How omnichannel is influencing the customer journey in pharma
Omnichannel – a term that has become increasingly familiar in the pharmaceutical world. As recently highlighted in a PMLive article, omnichannel marketing is more than just a buzzword; it represents a strategic approach where channels work harmoniously to create an optimized and tailored customer journey. This method revolves around providing a seamless experience across relevant channels and sharing content of value to meet each HCP’s unique needs. To achieve this level of personalisation, a profound understanding of the target audience is essential, empowering pharma to deliver the right content through the right channel, at the right time.
It is important to highlight that omnichannel should not be confused with multichannel. The latter involves using multiple independent platforms to disseminate a message. The primary goal is to increase exposure by reaching HCPs through various avenues. This approach is less cohesive, as channels operate independently, and the content may not be personalised for each platform. Although it broadens the outreach, it may not effectively target the specific needs and preferences of HCPs.
Prioritising Customer-Centricity for Success
In the ever-evolving world of pharma, the customer-centric approach has emerged as a key driver of success. It is an integral part of any omnichannel strategy, placing the needs and preferences of HCPs, at the very heart of engagement.
Crafting customer journeys that precisely match the specific needs and interests of HCPs, pushes the effectiveness of marketing and brand communications to new heights. Delivering content in a variety of formats ensures content relevance for the HCP. Leveraging the data insights from each interaction then allows pharma to build a cohesive and seamless experience across all channels. With the increasing demand for personalised and curated experiences, the customer-centric approach not only cultivates stronger connections but also leads to improved engagement and better outcomes for all stakeholders.
Delivering Value to the HCP
Having a highly structured omnichannel strategy doesn’t guarantees success. If the content you are sharing has no value for the HCP, your omnichannel approach will be ineffective. It is easy to overload already time-poor HCPs, therefore, personalising each engagement and adapting to their needs and preferences, not only helps to capture their attention but delivers real value.
Here are our top tips on what you should focus on;
- Share valued content – A study revealed that 89% of HCPs are likely or very likely to change their prescribing habits based on published scientific content in its original form, such as a medical journal. It is, therefore, essential that sharing published scientific content is a fundamental part of your omnichannel strategy.
- Ensure content relevance – There were 1.4m articles published in medical journals in 2021. HCPs don’t have time to wade through volumes of content and what they do consume needs to be easy to digest. Targeted delivery is key to aligning interests and needs with content delivery. For the same reason, content format is an important consideration. Short-form content such as research summaries or peer-reviewed podcasts, enables a quick review. This can then be followed up with the original articles, such as ePrints, providing the complete reference material. Published scientific content usage data enriches your customer profiling which helps you to better understand HCP preferences.
- Make content easily accessible – Content can be shared via any of pharma’s channels using a personalised link for one-click download. However, it is important that the relevant permissions are in place to enable compliant sharing of published content. Pharma should not pass its copyright responsibility onto the HCP. Using a personalised link not only takes care of the publisher’s terms and conditions, it also provides an easy-to-access download of the published content. Minimizing clicks and form filling helps ensure a smoother and more user-friendly experience for HCPs.
- Use content to drive customer acquisition – An important part of the pharma-HCP relationship is communication but permission is required. Sharing published scientific content provides a great opportunity for consent to be requested and captured via any channel at the point of interaction, helping drive customer acquisition.
Leveraging Technology for Omnichannel Success
Delivering published scientific content comes with a range of challenges – all of which can be addressed through technology. It can manage barriers, such as copyright protection, adherence to the publisher’s terms and conditions, and capturing and recording transfer of value. Technology also enables pharma to refine customer journeys, capturing consent at the point of interaction and helping to close the loop within CRM. It is a valuable tool which helps drive meaningful interactions with HCPs and elevates the overall HCP experience.
Trustrack is a solution that facilitates the seamless delivery of published scientific content. Links to the copyright content can be shared via an HCPs’ preferred channel while monitoring usage and feeding that data back into your CRM.
To find out more about how Tangent90 can support you to manage your scientific content distribution, please contact us at [email protected].
