How advertisers can identify physician pain points

A display advertisement is often the first phase in a longer conversation between the advertiser and its ideal clients. When reading an ad, prospects should recognize themselves within the copy and imagery - and specifically identify with the pain points addressed by the ad.

Before you can start this conversation, you'll need to identify what those pain points are, determine why they exist and then make a strong case for how your product or service addresses that need. It's a simple equation, but can be difficult to fulfill in practice. How can you be sure that your interpretation of your prospect's problems is an accurate reflection of reality?

First, look at who the stakeholders are and how they relate to the problem at hand.

Look at the patient's perspective

Marketing to doctors is unique in that they are gatekeepers between you and the product's or service's end-user. In many cases, the person making the purchasing decision will never experience what it's like to use the product themselves. Therefore, it's imperative that you begin your search for pain points by looking at the situation from the patient's perspective.

If you're advertising a pharmaceutical product, at least one pain point should be immediately clear: It's not difficult to determine why a patient would want medication for their high blood pressure, for instance. In that case, you'd need to look at what differentiates your drug within the marketplace. Why would a patient be more interested in your heart medication than your competitor's? Are there fewer side effects? Smaller doses? Do you have a proprietary smartphone app that reminds patients when to take their medicine?

Try to look for ancillary pain points around the biggest concern. After that, it's time to address the needs of the doctors.

Doctors are the gatekeepers between your offerings and the patients.

Sympathize with the physician's perspective

When we go to the doctor's office as patients, we arrive with a problem and expect the physician to offer a solution. On the surface, this exchange seems like a simple transaction. The patient arrives with a need and the doctor satisfies that need. But when you have a deeper understanding of medicine, it becomes clear that few cases are ever so simple.

Even when physicians can make an accurate diagnosis, it can be another struggle to determine the best treatment option. If doctors do not fully understand each of the treatments available to them, they may struggle to find what works best for their patients.

That's where you connect as an advertiser. You may first introduce your new solution to an identified pain point - to ensure physician awareness, and then explain why it is superior to other available products or services - to drive trials and initial usage.

Keep in mind that there is a third factor at play within the patient/physician relationship: regulations and compliance standards. According to Medical Economics Magazine, some of the top challenges doctors currently face are regulatory in nature. Recently, healthcare organizations have had to pay greater attention to their Medicare populations, specifically hospital readmissions among this cohort. As payer reimbursements become more closely tied to readmission rates, physicians will likely be even more eager to see a decrease in these readmissions.

That means they'll be looking for help keeping patients engaged so that they follow the doctor's medical advice and do not end up back in the hospital unexpectedly. Advertisers can help in this regard by offering more robust and informative collateral with their products.

To learn more about how to reach physicians in a meaningful way, visit ELSMediaKits.com.