Surviving and Thriving in 2026

Healthcare marketers are having to navigate massive shifts across the industry, including shrinking ROI timelines and increasingly complex buyer committees. 

In this episode, I'm joined by my two colleagues and fellow Health Launchpad principals, Mark Erwich and Matthew Piette, for a conversation about what it means to be a marketing leader in healthcare right now. 

We explore how the industry is moving from the traditional triple aim toward what we call the quintuple squeeze, where providers face intense pressure from regulatory changes, margin constraints, and severe staffing shortages.

We provide a deep dive into how both health tech and biotech firms can adapt their strategies to remain defensible in front of CFOs. We also share our perspectives on the practical use of AI as an efficiency tool and why focusing on risk reduction may be more important than selling growth in the coming year.

Key Topics Covered

• "(00:00:00) Introduction"

• "(00:09:00) Big Drivers in Healthcare Technology"

• "(00:13:00) The Quintuple Squeeze"

• "(00:15:00) Challenges in Biotech and Life Sciences"

• "(00:16:00) Pressure on Marketing Leaders"

• "(00:17:00) Shortened Planning Horizons"

• "(00:19:00) Biotech Marketing Constraints"

• "(00:21:00) AI: Friend or Foe?"

• "(00:26:00) Impact on Marketing Budgets"

• "(00:30:00) Justifying Your Marketing Budget"

• "(00:34:00) Stop Doing This to Survive"

• "(00:37:00) Five Key Takeaways"

If you are interested in discussing this or any other topic, let's have a chat.  Reach out to me directly to schedule a no-obligation discussion. This isn't a sales call, but rather an opportunity to talk through your questions and challenges.

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