Pharmaceutical marketers are more challenged than ever to reach and engage consumers while understanding the impact of their promotional investment. With the increase in channels and additional external influences, the competition for consumers' attention is only growing. How can marketers break through the noise?
To start, it's essential to have a good understanding of consumer wants and needs, and how they are already engaging with healthcare marketing. When people are seeking answers about health, the internet is often their first stop. In fact, nearly 60% of consumers are estimated to turn to the internet as their initial source of health information¹. In addition, most Americans see multiple drug ads daily on TV², and one-third of those take action by speaking to their physician about a drug they've seen promoted³.
This is no secret to the pharmaceutical industry, with many companies spending substantially more on marketing and sales compared to research and development⁴. However, it is important that pharmaceutical marketers ask, "Is this marketing really as successful as it could be?".
Within today's world, consumers expect to be reached on their preferred channel(s) and marketing to be personalized to them. A strong, omnichannel marketing campaign allows pharma to reach the right people, in the right place, with the right message. Plus, with the ability to prioritize promotional spending based on previous impact and consumer data, marketers can truly optimize their investment. However, 25% of pharma marketers admit they don't have the technology to achieve personalization⁵, and 77% believe personalization needs to be a higher priority within their organization⁶.
Today, more than ever, it is also important to consider the most appropriate marketing strategies for the "new normal" and in the ever-changing industry landscape.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to greater numbers of digital interactions overall and within healthcare. Patients and healthcare professionals are continually becoming more engaged and comfortable with digital channels, but how people want to receive information continues to evolve. TV is one example where engagement is higher than ever, and the flexibility of TV means that it is possibly to identify geographies with the greatest potential for personalized messaging. This personalized messaging must account for how vulnerable different people are to COVID-19 and the current restrictions in their location. Overall, marketers need to deliver integrated experiences through an effective channel mix that meets consumer preferences amid and beyond the pandemic.
To succeed in an increasingly competitive space, the ability to orchestrate, optimize, and personalize omnichannel marketing has never been more important. With this in mind, pharma marketers need solutions that
- Optimize investment and maximize return based on performance
- Focus on channels that work best for different customers, markets, or therapy areas
- Improve competitive position as the market evolves
The best solutions and expert support can make the difference between an underperforming campaign and an optimal omnichannel marketing strategy. To learn more about how you can optimize your promotional strategy with IQVIA's Omnichannel Marketing, download our infographic.
References
¹.health. Consumer Health Online – 2017 Research Report. 2017. Retrieved September 2020 at https://get.health/research
²FIERCE Pharma. The top 10 ad spends in Big Pharma for 2019. 2020. Retrieved September 2020 at https://www.fiercepharma.com/special-report/top-10-advertisers-big-pharma-for-2019
³PEW. Persuading the Prescribers: Pharmaceutical Industry Marketing and its Influence on Physicians and Patients. 2013. Retrieved September 2020 at https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2013/11/11/persuading-the-prescribers-pharmaceutical-industry-marketing-and-its-influence-on-physicians-and-patients
⁴National Nurses United. The R&D Smokescreen. 2016. Retrieved September 2020 at https://nurses.3cdn.net/e74ab9a3e937fe5646_afm6bh0u9.pdf
⁵Econsultancy. Bridging the Customer Experience Gap. 2018. Retrieved September 2020 at https://econsultancy.com/reports/bridging-the-customer-experience-gap/
⁶Evergage. 2018 Trends in Personalization. 2018. Retrieved September 2020 at https://www.evergage.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Evergage-2018-Trends-in-Personalization-Survey.pdf