The State of Multichannel Marketing

October 2016

Courtesy of:

A FirstWord Perspectives Report

All content Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.

www.firstwordpharma.com1

Customerdynamics

Payers are increasingly the key healthcare

decison makers

Customers are using mobile technology and other digital

channels to look for information

Patients are playing a more active role in healthcare

decisions

Marketing plans will become more integrated

and multichannel

Research will help to understand and respond to

customer needs

Careful planning will avoid potential dead ends in a

cross-channel environment

Companies are moving from cost per click to more of an engagement-based

MCM model

CA combination of content, channels and timing work

together to impact on customer experience

Making information accessible means adopting a 'pull' attitude

to appropriate content

Planning,data and analysis

Customer experiencemanagement

Understanding when and how to engage with stakeholdersEach of the key stakeholder groups has different expectations in terms of information from pharma. It is important for pharma companies to understand the needs of each of these stakeholder groups if they are to improve customer engagement.

PhysiciansPhysicians and HCPs use digital media to access data about patients, diseases and new medical developments. As the development of medicine moves away from the one-size-fits-all blockbuster to more specialty and personalised medicines, physicians need to have timely access to information on a wider array of products, which is driving a content-based approach to messaging. Providing access to high quality information and education resources will facilitate an open and participative interaction between pharma and HCPs, and support HCPs with the information they need to make decisions on patient care.

Current trends that are shaping pharma multichannel marketing (MCM) include changing customer dynamics, technological advances and rising customer expectations in a complex and highly regulated operating environment. In the digital age, customers have more ways to seek, find and share information. In order to be heard, pharma marketers need to adopt a sophisticated multichannel approach that provides customers with a positive and seamless experience, where they have greater access to information on demand for a more personalised experience.

Joan Arata, Senior Vice President, Market Solutions at Everyday Health, suggests that companies have been taking step to improve their MCM capabilities over the last couple of years by building teams of people who understand the various channels and how to better utilise them. She says,

“Most pharma companies now have MCM teams who really do understand where the trends are and where clinicians are getting information.”

Figure 1:Trends shaping pharma marketing

The State of Multichannel Marketing

Source: FirstWord research and analysis

All content Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.

www.firstwordpharma.com2

Importantly, pharma should support physicians according to their needs and not simply produce a ‘me-too’ product. Experts suggest that companies really need to think about how they can provide value in that context and consider medical information and education alongside marketing. With this in mind, the marketing team should work closely with the medical affairs teams to ensure they are delivering the information that physicians are looking for. According to Joan Arata,

“The role of today’s pharma marketer is how to get that information out there so that clinicians feel like they’re being exposed to the right content from trusted sources where it helps them to differentiate how, when and why to prescribe a particular medication.”

PayersPharma companies recognise the need for early engagement with payers, particularly in light of the current sensitivity that surrounds drug pricing and high-cost therapies. There are challenges to overcome, however, including a lack of trust in the payer-pharma relationship, a lack of mutual understanding, a different concept of value, low priority for market access, a strong focus on fixed pricing and misaligned leadership and organisation structures.

A Head of Global Multichannel suggests that the industry should focus on supporting payers with information and digital technology provides companies with an opportunity to supply information on demand. The question to be addressed, he says, is, “How can we provide data, information and services which are going to help prove that our drugs are efficacious and have a positive impact on humanity and society?” To overcome the lack of trust towards pharma, he suggests, “We need to use multichannel and technology to be able to instil more confidence and show more transparency, and to show that we’re actually here for doing good. This is an opportunity to do that with the payers especially.”1

PatientsAs access to health and medical information increases through digital outlets, such as mobile applications and gadgets, patients are taking a more active role in their health and care and are better able to have discussions with their HCPs about their treatment options. For pharma companies, the multichannel environment provides opportunities to work with patients and to help them to make informed decisions about their healthcare.

The first step towards engaging with patients is to understand the patient journey. Once marketers begin to understand how the patient goes through the health system, how they interact with HCPs, where medication comes into the process and how caregivers are connected into that, then they can start to work out where they can add value and actually support the process. A Senior Director of Digital Marketing explains,

“You start with customer insight into the patient journey and establish when you as a pharma company want to intervene based on that journey, so it can be a win/win for the patient, provider, payer and pharma.”2

Pharma must also gain the patient’s trust. Like physicians, patients have a tendency to distrust information provided by pharma marketers. The results of a recent survey suggest that pharma websites are among the least used resources by patients seeking information, and among the least trusted.3 But pharma companies have a wealth of information that is not only of value to physicians, but could also be harnessed to develop better resources for patients.

Managing the customer experienceProviding a positive MCM experience for stakeholders involves making the information they are looking for available and accessible at the right time and in their preferred channels, and seamlessly integrating online and offline engagement by ensuring consistency across channels. Content should be engaging and relevant, containing the appropriate depth of information for the target audience, so that the experience feels driven by the user.

PersonalisationIn an engagement-based MCM model, the marketing journey should feel personal to the individual. For pharma marketers, an engagement-based approach involves thinking differently and stepping away from the industry’s push marketing legacy approach, while remaining compliant with regulatory and organisational constraints.

