Is artificial intelligence the powerful lever for cost reduction and new revenue generation expected by retailers?

Is artificial intelligence the powerful lever for cost reduction and new revenue generation expected by retailers? Without a doubt. In any case, as noted by Pauline Gouache, Senior Consultant in the Strategy team of the Paris office of Equancy, in this forum for LSA, concrete applications are multiplying: personalized recommendation, digitalization of tasks, dynamic pricing or individualized , sales forecast ..., the prospects are very promising.

The number of startups working on artificial intelligence (AI) topics worldwide has doubled in one year, from 950 to more than 1,850! These young shoots arouse a lot of greed: they generated $ 17.5 billion in investment.

All sectors are questioning the potential of artificial intelligence for their business, especially retail players. Indeed, the colossal volume of customer data and product references, the strong issues related to logistics and inventory management, the existence of a giant competitor, Amazon, broken for years to intelligent algorithms are all reasons leading retailers to consider artificial intelligence as a powerful business lever, both in terms of cost reduction and new revenue generation.

For example, artificial intelligence is gradually taking over the entire value chain - from warehouses to stores - through the development of its prediction and image recognition capabilities. This last aspect of AI is born of deep learning and massive investments of Google for about 5 years.

So, to date, what are the concrete use cases of artificial intelligence in retail? Three categories stand out: those that are already unavoidable, those that emerge, and those that still pose questions.

The cases of essential applications

Customized product recommendation is one of the most common and mature use cases. Functionality already essential e-commerce platforms, it is gradually burst into stores via vendor interfaces. In addition, the personalized recommendation is no longer confined to digital interfaces: personalized paper catalogs are emerging. Other advances include the integration of new external data sources or context for a more relevant recommendation. New solutions, designed for the conversational and image-based business era, now incorporate the recommendation into consumer-brand conversation. This is the case of some startup, bot allowing a visual recommendation of products based on a picture provided by the user.

Automation and digitization of logistics, inventory and in-store tasks is another area in which artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, often coupled with robots and productivity. First example: RightHand Robotics' RightPick robotic arm driven by machine learning to recognize products. He manages the "pick & place" tasks required for the preparation of e-commerce orders very effectively. In the areas of in-store merchandising inventory and optimization, we can mention Bossa Nova Robotics' US robots or the Qopius French visual scanning and shelf analytics VisionWits solution.

Emerging application cases

A potential application case concerns dynamic pricing and the production of real-time offers. If Amazon has been adjusting its prices in real time for a long time (1,736 price changes per minute already in 2013, according to Profitero), the novelty lies in the arrival of real-time pricing in stores, particularly thanks to the installation of electronic tags. For example a French specialist in electronic labeling, has joined forces with Market Hub, a real-time, demand-based pricing solution for tests at Marks & Spencer. In addition to adapting to market demand, algorithms now allow pricing to be adapted to the individual: this is the objective of Point 93, a solution that enables the point-of-sale consumer to indicate , via an app, the price he is willing to pay for the product. Their algorithm validates or not the proposed price, possibly offers another, allowing the brand not to miss the sale.

Another potential component is forecasting trends, sales and store traffic. It uses deep learning and image recognition to detect new trends in fashion and luxury from social networks, including Instagram. Otto, an international e-retailer, uses an algorithm originally developed by CERN in Geneva to predict its sales. This AI, which predicts 30-day sales with 90% accuracy, is now allowed to buy almost 200,000 items a month automatically without human intervention [2].

These examples illustrate that, little by little, artificial intelligence is no longer limited to analysis and adaptation tasks in real time, but to develop

Life Sciences and Healthcare supply chains

 Understanding external trends and environments has become increasingly important in the modern world. The Life Sciences and Healthcare (LS&H) supply chain is a great example of how manufacturers are aligning their internal activities with partner organizations, healthcare providers, customers and patients to meet their client’s needs and to comply with rules and regulations.

LS&H is an ever-changing field, with plenty of political, economical and sociological considerations; healthcare has to be considered a service-driven more than market-driven field. It’s essential for supply chains to work in context and understand any surrounding issues or changes that have the potential to affect supply, demand, and general processes. 

