An international survey of life scientists reveals significantly different attitudes, needs and preferences in the way in which they respond to marketing
An international survey of more than 1900 life scientists reveals significantly different attitudes, needs and preferences in the way in which they respond to marketing from biotechnology tools companies.
In general, scientific customers prefer to learn about new products in three different ways: vendor websites, printed catalogues and scientific meetings.
However, when asked about specific marketing techniques, North American and European respondents usually expressed similar preferences, while Japanese researchers most often deviated from the norm.
'Marketing to life scientists: an international comparison' is published by BioInformatics.
The report is based on responses to a 35-question survey that explored the relative effectiveness of the major marketing techniques employed by the companies supplying the world's biotechnology industry.
Extensive statistical analysis and cross-tabulations were used to identify how scientists in the three largest markets - North America, Europe and Japan -learn about the products used in their labs. Among the many findings detailed in the report, researchers in Japan tend to show a higher degree of price sensitivity than their counterparts elsewhere.
Japanese scientists also showed an especially strong interest in learning about new technologies, and their decision to try a new product appears to be less constrained by the requirement to follow a specific protocol. Numerous other regional differences were noted.
For example, European scientists are more likely to be receptive to visits by sales representatives than are North American and Japanese researchers, and North Americans are more likely to prefer vendor websites that facilitate e-commerce.
"Segmenting customers by region is clearly important when marketing to an international audience," notes Robin Rothrock, director of market research at BioInformatics.
"But suppliers can't forget that scientists also share great similarities, especially in their desire for easy access to detailed product descriptions, price lists and protocols in print and on the web".
The scientists responding to the survey were also asked to rank the effectiveness of their suppliers' marketing programmes in terms of best print catalogue, website, sales force, and print advertising.
Perennial market leaders such as Sigma-Aldrich, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, and Amersham Biosciences all received exceptionally high marks, as did other major suppliers with strong international marketing programmes, including Applied Biosystems, BD Biosciences, Bio-Rad, New England Biolabs, Perbio Science, Promega, Qiagen, and VWR International.
The report contains over 200 charts and tables depicting the responses and regional comparison for each survey question.
