by Tim Hines, aka The Marketing Starter, International Seminar 2023 Speaker 

By now, every business owner should be aware of artificial intelligence (AI) — arguably the hottest development in marketing since email. During this year’s training sessions, PCCA discussed how to get compounding pharmacists up to speed on all the interesting tools that pharma marketers can access to ease marketing efforts.

But just because AI is a shiny new toy on the playground, should you play with it, let alone use it? My quick take is yes, why not, as long as you don’t take a set-it-and-forget-it approach. In this article, I want to call attention to a few things to consider before entering the AI playground. 
 

Brand & Tone

Let’s be honest, robots sound like robots and if you copy and paste from an AI platform, your customers will figure it out. AI is fantastic at content development based on what it learns about your business and industry, but it doesn’t understand your brand's unique voice or the personal services you provide. AI algorithms work off of prompts typed into search engines or collected from social media and other digital platforms, but it lacks the contextual understanding required for more complex brand communication. This makes human oversight essential. AI can, however, discern patterns and nuances that define a brand's voice by analyzing vast volumes of consumer interactions and content that already exists about your pharmacy.

Confidentiality & Privacy

AI-powered analytics let you process vast amounts of consumer data to tailor marketing campaigns. However, this capability raises concerns about the confidentiality of protected health information (PHI) and protected personal information (PPI), both a part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)–Privacy Rules. Fines for HIPAA violations can range from $100 to $1.5M, and HIPAA fines have been levied against pharmacists, as well as other healthcare professionals. 
As AI delves deeper into consumer behaviors and preferences, there's an inherent risk of mishandling sensitive data, potentially leading to breaches of HIPAA confidentiality and privacy laws. Safeguarding a patient’s PHI and a customer’s PPI are paramount when accessing any AI platform.

Differentiation

Back to your pharmacy’s brand voice: If you just copy and paste AI created content, how will you maintain differentiation and a competitive edge? You have to be intentful and specific in the way you use AI and make sure your pharmacy isn’t doing the same thing that every other pharmacy is doing. Through data-driven insights, AI can distill invaluable information about consumer preferences, behaviors and trends, allowing pharmacy marketers to craft more targeted and relevant content. The key is to never forget your pharmacy’s brand, including voice and unique services. 

So how do you put all of this information to use? Find out by attending PCCA International Seminar 2023 (ISTX23), where I am a speaker in the Workshops Marketing Track! My presentation, “Using AI in Your Marketing Efforts,” is scheduled at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, October 27. I look forward to meeting you and sharing more beneficial information!