[acb-diabetics] 6 mistake made

[MARILYN LUTTER]

Hi Pat and everyone,

This is a great article.

Marilyn Lutter
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chanelle Allen" <chanellem.allen at gmail.com>
To: "Discussion list for diabetics and/or ACB issues" 
<acb-diabetics at acb.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 5:22 PM
Subject: Re: [acb-diabetics] 6 mistake made


This is a great article.


From: Patricia LaFrance-Wolf
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 9:43 PM
To: 'Discussion list for diabetics and/or ACB issues'
Subject: [acb-diabetics] 6 mistake made


Six Mistakes That Marketers Make When Communicating With People With 
Diabetes
Dara Mayers, Director, the Diabetes Consulting Group

Jun 15, 2012



>From the point of view of a person with diabetes, marketers often make the 
following mistakes when promoting their products to us.

This is an open letter to marketers who target people with diabetes. From 
the point of view of a person with diabetes, marketers often make the 
following mistakes when promoting their products to us.

1. Focusing on sugar

Anybody with a blood sugar monitor can attest to the fact that focusing on 
sugar alone will get you nowhere. Sugar is just a carbohydrate, no worse for 
people with diabetes than white bread, bananas, rice, or potatoes. We also 
know that sugar-free foods with high amounts of carbs in them are not as 
good, and no healthier, than the real thing. Focusing on solutions that 
people with diabetes can see-in our meters-will build trust and provide us 
with real solutions.

2. Thinking shots are the problem

Almost all of the sympathy directed toward people with diabetes focuses on 
the shots, yet most people who take insulin know that shots are not the 
problem. They don't hurt. It's the hassle of having to calculate carbs, 
exercise, and boluses, the fear of low blood sugars, and the annoyance of 
having to constantly think about these issues that make diabetes difficult 
to live with. Providing solutions for living with insulin-after the 
dose-will give people with insulin-dependent diabetes answers that actually 
make our lives better.

3. Believing that size matters

Every meter company is constantly saying that the size of their drop of 
blood is the smallest. But once we've pricked our fingers, does the 
difference between half a microliter and a whole microliter really matter? 
Not really. For meter companies to make an impact, they will have to offer 
truly innovative products.

4. Making weight loss the solution

The vast majority of people with type 2 diabetes have already been on many, 
many diets. Telling us that we have to lose weight in order to control 
diabetes demotivates people who have already tried and failed diets for 
decades. Finding ways to motivate people with diabetes to control our blood 
sugar and maintain our health-without making weight loss the goal-is key to 
gaining our trust and helping us stay healthy.

5. Thinking we're all the same

Each person with diabetes responds to therapy, exercise, and food 
differently. This extends beyond the different types of diabetes. The 
condition, and our experience of it, changes over time. Because each person 
with diabetes experiences the condition so uniquely, speaking to us as if we 
are all the same alienates us from your products and services. While we 
share a common diagnosis, our lived experiences do not fit into a textbook 
description. Instead of telling us why your brand will solve our problem, 
ask us how we experience the condition, and meet us there.

6. Assuming that information is the answer

Most people with diabetes already have all the information we need. In fact, 
we have too much information, and giving us more is not going to help us 
change our behavior. Instead of information, focus on giving us meaningful 
motivation, community, understanding, and a focused way to sift through the 
vast and conflicting information that is already out there. Coaching and 
partnering with us to help us make and maintain substantive and long-term 
changes in our lives will build our trust and improve our health.


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