Multichannel HCP Marketing
Putting together the most (cost) efficient multichannel mix for interaction and relationship management with HCPs
The Evolution of HCP Marketing
Since Covid, pharmaceutical companies and suppliers of medical solutions have rethought their marketing and communication mix toward healthcare professionals (HCPs) (Balz, Burke, Montagner & Tarallo, 2021). This involves both “push” and “pull” channels, i.e. taking the initiative themselves or at the request of the doctor.
Traditional HCP Marketing: More Push Than Pull
Traditionally, pharmaceutical companies have focused their HCP marketing efforts more on push channels: they want to disseminate information about new treatments to healthcare professionals. For specialists, the situation is different: their needs are more in line with pull channels. They want to search for suitable, evidence-based treatments within their specialisation at their own pace.
How can these agendas be combined?
Multichannel Marketing: HCP Engagement and Relationship Management
Finding the right channel at the right time remains a complex equation. A marketing strategy need enough push to reach HCPs, but not so much as to drive them away. The right mix of channels cultivates HCP engagement and establishes strong, mutually beneficial relationships.
We see companies using up to 15 channels to communicate with healthcare providers; however, a specialist remembers only 3 interactions on average.
To reach their market most cost-effectively, these companies need to base their multichannel marketing mix on at least three criteria:
The product life cycle
For instance, is it a little-known new product? If so, push channels are more important.
The channel preferences of the target group
Do healthcare providers prefer physical visits or digital meetings? Is the relational aspect important? Alternatively, do they prefer to request information when it is useful to them, e.g. lectures, research, patient cases, publications?
Which channels do competitors use?
Understand why rivals may — or may not — be successful?
Case Study
Our client had gained a strong market position with a successful treatment for skin conditions. The challenge now was to continue to differentiate this mature product from rivals, and to defend their market share. We applied our Multichannel Effectiveness Indicator model to gather the necessary insights, with which we made useful recommendations for a healthy multichannel marketing mix.
