Metromark presented a seminar on "Managing and Measuring Word of Mouth Communication" in Phoenix AZ on September 17, 2011 at the annual conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD). 

Metromark partnered with Baylor Health Care System in Dallas Texas.  Jennifer Coleman, the Senior Vice President of Consumer Affairs, represented Baylor.  Emerson Smith represented Metromark.

This seminar defines "word of mouth" as any communication of one person to another.  It can be a one to one communication or communication to many people through a variety of media.  The most effective word of mouth communication is face to face, in person.  Since the Internet social media are in the spotlight right now, we are looking at how word of mouth, such as a statement that someone makes in a forum, works in getting people to act or to relay that communication to others.

If you would like a white paper on Word of Mouth Communication, please email us for a copy.

In the US, Europe, Asia and elsewhere, the word "innovation" is freely used.  What used to be called technology centers or business incubators are now often called innovation centers.   The idea is that you create something new, patent it, and then you or someone else takes the innovation to the marketplace.  The BIO Show in Washington DC was full of innovative ideas, from June 27-30, 2011.  Metromark was there.

If you would like information on how Metromark encourages innovation, please email me and I will contact you right away.

Other people may sell a product that is already in the market, but may devise a new way of marketing the product or providing customer service.  That's an innovation in service or marketing. Amazon.com was an innovation in marketing and customer service.   Still other people take an existing product and an existing service and marketing process.  That's the franchise model like McDonalds and has little to do with innovation.  Not much risk in that model.

There is risk for the innovator, where the product is new or where the service delivery is new. 

Some say that innovation is one side of a coin, the other side of which is failure.  Those who are innovative, trying things new, are bound to have a whole box of failed ideas, but often with only self-motivation move on in the quest for something that works.

Can we teach innovation and risk taking?  Or is innovation just a personal trait?   These are issues that Emerson Smith, the President of Metromark will be discussing in a series of seminars and lectures in Poland.  Poland is a highly educated country with innovators in many areas, including biotech.