offers powerful insights into creating a leadership culture in your organization, especially when working with smart, high-performing individuals. He explains why trust and accountability are the foundation of strong teams and how even the brightest contributors can struggle to transition into leadership roles without the right mentoring.
For life sciences companies, where innovation often depends on collaborative work across diverse teams, these lessons are key and often missed. Whether you're scaling a startup or running a large enterprise, fostering leadership at all levels helps ensure sustainable growth, adaptability, and success in competitive markets. Dr. Ouellette’s practical advice will help life science companies of all sizes build resilient leadership that drives both individual and organizational success.
#LeadershipDevelopment
#LifeSciences
#ExecutiveCoaching
#BuildingTeams
#StrongLeadership
#TeamCulture
#TrustInTeams
#LifeSciencesLeadership
#OrganizationalGrowth
#LifeSciencesInnovation
#LeadershipInAction
#AccountabilityInLeadership
#SmartTeams
#TransformationalLeadership
#LifeSciencesSuccess -
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Follow Kate: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-king-french-pmp-b14a7716/
In this episode, I’m joined by Kate French to explore the critical process of business case development in the life sciences industry. Whether you're conceptualizing a new product, enhancing an existing feature, or considering your next acquisition, developing a solid business case is the first essential step.
Kate, with her wealth of experience, shares insights on how to build business cases from the ground up—both organically for product development and inorganically for acquisitions. This episode is packed with practical tips for product managers and marketers working to secure investment and drive growth.
Kate breaks down the fundamentals of business case development, explaining its importance in securing internal investment for new products, features, or acquisitions. She shares her experiences in navigating the delicate balance between innovation and market needs, including how to justify or challenge ideas from R&D.
This episode offers practical advice for life sciences professionals on how to effectively present a business case that aligns with user demand and business objectives, making it an invaluable guide for driving product and company growth.
#BusinessCaseDevelopment
#LifeSciences
#ProductManagement
#MedicalDevices
#ProductMarketing
#InvestmentStrategy
#BusinessStrategy
#AcquisitionStrategy
#ProductGrowth
#InnovationStrategy
#R&DInnovation
#MarketingInLifeSciences
#ProductDevelopment
#BusinessCase
#StrategicGrowth -
When it comes to product launches, we tend to hyperfocus on just simply getting everything to launch and we tend to leave the exit strategy to the end. On this episode of LifeSci Continuum, we are joined by David Iannetta as we learn that it is truly never too early to start preparing for your exit.
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Launching a product is a rollercoaster for product managers and marketers. But jumping in right before the finish line is a different type of ride. In this episode, we are joined by Christi Unger as we discuss her experience launching life-science products and the lessons she learned.
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Follow Christi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiannunger/ -
Without two important team traits, your team might be missing their mark. On this week's episode, Kate French joins us to talk about her experience working with engineering and what goes into building effective, high-performing teams in your life sciences company.
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Kicking off the LifeSci Continuum, we are going to cover almost every aspect of Commercialization and product life cycle stage. From Launch to Exit, we go deep with expert interviews, tips, shortcuts, and best practices to help you level up.
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Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2380430 -
You might be thinking about highlighting the features and benefits of your medical device. Well, David Iannetta joins us to talk about how looking past the status quo could be the X-Factor for your next Product Launch (or Exit).
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On this episode, we are joined by Jim Dembkoski who is bringing 15 years of product management advice to the table. Join us as we discuss how Jim got into Product Management and the key lessons he learned along the way.
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Follow Jim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesdembkoski/
