Monthly Archives: January 2021

Time To Audit Pharma’s Doctor-Engagement And Other Digital Strategies

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It’s now over a year since the unprecedented global health crisis commenced. In this grueling saga, a silver lining is also visible. It helped pharma industry gain a fascinating operational experience, while navigating through disruptive business changes. The changes in the health care ecosystem, ranges from rapid espousal virtual medical care to the meteoric rise of e-marketing and e-visits to physicians.Encouragingly, the entire industry displayed a remarkable resilience to quickly get on to its feet, after initially getting knocked down by the overpowering impact of the pandemic.

One critical pharma-brand demand generating tool – in-person engagement between doctors and pharma reps, also came to a grinding halt – almost overnight, as it were, for well-known reasons. Moreover, companies started facing a crippling situation for all physical business events, such as, Continuing Medical Education (CME), active participation in medical conferences, patient engagements, and so on – as an integral part of their brand or corporate value delivery strategy.

Catching many by surprise, almost in no time, finding no other effective alternatives, several drug companies imbibed e-marketing – many of them in bits and pieces, though. Interestingly, technology based organizational transformation, which was progressing at a snail’s speed, thus far, gained momentum during the pandemic. Since then, there hasn’t been any looking back in this area. Instead, the speed of digital transformation in pharma is expected to accelerate further, as we move on.

Notably, many doctors are still not inclined for in-person sales calls. But, they haven’t stopped looking for product and other information from drug companies. More importantly, after more extensive charting the cyberspace during lockdowns, information requirements of many doctors have changed significantly, as confirmed by various surveys. The same holds good regarding their preferred channels of information and interaction.

This prompts one to ponder over a critical question. Although, a shift towards digitalization, including pharma marketing, is necessary in the changing scenario, do companies need to audit their digital marketing strategies in this area – now?

Nonetheless, this performance audit needs to be an independent assessment of a company’s e-marketing operations to assess whether its digital programs or functions are working as intended to achieve the expected goals. This article will dwell on this subject.

Are companies satisfying doctors’ information needs digitally?

The answer to this question was captured in a recent survey conducted by Abelson Taylor/Veeva. Some of its important findings are as follows:

  • Amid peak of Covid pandemic, 42 percent physicians surveyed, wanted from drug companies, specific treatment protocols tailored to their patient populations. Alongside, they also need to know the latest Covid related developments in medical silences, information on how the outbreak impacts their day-to-day practice, and how they deal with patients. The survey revealed, most of these unconventional information needs were slow to arrive to many doctors.
  • 83 percent physicians reported they hadn’t received any new information from reps, even remotely, in the week before the survey – in late March 2020.
  • Despite reps’ visits being more preferred by doctors, which included e-visits and tele-detailing calls, these declined by 63 percent, while emails between the two increased by 263 percent during the same period.
  • The average time for online meetings is now 17 minutes, despite the above preferences of doctors – versus a pre-Covid average meeting time of just six minutes. One reason could be doctors had more time with them as patient calls were less.

Therefore, the question arises, couldn’t these visits be made more customer need oriented? The possible reason for the same could be lack of simultaneous feedback mechanism for pharma marketers. Similar assessment is essential in other related areas, as well. Because, for reps’ effective virtual ‘visits’, data based – right selection of customer-preferred digital channels, content and formats for communication is crucial.

For Rep’s effective e-visits – channel, content and format selection is vital: 

This area has been well-researched in an India specific article, published by Bain & Company on December 20, 2020. The study found that physicians in India are more likely to engage with certain channels, content and formats for virtual ‘visits’ of medical reps.

The study also found – otherwise, physicians’ click-rates for digital information from pharma companies has traditionally been low – at an average around 10 percent to 15 percent, with some variation for specialties. Thus, with well researched e-visit strategy, pharma companies will have the opportunity to double or even triple levels of engagement in many cases, the study assessed. However, the drug companies would need to necessarily tailor their digital programs to physician preferences.

The study found the preferences of Indian doctors’ in these areas, as below:

Preference

1

2

3
Channel 71% – WhatsApp 20% – E-mail 3% – SMS
Content 29% – Publication findings 26% – Clinical Case Study 12% – Promotional Brand
Format 55% – Videos 15% – Articles and infographics

The above data, therefore, suggest:

-  Physicians in India overwhelmingly prefer communication via WhatsApp, with click rates 3.5 times higher than email and nearly 24 times higher than SMS.

-  Content matters: Scientific content, such as published findings and clinical case studies, generated up to 2.5 times higher engagement than promotional brand content.

- And format makes a difference too, with physicians 3.5 times more likely to click on short video content than articles and infographics.

