Healthy Skepticism Library item: 16144
Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.
Publication type: news
Jones C.
Engaging with doctors online
Pharmafocus 2009 Jul 29
http://www.pharmafocus.com/cda/focusH/1,2109,22-0-0-0-focus_feature_detail-0-493043,00.html
Full text:
Online communities of medical professionals are revolutionising how doctors work and communicate, and opening up new channels for pharma.
Digital marketing in all its forms can no longer be regarded the preserve of the ‘early adopters’ or young people with an addiction to Facebook.
Doctors have been using online communities for some time now, and there are a number of web portals that are now well-established, including my company’s site Doctors.net.uk.
Recent research carried out among our site’s members suggests that the medical profession is now relying on the internet and online forums more than ever.
A recent survey carried out with almost 4,000 members found that nearly half accessed the internet while at work, with 93% getting online at home. A quarter used the internet for professional networking, with 88% using internet resources to search for professional information.
Doctors appreciate the flexibility that digital communication brings. One says: “this is the one best thing that has happened. It has transformed the life of the busy mortal GPs through support and information.” (GP partner member of Doctors.net.uk).
Strict rules and regulations surrounding communications with doctors clearly makes online marketing to them a more complicated proposition compared to other sectors, but research shows that more and more medical professionals are actively engaging with online channels – and that savvy pharmaceutical marketers are getting on board too.
What doctors think about online channels
For marketing professionals, hitting the right audience at the right time with the right information is a key objective – as is getting measurable results.
Now the healthcare industry is scrutinising the cost effectiveness of sales forces more than ever before, digital channels are becoming an integral component in the sales and marketing mix, with the immediacy, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of online communication proving attractive.
But what do doctors really think about online channels – when and how often do they access them, and how do they use the information online? More importantly, how can pharmaceutical marketers use such information to ensure they are exploiting digital media channels to best effect?
Far from being technophobes, many medical professionals are frequent users – they might be busy, but the internet is certainly a powerful tool to reach them when a sales representative might be struggling to get a foot in the door. A survey of over 3,000 Doctors.net.uk members found that over 35% visit the Doctors.net.uk website itself at least once a day both at home and at work – and every time they access the network it’s a chance for pharmaceutical companies to communicate with them.
Unsurprisingly, 67% of respondents said they used Google as a first choice for finding medical information online, 96% of the time through a laptop or desktop rather than a mobile device. Wikipedia also makes its presence felt, with 48% of respondents admitting to visiting the site more than once a week.
Surveys of our members also provided insights into how they liked to access CME, with 87% accessing e-learning modules via Doctors.net.uk, compared to 58% via BMJ Learning and 36% through hospital-based NHS resources.
On an individual level, online forums offer unique collaboration with colleagues, meaning these become a trustworthy, valued resource. 97% of members rate Doctors.net.uk as one of their most trusted sources of information.
A word of warning though – the medical community has strong views about what they do and don’t like, and can be protective of websites and fora that they have come to trust. It’s important to them that online conversations take place freely between colleagues – and while most understand the need for a commercial aspect to the networks they regularly use, they don’t want to be sold to or feel they are taking part in an overt (or worse, covert) commercial exercise. The human aspect remains important even though they may not be communicating face to face.
To be successful in the online world, pharmaceutical marketers therefore need to understand the fine balance – and sometimes the challenges – of communicating with a specific audience through this medium. The strength of any forum is in putting the health professional at ease, providing what they need and being sensitive to their dislikes. Ignore this and a forum becomes a forum with no members!
Proving its worth
It’s not just the private sector that is making use of online networks.
A recent Doctors.net.uk case study project involved a 12-month campaign to drive specialist awareness of the NHS Institute High Volume Care programme. The programme was designed to change attitudes and behaviours in practice to improve efficiency in high volume care pathways.
The campaign reached 40,000 primary and secondary care doctors and it’s known that 20,000 were prompted to assess their clinical practice. Of those, some 8,000 then went on to change their working methods as a direct result.