Five years ago, very few large LS&H companies outsourced distribution operations, opting for big warehouses to store goods before being shipped to customers. Today, changing trends and increased competition mean business models need to be leaner and more cost-efficient. All the top 10 global pharmaceutical manufacturers outsource some distribution operations. Many of these companies are in the process of outsourcing even more. Businesses entering emerging markets are increasingly looking to outsource supply chain operations from the outset.

The continued pace of mergers and acquisitions in the field has meant companies have to change at a moment’s notice, and the facilities and resources of global supply chains mean they have the support to do so. Bringing in the existing asset and risk management infrastructure of a Logistics Service Provider (LSP) makes everything run more smoothly.

Storage and handling is a growing, complex component that needs to be put in an expert pair of hands. For example, leading LSPs are equipped to sterilize, repair and assemble medical devices. When it comes to healthcare, safe, secure, flexible, timely and compliant delivery is of the upmost importance.

This paper explains how to choose the right supply chain partner and why flexibility and understanding makes contractors worth their salt. Outsourcing provides full transparency of total supply chain costs on top of the flexibility. Manufacturers should look closely at the range of potential future scenarios as well as current requirements, to make sure the necessary flexibility is part of the assessment process.

Copyright DHL SC 2013

Social Media in Life Science & Healthcare industry

Summary: In this issue, we examine the hot topic of social media in the life sciences. While some sectors of the life sciences are slower to adopt social media as a tool for engagement than others, all sectors have opportunities to improve their social media marketing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepare, Interact and Measure

Social Media in the life sciences

Social media is one of the latest marketing buzzwords, and its arrival has brought a new way of speaking to – and interacting with – your audience. Many companies are wary of taking that first step into the social media conversation, but the days of choice in this matter are gone. Social media is here to stay and the question is now how to use it most effectively, not whether to use it or not.

A recent survey from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business shows that social media spending is on the rise. The survey of 249 chief marketing officers showed that social media spend will comprise 10.1% of overall marketing budgets in 2012, up from 7.1% currently. Additionally, they expect that in the next 5 years social media marketing will comprise 17.5% of overall marketing budgets.

A review of 296 clinical research organizations show that a staggering 80% are not currently active in social media.

However, the life science industry has been slow to adopt social media as a viable marketing channel. A review of 296 clinical research organizations shows that a staggering 80% are not currently active in social media. This number will start to decrease as these companies begin to see the value of engaging in online conversations with their audiences. The opportunity for leadership is now; take advantage of it.

So, what exactly is social media and why is it so important for life science brands?
The world of social media is far-reaching. Wikipedia defines it as media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Translation: social media is not Facebook and Twitter, but rather the act of engaging your customers in interactive dialog through social applications (such as Facebook and Twitter – to name just two). To make matters more complicated, social media is not black and white, and there are few hard and fast rules to follow. Think of social media as an ongoing, public conversation with your customers.

Preparing Your Life Science Brand for Social Media Engagement

So how do you plan this conversation? You don’t…exactly. The core of social media is regular interaction with your audience. Too much planning can make the conversation seem contrived. Avoid broadcast-mode; don’t continually try to sell to your audience through social media channels. Instead, engage with them to bring them to your website, where a more direct expression of your sales message is acceptable and even expected.
The core of social media is regular interaction with your audience. Too much planning can make the conversation seem contrived.
A proactive approach will allow more control over a not entirely controllable situation, enabling your company to build traction and maintain a positive online reputation. Let’s get started.

The Five Uses of Social Media in the Life Sciences

First, take a look at a few of the ways brands are using social media. According to Olivier Blanchard in his book Social Media ROI, there are 5 business functions that can be enhanced by social media:

1. Sales – Build brand awareness and acquire new prospects via social media channels by engaging your prospects, bringing them to you and converting them to customers.
2. Customer Support – Monitor for social mentions from customers and respond quickly.
3. Human Resources – Capitalize on social networks to attract talent via trusted sources.
4. Public Relations – Announce new products, campaigns, contests and news. Monitor mentions and respond to negative attitudes, clarify position and invalidate false rumors.
5. Business Intelligence – Gather customer perceptions of your brand or competitor brands, including how these change over time and how your marketing efforts affect these perceptions.

