As a digital management consultant and trainer, I am fortunate enough to interface with professionals from a range of different industries. These include Office Products, Banking, Real Estate, Professional Services and the Non Profit sector.

However disparate these industry segments may be, one thing is true for all of them. They are all being impacted by digital which now affects so much more than marketing or sales. All organisations, whether large or small, are having to undergo some form of digital transformation in order to stay competitive, reduce costs and ensure long term success.

I was grateful to be asked to attend the Nicholas Hall European Conference in Munich this month, both to run a workshop and act as side-kick to Trevor Gore during his fascinating take on the digital world we now live in.

My workshop focused on the fact that in the Western World, there are now five generations of people, all of whom communicate in entirely different ways.

 

From the Veterans though the Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, Millennials and Gen Edgers, human beings now access the world through a vast variety of different channels from traditional media right through to instant video messages on Snapchat.

Then there are the types of content which will appeal to the different audiences, whether this be words, images, videos or filters and lenses.

 

 

At the workshop we grouped delegates into separate tables where they had to look at how this changing landscape affects the consumer healthcare sector. Each table had a specific product along with a target audience they needed to sell that product to.
So, for example, one group had to figure out how to market Berocca to Veterans (those born before 1945) while another group had the unusual task of selling Feminax to Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964). As you may imagine, this latter example could have proved futile except the team came up with the innovative approach of stretching this brand into a product designed for those experiencing the menopause!

 

While the exercise proved to be great fun and got people out of their usual mindsets, it had a serious message – the world is changing, communication is changing and consumer healthcare is not immune to these changes.

 

At the actual conference, I closed Trevor’s segment with some advice which can help focus the minds of those working in this sector. Firstly, it is vital that any company which seeks to remain competitive, must continue to innovate. Secondly, in order to stay ahead of the game, consumer healthcare professionals need to upskill their knowledge base on a regular basis. And finally, always remember that any business needs to relate to their customers.

 

David has recently joined the OTC Training Academy as an Associate Trainer offering digital management consultancy and specialist social media training to members.