Pharma Marketing 101: Five Things Every Healthcare Marketer Should Know

To do pharma marketing effectively one must understand the industry itself the common lingo used when planning activating measuring and optimizing campaigns and the complexities of the patient journey all while keeping a pulse on evolving trends within the larger marketing landscapeHaving spent more than 20 years on the healthcare agency side I39m thrilled at the opportunity to share my knowledge with anyone who needs it Let39s start with the five basics every healthcare marketer should know an Intro to Pharma if you will1 Know the Lifecycle of a DrugFrom a consumer standpoint most people outside of the healthcare industry aren39t aware of the amount of time money and effort that goes into developing each new drug immunization and treatment As marketers it39s not only critical to understand the lifecycle of a drug from clinical trials to FDA approvals to launch to patent expiration but also to consider the years spent prior on research and development which oftentimes can amount to a 20year long process Knowing this we can truly appreciate all of the complexities involved before we39re even tasked with coming up with a marketing strategy2 Know the LingoWhether you39re just starting out in the pharma marketing space or you39re a seasoned pro you39re bound to come across a variety of jargon and acronyms in your day to day For example when it comes to planning a campaign that will reach healthcare professionals HCPs you may come across NPI or the National Provider Identifier which is used to target physicians as well as understand their prescribing behaviorsWhen it comes to measurement pharma marketers are looking for conversion metrics such as TRx NRx and NBRxTRx Total prescriptionsNRx New prescriptions but not necessarily a new therapy for the patientNBRx New prescriptions as in the first time a patient is being prescribed a particular drug3 Know the Patient JourneyI often think about how pharmaceuticals are typically the only products purchased that you don39t choose for yourself The patient journey is much different and way more complex than any other path to purchase especially as it concerns those privacy laws we talked about earlier Put it this way the path to going on a prescription is nothing like buying a car it39s a lifelong journey and no one single media stream influences your decision Today we can use privacysafe data to help us figure out where a patient cohort is along that path and where we can reach them with the right message at the right time while simultaneously keeping HCPs informed Pharma companies are spending dollars to educate patients and as we all know marketing is not onesizefitsall Data is the key to customizing the journey for both patients and providers4 Know How to Reach HCPs With Your Pharma MarketingAs marketers we tend to place a lot of our focus on the end user which in most cases would be the patient However in the pharma marketing world we view healthcare providers as an equally if not more important audience to reach because they are the ones who ultimately decide which patients get prescribed what Developing an HCPspecific strategy is absolutely essential to the success of a new drug or treatment and most efforts are focused on education When it comes to connecting with healthcare providers you can use realworld clinical data to shed light on how doctors are treating certain conditions and prescribing similar drugs and their NPIs can help you target them accordingly5 Know What39s on the HorizonAccording to eMarketer healthcare and pharma digital ad spending at the B2B level will cross the 1 billion threshold in 2021 and is estimated to climb up to 135 billion in 2023 Digital ads are no longer just targeting patients but healthcare providers as well and this overall shift is happening at a rapid pace During the pandemic pharmaceutical brands needed an alternative way to educate physicians when inoffice visits from sales reps were temporarily prohibited As a result healthcare marketers turned to digital advertising solutions to reach both HCPs and consumers Digital ads also make it possible to help inspire more positive patient outcomes by keeping all parties informed about potential treatment options and bridging the gap between patients and their providersThis article was written by Carrie Craigmyle DeepIntentamp8217s Senior Vice President of StrategyOriginally published at DeepIntent on 8312021Click the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Pharma Marketing 101: Five Things Every Healthcare Marketer Should Know

Publish date

Channel

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Pharma Marketing 101: Five Things Every Healthcare Marketer Should Know

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

TAGS:

Cookies