These vindicate the point – pharma players in India require to initiate a meaningful process of an independent periodic review of their digital strategies – now. More importantly – based on the company-specific emerging trends, if a player quickly adapts accordingly, the possibility of getting a bigger bang for its buck on physician outreach,’ would likely to be high – even in the new normal.

Some key points to consider during long-term digital strategy formulation:

Just as today’s pharma operations aren’t a replica of 2019 and before, the same holds good for tomorrow and thereafter, as the process, span and magnitude of digitalization will keep improving. A glimpse of the same is available in an article on digitally engaged physicians during the digital health transition, published in PLOS ONE, on September 28, 2020. Following are the two – among several other points, on further democratization of medical information, as articulated by the authors:

  • Broader role of doctors is during the digital transition. Companies need to spot and understand quickly how it’s evolving over a period of time.
  • Digitally engaged physicians may also consider themselves as a guide and participate in the medical information managing function – in the description, collection, and sharing of credible content in the online space.

Conclusion:

Nevertheless, a section within the pharma industry still nurtures the hope of a return to the ‘old normal.’ Whereas most others don’t really subscribe to this seemingly unrealistic hope. Hence, even after the pandemic gets over, some critical changes are likely to last longer. These include more e-visits of reps than in-person doctor calls, webinars for doctors and patients, in company virtual meetings for training and other strategic physical events. None of these are expected to happen in similar frequency, scale and manner as what used to happen in 2019 and before.

Further, in the new normal, with more enlightened and digital savvy customers around, just talking the talk of ‘patient-centricity’ will no longer suffice. Companies will need to walk the talk - mostly through more transparent digital platforms, henceforth. Similarly, just talking about data and analytics won’t just be enough, pharma companies need to marshal enough wisdom in their people inventory, to capture and make productive use of credible data and information.

Undoubtedly, pharma’s digital strategies in all these areas have started taking roots. However, the yield of the same, apparently remains much below their potential, in most cases, for various reasons. Which is why, I reckon, an independent, in-depth, and periodic audit of each pharma company’s doctor-engagement and other digital strategies, since the onset of Covid-19 pandemic, is now essential.

The objective is not to revert to the old traditional model – jettisoning the digital transformation pathway, especially in pharma marketing, especially when the yield is low. The idea is to review or redraft the digital strategy, based on periodic audits. Or it may even be just tightening some loose knots of a patient-centric and doctor-friendly contemporary game plan for business excellence in the new environment.

By: Tapan J. Ray     

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.

 

Effective Pharma Marketing: Now A Digital – Cerebral Combo

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During last one year or so, the need to focus on health, both individually, collectively and even organizationally, is emerging as a priority area, everywhere, including India - as captured in several research studies.

Which is why, public expectations from pharma industry have increased manifold, making the process of developing customer–brand relationship more complex. So also the deliverables, particularly to meet with more enlightened customers’ varied expectations. In response, pharma players will need to select and empower the right leaders to chart out the strategy to succeed in the new normal.

In this article, I shall focus on the implications of this radical shift in people’s behavior to create a robust pharma marketing pathway. Especially, when disruptive changes in customer expectations and the business environment are likely to become the new norms in the years ahead.

Would this change entail a sophisticated digital and profoundly cerebral combo, for the pharma marketers to succeed? Let me start with the radical shift in people’s behavior towards proactive health management, across India, just as in many other countries.

A recent radical shift towards proactive health management:

Among several others, a November 2020 health survey by VLCC was widely reported by the Indian media, capturing some interesting points in this area. Some of these, which are very relevant to the pharma industry, are as follows:

  • The last eight months have induced a radical shift in behavior towards proactive health management across the country.
  • 78 per cent of the respondents have consciously started making an effort to build their immunity in the last 12 months.
  • 82 per cent of people would prefer to seek professional guidance for wellness needs rather than self-experimenting, at least until they get the vaccine.
  • Although, 51 per cent would also like professional guidance for their wellness, 95 per cent are not willing to do so, until they are sure of the highest standards of safety and hygiene at those places.
  • 60 per cent of the respondents are willing to pay 15 to 40 per cent premium for ensuring high standards of safety and hygiene.

Be that as it may, by systematically capturing these emerging trends, several pharma companies are trying to fathom – the span and depth of leadership changes required in the organization to excel in business, from here on. For steering the company effectively – responding to new market needs, today’s leaders need a different mindset and skill sets. They will preferably be those who can embrace disruptive changes in customer behavior, while writing a patient-centric digital marketing playbook – to establish a new genre of customer–brand relationship. 

