How often do we underestimate the power of social norms? Let’s face it, just like many animals, humans learn by imitating the behaviors they observe, and they continue this learning process through adulthood. Modeling, if you will, is widely accepted, even by us corporate types. Modeling is one of the pillars of sales training. By watching and imitating others, we learn to act in ways that make us effective at activities such as sales, surgery, sports, and even complex social behavior.
Numerous times, my firm has been given the task of marketing products that should succeed on a rational level, but are simply adopted slowly. What’s wrong with them? What’s wrong with people? Most of the time, for us, it’s the doctors’ behavior we are questioning. This is where the mob mentality comes into play, but it is the REVERSE of what we would normally think. This is how it seems to work: “Because I don’t see or know many people using this product, I won’t either. Even if I feel it may be a good product, I must be wrong or everyone would be using it.”
Few of us want to be the early adopters or the first to do anything that might embarrass us. Think about it: doctors did not always wash their hands before surgery or create a sterile environment to work in. Somewhere along the line, people caught on and the mob turned in our favor. Imagine the first time clinicians were told that bloodletting was not effective. They probably thought the suggestion was preposterous! The way that others respond to or perceive a particular situation or product significantly impacts our actions and attitudes.
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Ken is a great deal more than just the president of a medical communications company. He is something of a hybrid. He’s part marketing manager, part creative director, and part copywriter. To the chagrin of his peers—but to the delight of his clients—Ken is a consummate perfectionist. As a former creative director for a high-end consumer agency, he challenged his creative teams to go beyond the mundane to produce work with real creative impact, something he’s just as fervent about today. From producing and directing TV commercials, to launching DTC and Rx-to-OTC switches, Ken brings his clients a world of experience in OTC pharmaceuticals as well as business, lifestyle, and high-end consumer products and services. Whether huddled with clients behind a mirror in a market research center in Houston, facilitating a strategic workshop in Madrid, or developing a global campaign either in the New Jersey or California office, Ken is always fully engaged, bringing “bestness” to all areas of his hectic but full life.