This report originally appeared in the November 2009 issue of DOTmed Business News
Pavlov taught us about conditioned responses. So it's reasonable to assume when I eat turkey I'd think of Thanksgiving. I don't. When I eat turkey my toes and finger tips get cold, I feel like I'm wearing a heavy coat and surrounded by thousands of people. Twenty-five years of attending the RSNA will do that to you.
This week, the Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America takes place at McCormick Place in Chicago. Where else would you want to be after Thanksgiving but in windy and cold Chicago?
Chicago's a great city but not in December. They say the meeting's so large there's no place else to hold it. One of the reasons for its size is the commercial exhibits.
Let's face it, exhibits at conferences have taken on a life of their own. Vendors are convinced they must attend because their competitors attend. It's the emperor's new clothes, folks. You don't have to be at every meeting just because your competition might attend. Neither of you has a good business reason for going other than to impress the other. Just like Pavlov's dog, exhibiting at conferences is a conditioned response and an expensive one at that.
With all the talk of lower sales, lower profits and the threat of legislated health care reform, maybe we should break the string of mindless meetings and find other ways to communicate with potential buyers. What if we spent a small portion of the promotional money on focused R&D? I saw a study recently from Georgetown University in which they reported that in 2004 $30 billion was spent on drug promotion while only $12.6 was spent on research and development. That's insane!
Vendors spend copious amounts on marketing communications every year with little effect. They do it because their employees responsible for marketing communications say they should. To keep the money flowing they produce studies by advertising groups demonstrating how important it is to advertise. It's all self-serving.
It's time for one brave soul to step up and break the chain of endless conditioned responses to competitive activity. If your reason for doing something is fear your competitor might do it first, then you are likely just competing with yourself, spending money you don't need to spend.
I'm not going to RSNA this year. I'm going to spend three days with a paying client with an identified need for my services. The only thing I'll miss in Chicago is frostbite.
Wayne Webster is a consultant in Medical Imaging Business Development. You can send your comments or questions to W.Webster@Proactics.net.
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