Not all of these pertain to every situation or every brand. For example, using social media for Customer Support will make sense for a company selling laboratory equipment to researchers and scientists, but won’t make sense for pre-clinical labs or contract manufacturing operations.

The point is simple: there are multiple ways to use social media in the life sciences. Depending on your situation, many can be effective and enhance your brand. When engaging in social media, start by determining which of these functions would best be used to enhance your brand.

Social Media Steps to Success in the Life Sciences

Social media success is not achieved overnight. A solid foundation is critical to achieving long-term gains.

There are four roles that need to be assigned: police, monitor, content management, and implementation.

The following is a full-circle approach to engaging in social media and managing your online presence. It is important to note that this is intended for brands outside of regulatory supervision from agencies such as the FDA and EPA; regulated brands face a different environment – one that is too complex to cover here.

Plan Your Life Science Social Media Activities

To best lay your social media foundation, start internally. There are four roles that need to be assigned prior to implementation.

1. Police – Who will be responsible for ensuring that the social media activities are on goal with the brand strategy? Who will be the final decision maker? Who will ensure that all content is consistent with the brand standards and consistent in tone and form?
2. Monitor – Who will be responsible for monitoring social media platforms, bringing to attention any “mentions” that may require a response?
3. Content manager – Who will manage the development of content – either by creating the content themselves, or managing others who will develop your content?
4. Implementer – Who will actually be posting the content? Be realistic about the amount of time this will take and remember that a good social media program is an ongoing commitment, not a one-time event.

As with any marketing efforts, understanding your audience and their attitudes, values and behaviors is critical to developing a successful and sustainable social media presence. Do your homework. Below are some examples of questions that you will need to answer:

What are your audience’s attitudes, values and beliefs?
Where do they seek information?
What type of information is important and relevant to them?
What type of information will they share with their colleagues?

There are many ways to answer these questions, such as talking to your sales team, gathering intelligence at trade shows, monitoring relevant social media channels, asking your audiences via research, etc. Do not wait to gather perfect – and complete – answers; your understanding; will be constantly updated through the act of participating in the social media conversation.
One of the main goals of social media is to spread your brand virally, through content you provide and word of mouth that you generate. You want your audiences to discuss your brand with their colleagues and peers both online and offline. This will build your brand awareness and most likely helps to meet one of your objectives.

Once you have defined your audience and their needs, set measurable and sustainable objectives, goals and key performance indicators (KPI). You will also need to define a time period at which you will measure your results. These create accountability and provide a measurable metric for assessment of performance. For example, a CRO specializing in dermatology research may use the following:

Objective: Increase the number of RFPs received
Goal: Be seen as an expert in dermatology trials
KPI: Achieve this goal through the following:

• Positive online mentions of your brand
• New followers of your social media channels
• New click-throughs of links leading to your content or website
• Re-posting of content by followers
• References to your content in other online industry sources (blogs, newsletters, social media platforms

Social media metrics can be tough to establish and measure. The link between a measurable KPI and your ultimate sales objective can be difficult to chart in detail.
All of these KPI will expand your brand awareness, bring prospects to you, disseminate your brand message and increase your brand reputation. However, there is a giant leap from social media interaction to signed contracts.

The goal is to define social media metrics that will achieve your goals, which in turn will help to achieve your overall sales objectives. In the example above, new followers and increased click throughs will help to achieve the goal of being seen as an expert. This perception will ultimately contribute to your objective of increased receipt of RFPs, which can achieve your overall sales goals.

As you can see, social media metrics can be tough to establish and measure. The link between a measurable KPI and your ultimate sales objective can be difficult to chart in detail. Even though most measurable KPI are only a small link in the chain to achieving your ultimate objective, the act of measuring them will help illuminate some steps (albeit small) in the chain.
When defining your KPI, ensure that they meet both of the following criteria:

1. Provide measurable results at the end of a defined time period by which you can assess your social media efforts and make any necessary changes; and
2. Achieve your defined goals.

Planning for Social Media Success in Life Science Marketing

Next, plan…to the extent that you can. Align your audience research with your objectives, goals and KPI. Determine which social media platforms will best achieve your aims. Develop a content calendar by determining content topics for which you have in-house expertise and aligning those with the kind of information your audience wants or needs. A key goal here is to select topics where there is a need and not a lot of information already available. These factors will increase the uptake and dissemination (or viral spread) of your content.
It is important to note that social media is like content marketing; it requires a sustained effort over time.