The NHS Institute project suggests that online campaigns do have the power to change behaviours and that with the right tools and advice, they are capable of being accurately targeted and measured.
The ‘badlands’
Some in the pharmaceutical industry still see digital marketing as the ‘wild west’, operating in a world that’s unregulated and uncontrolled. We all know the tight restrictions the industry operates within, so how does online fit in?
The simple answer is that you should approach an online promotional campaign, brand microsite, conference highlight or education module just as you would if it were in print. Well-regarded online providers will not skirt round regulation, but follow it carefully and apply it to a different environment. To do otherwise would risk losing the respect of users, and see the value disappear.
Clearly marking promotional material as such in an open and transparent way gains the trust of the community, and perhaps surprisingly, appears to be no barrier. Recent research found that 58% of nearly 4,000 members surveyed said they would be prepared to view more sponsored information in order to fund further improvements to the Doctors.net.uk service, with 80% saying they would rather see such commercially sponsored information on the website than pay a subscription for an alternative, commercial-free resource.
Where online campaigns do differ from traditional advertising or promotional literature is in the ability to adapt campaigns as they progress – immediate feedback can be sought, and messages tweaked if necessary, and at far less cost than a reprint or an additional visit from a sales representative.
Fools rush in …
There are sensible steps to take when embarking on an online campaign, and the saying ‘fools rush in where angels fear to tread’ certainly applies. Get the principles right from the start and the rest will follow.
Ensuring a clear objective is key – is it disease awareness, brand differentiation or education that you are looking for? Make that clear before taking the next step – establishing exactly who you want to target.
Speciality, seniority and geographical criteria are of course important, but so is considering whether the those targeted have existing connections from a previous campaign, and have opted to be kept up to date with conference highlights or new developments, for example.
Promoting campaigns through frequently accessed tools is the next step, such as weekly clinical bulletins, promotions on homepages or high traffic fora – or even SMS and e-mail campaigns. Building in measurement tools at this stage will also enable alterations to be made if required – by reviewing how long a medical professional has viewed a certain page or responded to questions, for example.
The crystal ball
As a marketer it’s always nice to be recognised for the work you do, be it the audience itself commenting or industry recognition. Even being awarded a nice trophy helps convince me that the late nights and tight deadlines have been worth it!
Online campaigns via communities of medical professionals seem to be slow in getting the recognition they deserve – but the good news is things are starting to change. Boehringer Ingelheim won the Pharmaceutical Marketing Society award for Digital Campaign of the Year in 2008 for its awareness-boosting programme with Doctors.net.uk for Asasantin Retard, and many pharma companies are beginning to embrace digital media.
As more healthcare companies recognise the value of online communication these channels seem certain to play a much greater role in the marketing mix.
But proving the return on investment is vital. Those holding the purse strings will need to be convinced that digital marketing or educational campaigns can deliver to the bottom line, particularly if the budget needs to be reassigned from a field sales force.
But whether you’re one of Barack’s one million followers or have your own Facebook page you can’t deny the impact that mainstream social networking has had on the world of work.
It is becoming the norm to do business online and it’s no different for the thousands of doctors and other health professionals. The question for pharma marketers is how to make the most of these new communities of interest.
The technology has been there for years, but pharmaceutical companies have not been among the first to make use of it. It is this, combined with increased scrutiny on effective use of available budgets that means we are undergoing a revolution in the way we communicate and sell.
WAYS TO COMMUNICATE IN AN ONLINE MARKETING CAMPAIGN
- Online product presentations aimed at increasing intention to prescribe
- Brand microsites enabling a permanent online presence, and potentially including case studies, webcasts, presentations etc
- CPD-accredited online learning modules
- Conference highlights enabling cutting edge information to be available quickly to a wide audience
- ‘Virtual lectures’, which attendees can follow at a time to suit them
- Disease microsites: non-promotional resources