“You start with customer insight into the patient

journey and establish when you as a pharma

company want to intervene based on that

journey, so it can be a win/win for the patient,

provider, payer and pharma.”

All content Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.

www.firstwordpharma.com3

One simple way to move towards individual marketing, as a Head of Global Multichannel told FirstWord, is to create digital assets that begin by asking simple questions at the beginning of the interaction. The customer would then be directed to content based on their answers, which results in a more personal feel.

“You have websites and certain assets which, before you start to interact with them, will ask specific questions, such as, are you male/female, what is your general age, what is your preference? It’s another step that is nice and quick, and we can start to give what feels like individualised content, but without the challenges we face from a compliance point of view on individual data.”4

In order to better understand the customer’s experience and respond to their needs, a customer journey map (CJM) can be compiled by integrating interactions with multiple channels into a timeline. A CJM can weigh a customer’s interactions with a company initiated touchpoint against his/her broader activities and objectives. This helps to reveal the customer’s view of a product, brand or organisation whether positive, negative or indifferent, and thus provides a starting point for marketers to develop a customer-focused perspective.

In addition to mapping out the journey, it is critical to think in terms of ‘moments’ where customers may need or are open to interaction with pharma. Being accessible to all stakeholders throughout their journey is important, but identifying moments will make companies specifically think about how to be accessible at different times, in different places, and on different devices.5

While focusing on marketing to the individual customer, it is important to keep the bigger picture in view to avoid potential inconsistencies.

A consistent, seamless experienceMCM needs to effectively integrate channels in order to tell a meaningful story that provides value. The choice of marketing channels, platforms, tools and tactics should always support that objective and not divert attention away from it. Importantly, for the impact of the brand or campaign to be influential on the behaviour and decision-making process of its customers, pharma companies need to maintain an ongoing and consistent conversation with them across multiple, yet individually engaging touchpoints.6 Touchpoints along the customer journey can include non-personal channels, such as web

sites, social media, direct mail and mobile applications; personal channels such as email, conferences and webinars; and real-time interactions which can be either face-to-face or through digital media.

Developing a seamless cross-channel customer experience is, however, still proving to be a challenge for companies whose MCM efforts are based on a siloed approach. Experts interviewed by FirstWord suggest that while marketers are all using a lot of channels and touchpoints, there is still a lack of integration. The Director of Customer Engagement Strategy highlights the need for change, saying “How do we move away from silo tactic deployment into a world of, if X happens, then Y happens? That kind of decision tree-based communication planning is a big shift for us, but one that I think we all realise is critical.”7

A carefully thought out MCM strategy involves understanding how multiple touchpoints interact to engage the customer, and then linking channels to provide a more intuitive experience. The Director of Customer Engagement Strategy illustrates, “If I engage with X tactic on X channel, then something gets pushed from Y channel.”

Providing this type of seamless customer experience involves rigorous planning. A Senior Global Digital Director interviewed by FirstWord highlights that supporting customers across multiple channels involves working to understand the connections between channels during the planning process.

“Supporting customers across multiple channels is something that I’m very strong on with the teams, and we work to show the linkage across all channels through our planning process. If there’s a dead end, then we risk leaving the customer stranded and that’s something we always aim to eliminate.”8

“Supporting customers across multiple

channels is something that I’m very strong

on with the teams, and we work to show

the linkage across all channels through our

planning process. If there’s a dead end, then we

risk leaving the customer stranded and that’s

something we always aim to eliminate.”

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www.firstwordpharma.com4

Challenges to MCMThe rapid changes in the digital environment and need for real time information have led to a deficit in the skills required to stay at the cutting edge of MCM in some pharma companies. IMS Health’s Sarah Rickwood observes, “There is, in general, a deficit of the kind of skills that are needed to really keep at the cutting edge of multichannel campaigns.” She explains that while technology can quickly transform, it can take longer for people to adapt to change. 9

Data mining and analyticsThe first step towards better understanding stakeholders is gathering data. Pharmaceutical companies have access to a combination of big data and more focused internal data sources, such as insights on channel preference through digital MCM interactions. The next step is to bring the insights together into one place so that they are actionable. A Director of Customer Engagement Strategy explains that ideally, the process is to use these insights to test initiatives in the marketplace, and then refine them based on further insights.

