Marketing Checklist: Touchpoints

Checklists are a great way to ensure that you cover all the basics. They are used daily by thousands of people in situations where the results really matter (like flying planes and surgical procedures).

If you were going to create a checklist, what items are so important that they would appear on your life science marketing checklist?

One item that would be on my marketing checklist is this:

•  Use the appropriate touchpoints to control the image of your organization.

Touchpoints are those channels of communication that your audiences use to learn about your products, your services, and your brand. Examples include the obvious ones (your web site, your trade show booth, your email blasts) and the not-so-obvious ones (your signage, your invoices, the way you answer the phone).

Einstein used “Gedanken experimentieren” or “Thought experiments” to create a physics laboratory of the mind. You can do the same with marketing: Imagine the entire life cycle of your prospects’ view of your service or product, from the very first time they hear about it to the time when it is no longer needed.

What touchpoints convey important information at each stage? How many different touchpoints can you list? When was the last time you examined each of these touchpoints with an unbiased eye to see what impression it leaves on your audience?

One discordant impression from a single touchpoint can damage your brand.