The rationale behind a new genre of leadership:

Cognizant and MIT Sloan Management Review’s ‘The New Leadership Playbook for the Digital Age: Reimagining What It Takes to Lead,’ released on January 21, 2020, raised some important points. This study observed: ‘Executives around the world are out of touch with what it will take to win, and to lead, in the digital economy. Digitalization, upstart competitors, the need for breakneck speed and agility, and an increasingly diverse and demanding workforce require more from leaders than what most can offer.’ Some of the key findings of this study include:

  • Besides a deficit of digital savviness, some cultural and behavioral leadership norms that worked well in the past are no longer effective.
  • Navigating the gap between past and present has created intractable tensions, undermining execution and leaving many organizations stuck in a state of cultural inertia. This explains why so many companies are slow, unresponsive, stodgily siloed, densely hierarchical, and excessively focused on short-term returns.
  • Many organizations are suffering from a series of blind spots and are holding on to leadership behaviors — such as command and control — that might have worked in the past but now stymie the talents of employees throughout their organizations.

Interestingly, still a significant segment of the current generation of leaders, has control over strategic decisions, who gets hired and promoted, and the culture of their organizations. This needs to change, urgently. It’s about time for leaders who are holding on to old ways of working and leading in, pass on the baton to new genre leaders. The issue here is not a leader’s chronological age. The need is for a different competency level and a contemporary mindset that a new business scenario with changing customer behavior would demand – for a long-term sustainability of the business.

From pharma marketing perspective, this would require new processes of developing ‘customer–brand relationship’ on state-of-the-art digital platforms with commensurate cerebral power. Only leaders with requisite competency and a fresh pair of eyes can make it happen – maintaining a cutting-edge.

New ways of developing ‘customer–brand relationship’ on digital platforms:

This brings me to the much talked about area of digital transformation of an organization, especially in the new normal. In the present context, it’s the way individual companies would leverage digital technology and gain data-based, actionable insight to adapt quickly to market changes and customer demands. It also helps create an agile leadership and a new culture for the organization.

The process would obviously include patient-centric and more innovative omnichannel pharma marketing through state-of-the-art digital platforms. The aim is to effectively respond to the challenge of change – in the business environment and customer behavior, on an ongoing basis. That said, the core purpose of developing a productive ‘customer–brand relationship’, remains the same. This brings us to a key question – is digitalization a panacea in the new normal?

Digitalization is not a ‘cure-all’ – even in the new normal: 

Digitalization of an organization, including digital marketing in pharma, by itself won’t help a company for business excellence. Especially in developing a productive ‘customer–brand relationship’, when customer behavior is rapidly changing, disrupting both external and internal business environments. However, digital technology plays the role of a critical vehicle – in the organizational journey through different business terrains to deliver sustainable stakeholder value.

In pharma marketing, this vehicle helps generate and analyze a wealth of contemporary data to be productive, even in an extremely choppy market. The strategic pathway that marketers can chart out from such information can provide a cutting-edge in business.

When utilized with expertise, digital technology can help picking up all relevant information and analyze them in a jiffy – beyond human capability. But – which strategic path will be most suitable for individual companies, using which digital tools – at what weightage and frequency for each, and the likes, still falls under human domain. It is highly cerebral, especially in the new normal, with digital technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) being critical facilitators.

Conclusion:

According to the former CEO of Novartis – Joe Jimenez: “Despite the fact that COVID-19 is a tragedy for hundreds of thousands of people, it has created changes in the healthcare scene that are going to be seen for the next 10 years in terms of acceleration of digital applications.” Earlier, the Harvard Business Review article of September 28, 2020, also epitomized, ‘The Pharmaceutical Industry Needs a Customer-Centric Digital Transformation.’ There doesn’t seem to be any robust alternative perspective in this regard.

Nonetheless, to make the organization excel in this fast-changing scenario, pharma also needs profoundly cerebral marketing leadership. The leaders may be of any age – young or not so young, but must be willing to jettison traditional practices, which won’t work today. Possess contemporary mindset of working amid changing times with complexity. Besides, they need to bring on to the table – proficiency in the art of conceptualizing, formulating, and help implementing effective ‘customer– brand relationship’ development strategies, as needed today.

Astute pharma marketers are now expected to leverage the disruptive changes in customer behavior and business environments, turning challenges into opportunities. Concurrently, also become change agents – promoting obsolescence of current practices of competitors, and be a game changer – always. Wherefore, market competition would further intensify, with the quality of pharma marketing taking a giant leap – and keep taking brisk strides, thereafter. Hence, in the days ahead, contemporary pharma marketing, I reckon, would assume the power, agility and effectiveness that only avant-garde digital and exceptionally cerebral combo can possibly provide.

By: Tapan J. Ray     

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.