Now you are ready to implement your social media activities. Before you get started, it is important to note that social media is like content marketing; it requires a sustained effort over time. When engaging in social media, follow the Rule of Thirds, allotting approximately one-third of your time to each of the following areas.

Step 1: Listen to life science audiences via social media platforms.

Social media monitoring is the most important step in your online presence. Listen to your online audiences, industry influencers and even your competitors via their social media channels. What are they talking about? Can you add value to the conversation? What should they be talking about?

Research the online influencers in your industry. These are individuals or organizations that have a large online presence, a large network of followers and are discussing topics relevant to your industry. You want them on your radar and will want to be on their radar as well.
Once you’ve found your industry influencers, follow them on multiple platforms –blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook. Regularly check their online postings to determine the issues that are most relevant to your online life science community. When monitoring competitors, read the comments to their posts and blogs as well. This is a good indicator as to how the influencer is perceived by industry peers and the depth of their influence.

Now that you are following these influencers, you can start to get on their radar by reposting their content. This is a compliment to the original poster and can grab their attention if they are monitoring their analytics.

Equally important, watch for social media mentions of your brand. Are they positive or negative? Are they factual? Are they coming from current or previous customers?

Step 2: Dialog with life science influencers and audiences via social media platforms.

Join the conversation – when, and only when – you can add value to it.
Join the conversation – when, and only when – you can add value to it. Comment on industry blogs, newsletters, videos, etc. in areas where you can offer expertise. In instances where your company or brand is the topic of discussion, determine if a response is needed and respond quickly. This chart is a handy tool to determine when and how to respond.

Engaging in conversation online is one of the best ways to get on someone’s radar. Dialog should be friendly, relevant and engaging. Try to provide an interesting perspective or ask a pertinent question. You don’t want to annoy followers or influencers by commenting for the sake of commenting. Before you hit “submit,” ask yourself: am I adding value to the conversation?

Step 3: Lead the life science conversation via your own social media accounts.

Once you have gained traction through dialoging, start your own discussion. Leading the conversation allows you to guide it to areas that can highlight your expertise. This attracts the right audience to you, increasing the opportunity for engagement.

Conversation and audience engagement are two of the keys to social media success.

Leading the conversation can occur by posting your own content, asking engaging discussion questions and polling your network. This is where your planning will be helpful. By developing a content calendar, you will have a steady stream of content to lead social media conversations. Don’t let this calendar limit you, though. If the conversation spawns other relevant topics, go with it. Remember, while content is critical, conversation and audience engagement are two of the keys to social media success.

Measure Your Life Science Social Media Activities

At the conclusion of your defined time period, look back at the objectives, goals and KPI that you set for your social media activities. Did you achieve your aims?
If so, congratulations. Now revisit these goals and adjust for the next defined period of time and keep going.
If not, look at your social media activities; where did you stray from your objectives? Were they too broad? Overly ambitious? Did internal logistical issues hamper your efforts? It may be necessary to revise your objectives, allot more time to meeting them or refine your internal processes.

Conclusion

Social media is likely one of the toughest marketing channels to plan for, implement and measure. There are few absolute guidelines, vague implementation strategies and virtually no direct metrics to measure overall performance or prove success.
Social media is likely one of the toughest marketing channels to plan for, implement and measure. At the same time, it’s not something you can afford to ignore.
At the same time, it’s not something you can afford to ignore; in the life sciences, participation is less of an option each day. As you venture into this new medium, the most important thing to remember is the best social media strategy is one that is closely aligned with your business strategy and goals.

Summary

Social media use in the life science industry is gaining traction. As you begin (or continue) your social media efforts, remember the following:

• Social media is not a fad, as evidenced by the expected increase in social media spending over the next 5 years.
• 80% of companies in the clinical research space are still not active in social media. You still have time to develop a social media strategy, but you shouldn’t wait too long; the number is increasing every week.
• Know your audience, where they are, what they value and who influences them. This information will be critical to your social media success.
• 1. Listen, 2. Dialog, 3. Lead. Your social media time should be split equally among these three activities.
• Social media is a conversation with your audience. Don’t continually broadcast or worse yet, do nothing but try to sell. Engage your audience in social conversations.
• Many social media platforms limit the size of posts. Include links in posts to maximize engagement. Get your audience to click through to your content. You’ve now moved them from a neutral site, such as Twitter, to your own website where you can monitor activity through your analytics.
• Set quantifiable and sustainable goals at the onset. Review and refine as needed.

