Life Scientists and Social Media

March 27th, 2008

I just got an email from BioInformatics LLC advertising their new new report, The New Collaboration: Social Media and the Life Science Opportunity. It is a great report, and is closely related to what we are doing here at the Assay Depot. A few things jumped out at me while reading it.

Product Information

According to the report, third party online portals are the least trusted source of product information, while company websites are the most trusted. I can understand that, when I'm looking for a computer, I check out Apple's website before I check Amazon. Now I wouldn't characterize Amazon (or the Assay Depot for that matter) as online portals, but we are both marketplaces that act as third parties in transactions between customers and companies.

To mitigate this trust issue, and to make things as easy as possible for our users, wherever possible, we will link the products on our website to the companies own web page about that product.

Objective Feedback

If social media isn't the most trusted source of product information, it is the most trusted source for objective feedback. 45% of respondents said so. This complements our strategy of providing peer reviews of the services and products we offer.

Influence on Purchasing Decision

Section 8 of the report touches on how social media has influenced purchasing decisions. Interestingly it seems that social media has made them more informed regarding their purchasing decisions, but it hasn't made purchasing faster, or changed the purchasing process.

I strongly believe this is going to change. Currently their are no tools that combine social media and purchasing, it is a bit of a disjointed process. People search for information (often using social media) about what they are purchasing. Then they go back to the old system of calling to negotiate prices and legal contracts and faxing purchase orders back and forth. I'm trying not to make this post too much of a "sales pitch", but that is what we are trying to do. Make the purchasing of research services easy by combining e-commerce with customer reviews, links to the actual supplier, and eventually more community and social media capabilities. We just want to make scientists lives easier.

Finally...

There are two more quotes in the report that I found interesting:

Social Media appeals to the fundamental values of science - communication contribution and collaborating.

I couldn't agree more...

and:

In an environment where the average scientist buys products from a dozen or more vendors, making it easier for them to open a dialog with you can can only strengthen their loyalty.

right on again...

© 2008 Assay Depot