We Look Beyond Conversion Rates to Track Multichannel Performance
Evaluating a Multichannel Approach
The evaluation of a multichannel approach is, in the pharmaceutical field and other sectors, often narrowed down to conversion rates: what is each channel bringing in.
However, it should first and foremost be a discussion about content, about the main message you want to communicate to your audience. So long as that message is not clear, not a single channel will help your treatment reach position and conversion targets.
To accurately measure or track multichannel performance, we ask these three questions before we look at conversion rates:
1. Message Engagement: Does Our Message Stick and Does it Focus on the Patient?
You’re sending one or more characteristics of your product into the world. Do these choices of content and point of view stick in the memories of HCPs? To what degree are those the characteristics that a doctor considers to be important to a patient and talks to them about? Does the HCP think that your message is more credible than your competitors’?
2. Channel Usage: Are We Using Preferred Channels… With Enough Pressure?
Specialists have their preferred channels, to which we can tailor our communication. To what degree are we being associated with those preferred channels compared to our competitors? Are there any channels that are not or underused by competitors which we could ‘claim’?
As the ‘sender’ you can also influence which channel is the preferred one by using it in such a way that makes it more appealing to HCPs. For example, online medical training gained popularity when it became more interactive and provided more visual support.
3. Channel Engagement: Are We Using Channels Correctly — In a Way that Is Relevant and Distinct?
When doctors perceive you as very present on a particular channel, you should make sure to use that channel to communicate a relevant message. Are there any new developments that fit into their field of speciality? Are messages being brought to doctors in a way that is appealing and distinct from other communication?
Try make your story as relevant as possible to the HCP’s clinical practice, and include them in your treatment option and the accompanying service (e.g. information for patients about side-effects). This will contribute to your product being prescribed and used more often and appropriately.