Most important, make sure your social media activities align with your business strategy.
Interested in learning about the social media activities of organizations in the life science industry? In the coming weeks, we will be publishing the results of our research into the social media activity of clinical research organizations.

Les médias sociaux sont devenus essentiels pour 90% des marqueters !

Il est clair que les médias sociaux sont de plus en plus un élément important du marketing mix.  Dernièrement, "Social Media Examiner" a publié son rapport 2011, bilan de l'activité Social Media Marketing. Un rapport annuel d'arpentage du marketing sur le rôle et l'application des médias sociaux dans le marketing. Le rapport de cette année a été réalisé auprès de plus de 3.300 spécialistes du marketing. 


Je vous encourage à lire le rapport complet, mais vous trouverez ci-dessous un aperçu des principales conclusions et les points de données essentielles.

10 statistiques essentielles du Social Media Marketing :

1. 90% des responsables marketings ont indiqué que les médias sociaux sont importants pour leur entreprise.

2. Seulement un tiers des spécialistes du marketing des médias sociaux veulent savoir comment surveiller et mesurer le retour sur investissement des médias sociaux.


3. 58% des responsables marketing utilisent les médias sociaux pour 6 heures ou plus chaque semaine.


4. 77% des responsables marketing prévoient une augmentation de leur utilisation de YouTube et du marketing vidéo en 2011.


5. 70% des marqueteurs veulent en savoir plus sur Facebook.


6. 69% des marqueteurs veulent en savoir plus sur les blogs.


7. L'avantage numéro un du marketing des médias sociaux est qu'il est générateur d'affaires et augmente de façon considérable la visibilité de l'entreprise, comme indiqué par 88% des marqueteurs.


8. Seulement 28% des entreprises sous-traitent une partie de leur marketing des médias sociaux.


9. 32% des marqueteurs interrogés ont déclaré qu'ils ont moins d'un an d'expérience avec les médias sociaux.


10. Les sociétés B2C étaient plus susceptibles ( 50% ) que B2B ( 42% ) d'augmenter leur utilisation des annonces en ligne.

Marketing sur mesure :

Chacune de ces données est intéressantes et importantes  individuellement mais il est essentiel de voir les choses globalement et d'identifier les changements majeurs dans l'industrie du marketing. Lorsque l'on regarde ces données dans leur intégralité, nous voyons un véritable processus de maturation ainsi qu'une transformation du marketing qui est somme toute encore jeune.

L'essor de la vidéo en ligne dans le marketing peut être attribuée à des marketeurs qui ont déjà une expérience avec la création de texte basé sur le contenu en ligne et sont maintenant prêts à s'attaquer à la production et la distribution de contenu vidéo qui est un ensemble plus complexe de la création de contenu sur le web. Même si, l'on peut noter que la création de contenu vidéo a été rendue plus facile avec les smartphones et les appareils numériques qui sont maintenant capables de capturer de la vidéo haute qualité durant des salons ou tout autres événements.


Un autre signe de maturation de l'industrie du marketing des médias sociaux est le montant déclaré de temps passent par les personnels marketing sur les médias sociaux pour intensifier leurs actions de commercialisation. 


Il est important de noter que la majorité des marqueteurs passent maintenant plus de 6 heures par semaine sur les médias sociaux, mais que cet investissement en temps semble aussi souligner que les dirigeants marketing commencent à comprendre que le temps est un engagement nécessaire pour avoir du succès avec le marketing des médias sociaux.

Le faible pourcentage des entreprises qui externalisent le Community Management met en évidence deux faits: 


-les médias sociaux peuvent être mieux adaptés pour les services marketing qui ont une connaissance fine de leur entreprise.


-les agences de marketing sont aux prises avec l'intégration du marketing des médias sociaux dans leurs offres de services existantes, chose qui n'est pas semble-t'il aussi aisé que celà !.