Exclusive Interview on the rising importance of Omnichannel Marketing within the pharma domain

N: Hi, Martin. Will you please tell us a little about yourself?

M: Of course. My name is Martin Rother Breyen. I’ve worked in the pharma industry for over 10 years within IT implementation, omnichannel, digital asset managment, Veeva, and commercial processes. These days I work as Pharma IT’s Head of Commercial & Medical Consulting.

N: We are seeing many rising trends within the commercial space in the pharma domain. One big trend is the rise of omnichannel marketing. What is it?

M: Omnichannel marketing is a new way of working within the life sciences. It ensures personalized and relevant content will be presented to company’s customer in a consistent manner via integrated technical channels. The relevant content is shaped on individual customer preferences and will encourage  engagement. This increased engagement leads to increased prescriptions and sales of products.

N: Omnichannel marketinghas long been seen as best practice in many other industries. Why don’t more pharmaceutical companies use omnichannel marketing?

M: I think that there are several reasons why the pharmaceutical industry has been a late adopter to omnichannel marketing.

First, the regulatory environment for pharmaceutical marketing is highly restrictive. Pharmaceutical companies are subject to strict rules and regulations governing the way they can promote their products, including the types of marketing channels they can use and the types of messages they can convey. This can limit the ability of pharmaceutical companies to engage in omnichannel marketing, as it requires coordination across a variety of channels and may involve the use of new or emerging technologies. 

Second, the target audience for pharmaceutical products is often highly specialized and may require a more targeted marketing approach based on data that is sensitive and often more difficult to obtain. This can make omnichannel marketing within pharma more challenging, as it requires a deep understanding of the needs and personal preferences of the target audience and the ability to tailor marketing efforts to meet those needs. 

Finally, reaching an omnichannel stage requires an advanced technical collaboration between several different IT systems within the commercial business area of the life science company. E.g., data covering engaged Health Care Provider (HCP) preferences will be logged in another system than the one storing commercial content materials. And for linking the correct matching commercial content materials to a HCP, it will require an integration to preferences. 

On top of integrating the right technical integrations and cloud systems, all processes will require a rebuild to support the overall omnichannel way of working. If preferences are not updated accordingly, it will not be possible to grasp changes in the companies HCP customer group. If tags are not applied correctly, one will never be able to match commercial content for an applied channel and journey.

N: Given these challenges, what are the benefits of using omnichannel marketing for pharma companies?

M: Despite the challenges, there are several potential benefits to using omnichannel marketing for pharmaceutical companies.

First, omnichannel marketing can help pharmaceutical companies reach a wider audience by leveraging a variety of channels and platforms. For example, a pharmaceutical company might use a combination of online and offline channels, such as social media, email, direct mail, ads, and events, to reach its target audience. This can help the company reach a larger and more diverse group of potential customers.

Second, omnichannel marketing can help pharmaceutical companies build stronger relationships with their customers by providing a seamless and consistent experience across all channels. By using a consistent brand voice and messaging across channels, companies create a strong, positive brand image. This helps companies build trust and credibility with their customers, which is especially important in the highly regulated and competitive pharmaceutical industry.

Third, omnichannel marketing can help pharmaceutical companies gather valuable customer data and insights. By tracking customer interactions and behavior across channels, a pharmaceutical company can gain a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t in its marketing efforts. This enables data-driven decision making about the execution & optimization of the marketing strategy.

Finally, omnichannel marketing can help pharmaceutical companies increase customer engagement and loyalty. By providing personalized and relevant content and experiences to customers, a pharmaceutical company can help build a strong, loyal customer base that is more likely to continue using its products and services over time. This can help the company generate ongoing revenue and build a strong foundation for future growth.