Pharmaceutical marketing
Pharmaceutical (pharma) marketing involves the promotion of drugs and medical devices to healthcare professionals (HCPs) and medicine users. Marketers are expanding over the counter (OTC) capabilities through pharmacy networks and online shops and are finding better ways to engage with HCPs. Acxiom helps pharmaceutical companies harness the power of their first-party data to strengthen connections with HCPs by engaging in an effective, straightforward, empathetic way that builds trust.
Marketing to Healthcare professionals
HCPs supply healthcare diagnosis and treatment recommendations, which often include medication. Due to their wide reach of the population, this audience segment is key for the pharma industry. HCPs usually receive an overwhelming amount of information. Since the pandemic, pharmaceutical marketing has had to mature at lightning speed and is still in its infancy. As a result, HCP are overwhelmed with nonspecific information directed at them. Hence creating a lot of confusing noise and not resulting in many sales for the pharmaceutical companies. When healthcare professionals are not treating their patients, Healthcare Professionals are researching recent advancements in healthcare and new medication that is hitting the market.
Pharmaceutical marketers should present HCPs with the most valuable information and arrange it in a manner that helps absorption of information that is relevant and beneficial to them. When marketing to HCPs, pharmaceutical companies need an efficient marketing strategy with highly targeted content, concise, and meaningful messaging.
Current HCPs are tired and overwhelmed with spam and irrelevant content from pharmaceutical companies who are not marketing to their HCP in the correct way – resulting in decreased engagement with the pharmaceutical brand and ultimately drop in conversion of the HCP utilising the products they are being marketed.
Pharmaceutical marketing challenges and trends
The pharma industry has been slower to embrace digital technologies than other less-regulated sectors, but the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly changed this long-standing mindset. Moving forward the pharma industry has become more flexible and open-minded than ever before and are moving towards digitally innovating the pharma industry. Here are the key challenges in pharmaceutical marketing:
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Moving from face-to-face meetings with Healthcare Professionals to online sales
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Industry rules and regulations
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Move from multichannel to omnichannel focus
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Healthcare Professional engagement strategies
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The cookie apocalypse and the lack of first-party data
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Complicated tech and data landscape
Our key Pharma marketing solutions for HCPs
Collecting and curating the right data
Pharma companies need to utilise their first-party data and insights to build strategies for driving brand awareness, demand and conversions. The right HCP data can help build better relationships by utilising audience attributes and developing programs and marketing campaigns to better serve the needs of the HCPs. With an improved understanding of existing and potential clients, through data and analytic insights, pharma companies can be sure they are reaching the right audience.
How Acxiom can help pharmaceutical companies collect and curate HCP data:
- Improve first-party data collection, management, and utilisation
- Augment and confirm owned HCP information with second and third-party data, shared in a privacy conscious way, which in turn provides a more complete view, delivering more personalised and relevant experiences
Enable better HCP experience through omnichannel engagement
Digital journeys are increasingly fragmented across devices and channels. To keep on top of this, marketers are also using more platforms, applications and tools than ever. Pharma companies have the opportunity to link all HCP journeys and keep track of their engagement, giving them a real edge over the competition. The “holy grail” is still the elusive individual client view. To build it, brands need an identity solution – the ability to connect data at the identity level in the digital space for a complete view of HCPs.
How Acxiom can help pharmaceutical companies create a better customer experience and access more time with the HCP and mindshare:
Omnichannel HCP engagement
Implement innovative platforms
As cookies deprecate, how do brands reliant on third-party cookies prospect effectively? Without the right technologies that gather accurate customer data to identify both existing and potential new customers and to enrich this first-party data, it almost seems an impossible task. It is hard to imagine how marketers would have enough insights to know the best channels to utilise, how to promote, who to promote to, where to invest and what will calculate and deliver a robust ROI. That is where we come in. Combining Acxiom’s extensive knowledge in privacy-compliant data, identity management, and CDP technology from our most trusted partners, Acxiom takes customer data to the next level, enabling brands to bridge the gap between paid and owned media for a full-funnel view in a cookieless world.
Optimise analytics and insights
Data and analytics drive and support the delivery of impactful experiences. The ability to design data-first contact strategies allows brands to develop a single snapshot of their future omnichannel strategy, covering a range of offline and online channels. These strategies allow pharma companies to react to customer behaviours and deliver prompt, tailored communications, increasing brands’ ability to communicate with customer effectively throughout their journey.
By implementing a data-first philosophy, pharma companies can focus on becoming more customer-centric and deliver on people’s expectations. This can ensure their marketing brings real value and return, not only to customer but to their business as well.
Pharmaceutical Marketing Success Stories
About IPG health
Home to FCB Health and McCann Health agencies, IPG Health is a global collective of the world’s most celebrated and awarded healthcare marketing agencies. We are 6,000+ people across six continents driven by a healthy obsession with creating novel marketing solutions, and harnessing creativity, technology, science and data to inspire behaviors that fuel better health. With 45+ agencies, including 18+ specialized units, our integrated approach to a broad range of communications capabilities ensures we can help clients improve outcomes and quality of life for healthcare audiences around the world. Our clients include the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies as well as countless startups, biotech companies, biopharma companies and a variety of life science companies. IPG Health was recognized as “Network of the Year” at the 2022 Manny Awards and is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG).
