Digital marketing is no longer one more box to check—digital technology touches each stage of a brand’s commercial arc, from clinical trials to end of patent. Follow these pointers as you plot your brand’s digital strategy:
- Pushing a product is so last century. Patients and physicians alike need you to be their partner in care. In the pre-mobile era of TV ads and sales reps, marketing was a monologue. In a digital world, marketing is a dialogue, and the goal of providers, payers, and pharmas alike is patient engagement. Keeping patients in-network, on-treatment, and out of the hospital requires all parties to maintain that dialogue through resources that anticipate and address patient needs. Likewise, even as hospitals and health systems draw ever-tighter restrictions on rep-physician interaction, doctors and other prescribers are eager for help—43% of U.S. physicians have used patient-centered, value-added support from pharma. Maximize investment in these resources and customer engagement by driving utilization through the sales force.
- Keep it clean, simple, and useful. Today’s healthcare consumer expects as frictionless an online user experience from insurers, hospitals, and pharmas as they do from JetBlue or American Express—59% of U.S. online consumers agree that “I expect the healthcare system to offer the same level of customer service I receive at a service-oriented company like Amazon.com.” In an ever-more complex and time-crunched healthcare environment, factors like findability, accessibility, ease of navigation, and elegance aren’t extras but essentials.
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