6 mistake made

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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

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/> . 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

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/monitoring/blood-sugar/> sugar

monitor can attest to the fact that focusing on sugar alone will get you

nowhere. Sugar is just a carbohydrate

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/food/low-carb/> , 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

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/medications/insulin/> know that shots

are not the problem. They don't hurt. It's the hassle of having to calculate

carbs, exercise <http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/fitness/exercise/> ,

and boluses, the fear of low

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/complications-and-care/low-blood-sugar

/> 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

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/fitness/weight-loss/> the solution

The vast majority of people with type 2

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/community/type-2-issues/> 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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