Omnichannel Marketing in Pharma: Turning Data into Action for Personalized Engagement

Some pharma companies have already tried going omnichannel, but the results were underwhelming. A recent survey by Graphite Digital found that nearly 80% of respondents in pharma are still unhappy with customer engagement, even after implementing omnichannel strategies. Many at the C-suite tables say their teams were not prepared to rethink their engagement approaches. Some pin the problem on the friction with teams.  

So, how do you turn this trend around and join the ranks of companies that have seen significant gains in customer loyalty with omnichannel marketing? As the CEO of a MarTech company for pharma, over the years, I have gathered insights that can help you get your omnichannel digital marketing right. 

Get digital consents through MedReps 

The first step in your omnichannel journey has to be collecting digital consent. But because it is neither a quick nor easy process, many pharma companies give up here, missing out on newer, more innovative channels like messengers. The best idea here is to start with the lowest hanging fruit. 

The lowest hanging fruit here is to get your MedReps involved in gathering consents from healthcare providers (HCPs). MedReps already have trusted relationships with HCPs, making it much more likely to agree to the request, especially compared to impersonal email outreach. 

Build an omnichannel ecosystem  

A customer relationship management (CRM) system alone is not enough to achieve the ambitious goal of becoming truly omnichannel. An integrated marketing automation (MA) platform is essential for bridging the gap between data and marketing execution. Such an integrated approach is also more secure, as you no longer need to share full CRM data with third parties. 

Also, consider adding a content authoring solution to your ecosystem to simplify the campaign creation, deployment, and optimization. Look for platforms that enable you to plan, modularize, localize, review, distribute, and measure content across multiple channels – all from a single platform. 

Get tech and business teams in sync 

A survey I mentioned earlier revealed that most stakeholders blame omnichannel failures on issues within internal teams. From my experience, the root of this problem is often the misalignment between tech and business teams. 

Tech teams may lack a strategic view of omnichannel transformation and struggle to grasp the business side’s expectations.  

This communication gap frequently becomes apparent during critical procedures like data transfer to warehouses, integration with business intelligence (BI) tools, and dashboard creation.  

Working with a trusted omnichannel vendor is key to bridging these gaps between tech and business needs. Look for providers with a proven track record in pharma and life sciences. 

Connect digital and physical worlds 

Imagine this: an HCP receives a WhatsApp invite to a pharma web portal, browses content, and gets follow-up messages with personalized content based on their actions. But during the face-to-face visit a MedRep repeats what the HCP already saw online.  

This disconnection between digital engagement and field force activities disrupts customer experience and results in HCPs’ frustration.  

To make customer journey smoother, you might need to take the following steps: 

Decide on the MedRep’s role 

In omnichannel marketing, your field force can either be the main channel or just one of many.  

If it is the main one, they will focus on building strong relationships with HCPs, which helps them understand their needs better and personalize services.  

On the other hand, if they are just one of the channels, you are less reliant on those personal connections. Plus, you save costs since you no longer need a big rep team. 

Plan MedRep visits based on HCP behavior 

Timing is everything when it comes to making your message resonate with customers. Use data to pinpoint when each HCP is most receptive before planning a visit.  

Keep in mind, though, that face-to-face visits are much more expensive than digital channels like email. If digital engagement is high, you can scale back on in-person visits. But when you notice a drop in engagement, it is a good time to increase office visits to reconnect. 

Create holistic rep-triggered journeys 

Your rep-triggered journey should start by creating content in your content experience platform, a key component of your omnichannel IT ecosystem. The field force will determine which HCPs to involve and when to ensure engagement stays active without becoming overwhelming. 

For example, one of our clients launched a campaign inviting providers to share their experiences managing type 2 diabetes. MedReps reached out to ask if they would like to participate, and only after they agreed did they send follow-up details. 

Measure your progress 

Your key performance indicators (KPIs) will not be linked to sales because, unlike in eCommerce, HCPs do not directly purchase from you.  So, how do you track omnichannel performance then? 

Consider these key strategies: 

Establish clear KPIs 

Here are some key metrics that will let you determine if your omnichannel efforts are paying off: 

• Prescriptions rate 

• Conversion rates for each channel 

• Channel power 

• Budget 

• Orchestration quality 

• The quality and quantity of content 

• Segmentation accuracy 

• The quality of your hypotheses. 

Segment your audience 

The next step is to segment HCPs into 6-9 groups. Evaluate the financial returns for each segment and forecast future sales by moving providers into more loyal customers. Then, craft key messages for the most promising segments.  

Implement tagging taxonomy 

Measuring a single email’s impact on sales or loyalty is tough, but tagging taxonomy helps evaluate campaign effectiveness. Pharma brands can leverage tags to assess message impact on the audience and reuse high-performing assets in future campaigns. 

Build KPI dashboards 

Finally, develop KPI dashboards to see the forest for the trees. A single dashboard can provide more insights than countless reports. Common examples include dashboards for campaign performance, data health, customer loyalty, and content effectiveness. 

Final words 

Connecting with customers across multiple touchpoints while ensuring consistent messaging and personalization is no easy feat. You will need to embrace a growth mindset and be prepared to tackle bureaucratic red tape, particularly when managing digital consent collection. 

By following the steps, I mentioned earlier, you can ensure your omnichannel efforts deliver results. When pharma companies shift from overwhelming HCPs with irrelevant messages to addressing their actual needs, they see engagement rates soar, customer loyalty grow, and the cost per contact decrease.