The nonrational plays an important role in the decision-making process whether the decision is related to the selection of medical and pharmaceutical products or consumer goods. Marketing to health care professionals has traditionally focused on developing rational arguments based on the product’s attributes to persuade the health care professional of that product’s unique benefits. However, the broader body of research on persuasion has pointed to the importance of nonrational aspects, such as emotion and the values held by the individual who is the target of persuasion.
In an article written for the Journal of Medical Marketing, Donna Kelly, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, and Edwin Rupert, Associate Vice President, GfK Healthcare, outline the role of the nonrational in persuasion, providing a review of some of the major persuasion theories/research that have examined the role of emotions and other nonrational influences. The authors also provide an overview of qualitative research techniques that are valuable in uncovering nonrational drivers of product choice and can be used to establish branding based on more than just product attributes, especially in markets where products are relatively undifferentiated, based on their clinical properties alone.
To download the article, Professional Emotions and Persuasion: Tapping Nonrational Drivers in Health Care Marketing Research, please click here.