“I don’t think we can figure everything out perfectly related to budget or channel allocation or even content strategy without testing and learning. We’ve encouraged our internal teams to do the best we can with predictive modelling and get things in market, and then course-correct as we learn along the way. It’s just a matter of setting up the infrastructure internally to be able to gather learnings very quickly and adjust as we go along.”10

Among the organisational challenges, however, is an inability to effectively mine data and to absorb the knowledge gained. In addition, there is an inability to effectively integrate data in order to maximise its potential. Data collection and analysis are without value if they cannot be translated into actionable insights that can then be applied to improve marketing strategies and maximise return on investment.11

A Head of Digital Marketing adds, “A resource that is most neglected is analysts. You need people who can take the visualised data and convert them into stories and rationale that drive decisions. Ultimately, you’re doing all of this to drive decisions about how you can better engage with customers and provide them with information and services that are relevant to them.”12

While some companies are making progress in data integration, others do not have the systems or capabilities in house to be able to achieve this today. In

this case, third-party platforms may be useful as these have been built specifically to manage data.13

Changing the mind-setEvolving MCM means moving from a cost per click or cost per thousand impressions (CPM) mentality towards one based on cost per engagement (CPE). Joan Arata notes that there is variation across the industry and some companies continue to operate at the CPM level that involves putting out the same message on multiple channels. In this scenario, MCM continues to be a tactic rather than a strategy. One of the biggest challenges in moving away from a CPM benchmark towards a customer engagement model, she suggests, is that marketers are still trying to drive customers to brand websites and this mind-set needs to change.

Experts interviewed by FirstWord are generally in agreement that for MCM to evolve into an integrated strategy rather than a series of tactics, senior leadership needs to really understand its importance. According to a Head of Global Multichannel, moving forward will involve senior management understanding that MCM needs an umbrella strategy that focuses on customer experience.14

Joan Arata suggests that changing attitudes and moving towards a customer engagement based model involves

“taking that first step and trying it in order to experience it for yourself.” That will, according to Arata, enable companies to see the data and realise that the strategy really does work.

“I think this concept of moving to more of an engagement-based platform as opposed to a CPM model is something that pharma can easily think through and adjust to and, based on experience and data, will see the value of.”

“I don’t think we can figure everything out

perfectly related to budget or channel allocation

or even content strategy without testing and

learning. We’ve encouraged our internal teams to

do the best we can with predictive modelling and

get things in market, and then course-correct as

we learn along the way. It’s just a matter of setting

up the infrastructure internally to be able to gather

learnings very quickly and adjust as we go along.”

All content Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.

www.firstwordpharma.com5

Performance measurement and KPIsPharma companies still lag behind the consumer industry in terms of performance measurements, with some still using traditional reach and frequency metrics rather than considering the customer experience. Companies are, however, evolving and beginning to look more at metrics like net promoter score (NPS) and key performance indicators (KPIs) that are based on the quality of interaction rather than simply the volume of traffic.

Measuring the impact of individual initiatives in an MCM strategy is problematic because the impact of each touchpoint is cumulative. As companies learn more about measuring performance in MCM, experts suggest marketers will be looking more at the bigger picture of how the combination of content, channels and timing work together to impact on customer experience and add value.15

KPIs have a significant role to play in putting the company’s business objectives into action. In order to derive the most relevant KPIs, it is important to address key issues such as:

nWhat is the objective? nWhat goals are attached to that objective?nWhat strategies or tactics will be used to fulfil those

goals? nWhat metrics will be applied to capture that fulfilment? nWhat levels of engagement will be targeted by the

assets and content pieces? nWhat triggers are working and when? nHow can the strategies constantly be optimised

and improved?

KPIs can be used to develop better understanding of customer experience and future efforts can be tailored depending on the levels of engagement being targeted.16

ConclusionWhile capabilities and maturity levels differ between companies, there is a trend towards the development of more sophisticated customer engagement-based MCM strategies. Companies are gaining a clearer understanding of digital channels and how to better utilise them to improve customer experience, including taking advantage of moments when the provision of more intuitive content can address the customer’s need for information. Ultimately, more sophisticated MCM strategies will result in commercial success.

Endnotes1 FirstWord (November 2015) Commercial Excellence in Multichannel

Marketing. Retrieved from http://uk.fwreports.com/dossier/commercial-excellence-in-multichannel-marketing/#.WAd5dmWU5Td

2 Ibid.

3 Robles, P. (March 2016) Millenials open to pharma ads, but pharma not delivering on UX. Retrieved from https://econsultancy.com/blog/67653-millennials-open-to-pharma-ads-but-pharma-not-delivering-on-ux

4 FirstWord (November 2015) Op cit.

5 FirstWord (May 2016) Customer Experience (CX) in Physician and HCP Engagement. Retrieved from http://uk.fwreports.com/dossier/customer-experience-cx-in-physician-and-hcp-engagement/#.WAd5rWWU5Td

6 Ibid.

7 FirstWord (November 2015) Op cit.

8 Ibid.

9 FirstWord (August 2016) Measuring Marketing Channel Effectiveness. Retrieved from http://uk.fwreports.com/dossier/measuring-marketing-channel-effectiveness/#.WAd5z2WU5Td

10 FirstWord (November 2015) Commercial Excellence in Multichannel Marketing. Retrieved from http://uk.fwreports.com/dossier/commercial-excellence-in-multichannel-marketing/#.WAd562WU5Td

11 Ibid.

12 Ibid.

13 FirstWord (May 2016) Customer Experience (CX) in Physician and HCP Engagement. Retrieved from http://uk.fwreports.com/dossier/customer-experience-cx-in-physician-and-hcp-engagement/#.WAd6IGWU5Td

14 FirstWord (November 2015) Op cit.

15 Ibid.

16 FirstWord (August 2016) Op cit.