MedicoMindsPro

Did the title of this article shock you? Perhaps, you would have thought I must be out of my mind to even question something like the importance of digital marketing in today’s era, when the entire world, in every business, is pumping millions into digital marketing. However, my question is not whether digital marketing is necessary and effective in pharma and medical devices. My question is about what is understood and practiced as digital marketing by many in these industries. A lot of such initiatives merely seem to be like replacing paper with a digital screen. Of course, even that in itself is very good because it reduces the use of paper, which we really need to do to save our planet.

For the purpose of this article, I will restrict the topic to digital marketing of a branded generic e.g., a sitagliptin+metformin to HCPs. Is e-detailing instead of visual aid detailing and an email or WhatsApp brand reminder instead of an LBL really digital marketing? Is a company website a digital marketing strategy? Is a brand website describing the history of the molecule and its combination with metformin and their pivotal trials, really digital marketing? In today’s times, these have become mandatory marketing tools if you are a serious player in the field. All leading branded generics as well as the innovators themselves would be using these basic tools.

So, what are some of the ways of using digital marketing to differentiate yourself if you intend to increase your market share? A very basic rule to follow that our industry often misses. We are used to telling the HCPs what we think they would like to know or what we wish to share. No digital marketing strategy can succeed without 2 basic principles- 1) the HCPs should get the information that they seek and not what we think they need. 2) they should be able to get this information easily and at their convenience. One might assume that the combination of sitagliptin+metformin is so old that no HCP would really actively seek any novel information about the product. That is why regularly gathering insights from various sources is important. The 3 main resources for gathering insights before planning and updating the digital marketing strategy are: 1) regularly scanning leading journals for new publications about a product. One often finds information about benefits in specific patient populations e.g., studies about the benefits of sitagliptin in the elderly population are quite recent. 2) Asking HCPs what new information would they like to have on a particular product. 3) Interacting regularly with top KOLs and asking them about new data about a product that many HCPs might not be aware of. Only after this information has been gathered should content creation begin. There should be a minimum gap between the insights gathered and the content created, as the information can soon become old with the pace of new publications.

Coming to the next principle of HCPs being able to get the information they seek, at their convenience. Here is where omnichannel marketing is important. Think of it as a shopping site. If all this information about sitagliptin+metformin was available on a shopping site like amazon, I would simply apply filters to select what I want to see/read. Maybe some HCP wants to read about the benefits of the product in the elderly, another wants to know in which patient profiles are outcomes the best, some might want to know whether there is any data about weight loss with this product, some other wants to read about adverse effects to look out for, somebody might be more academic and wants a video on its mechanism of action, somebody wants to read case studies, somebody else wants to read about studies when it is used in patients with other coexisting comorbidities- the list could be very long. In fact, even when you are out to gather insights before creating the digital marketing content, you can carry a list to ask HCPs about topics on which they would be interested in more information about the molecule. This will require close coordination with medical affairs to scan literature and pick up possible questions and topics about which to ask the HCPs. While it may not be feasible to create something like a shopping site with filters for content, emailers with call-to-action (CTA) where the information is grouped by categories and the HCP is then led to the information he/she is seeking, by clicking a button is one of the ways omnichannel marketing can be used. It might seem like this is similar to a website where one can choose to navigate to desired sections, an HCP is unlikely to remember the brand website or make the effort to visit the website because he/she is not aware of the information a brand website provides. An emailer does the job of a reminder and leads the HCP as well. Moreover, not all information needs to be on the brand website or in public domain. This also prevents it from reaching the competitors. The information could be stored on the company’s servers and only accessible to those who are led to it through the email button. The information could be stored on the company’s servers and only accessible to those who are led to it through the email button. The information thus shared can be in the form of full-text articles that are open access, white papers, webcasts, PowerPoint presentations, videos, podcasts, invites to a discussion with a KOL, conference proceedings, and so on.

In short, unless there is a robust scientific strategy and topic-specific content behind the digital marketing plan for a product, it is indeed nothing but old wine in a new bottle!