Omnichannel Marketing in Life Sciences

Omnichannel marketing has become an integral part of all industries. It allows companies to better engage with their customers and build stronger relationships.

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The pandemic is one of the driving factors for  the increased reliance on omnichannel marketing, as most businesses can no longer rely solely on physical interactions. Retailers, for example, have had to devise new ways for their customers to interact with their brand without entering the store.

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Similarly, the healthcare industry has had to invest in omnichannel marketing to maintain engagement with healthcare professionals (HCPs). The way in which HCPs connect with patients has also changed, as face-to-face meetings have diminished.

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Omnichannel vs. Multichannel Marketing

The terms multichannel and omnichannel are frequently mixed up. They are similar, but also very different.

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Multichannel: Utilizing a variety of channels to promote a product message is known as multi-channel marketing. However, the message is the same across the channels; it seeks to spread awareness by reaching as many individuals as possible.

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Omnichannel: Omnichannel marketing is data-driven and improves customer engagement with messaging that is curated to their needs. Rather than mass-delivering the same message across a variety of channels, this method creates a narrative that the customer can resonate with. Each piece of content is strategically curated and distributed. 

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Omnichannel in the Pharma World

As more healthcare professionals increasingly look for ways to improve patient outcomes, it is becoming more critical for companies to adopt an omnichannel strategy in order to remain competitive.

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This data-driven approach is transforming the way businesses operate, providing more opportunities for success than ever before.

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Developing an effective omnichannel strategy:

Omnichannel is a powerful tool that can be used to engage physicians in new and innovative ways. However, it should not be implemented without proper planning and coordination as part of a long-term strategy. 

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Messages must be coordinated to the appropriate audience, through the appropriate channel, and at the appropriate time. Key Performance Indicators  such as previous experiences, insights, and data should be used to develop strategies.

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Every time an HCP interacts with content, their actions reveal important information about their interests and preferences, which can later be used to target them with content that meets their needs.

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For instance, the content can be targeted based on their medical specialty, location or interest in a topic.

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To create an omnichannel customer experience that is truly valuable, businesses need to have a complete understanding of each customer's digital and physical touchpoints. 

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This means mapping out the customer journey in detail, including the specific content that will be delivered through which channels, and at what stage of the journey. Only then can businesses hope to provide a seamless and coordinated experience that meets customers' needs.

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Companies that implement omnichannel will face challenges. The outcomes of the omnichannel engagement will take time to emerge. Marketing may not receive the ROI or performance that they expected. Reps may think they have lost influence at first, but with proper support and training, they can learn how to use this new tool to their advantage.

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Why is Omnichannel Marketing different for Pharma?

There certainly are lessons that pharma can leverage from other industries when it comes to using an omnichannel approach. Keeping in mind,  what works for one industry might not work for another.

In order to be successful with this type of engagement, pharma companies need to tailor their strategy to their industry.

One of the most significant barriers to omnichannel engagement strategies in life sciences is a lack of understanding about how these tools can be used within pharma's business model. 

It's easier to see how an omnichannel strategy could work in industries where companies sell to their direct consumers. However, in the pharmaceutical industry, companies must persuade physicians to write prescriptions for their products to their patients.

It is also difficult for them to gather insights from the patients as they are not their direct audience. 

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MLR Reviews

Moreover, omnichannel marketing requires a wide variety of content to be distributed across different channels and additional tailored content to be created based on the data gathered. In pharma, all promotional content must be heavily reviewed to maintain regulatory compliance. . Without a proper MLR review system and tools in place, this process can be slow and stall in the review phase for a long time, delaying your omnichannel marketing efforts.

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Modular Content

Using modular content is one way to speed up reviews. Modular content is made up of approved phrases that can be reused across multiple pieces of content. When creating new content, teams can quickly select modular content to use and ensure consistency. At Papercurve, we use the term “Structured Content Authoring”, and teams are able to quickly locate approved text using Artificial Intelligence.

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‍Product Claims

At Papercurve, our AI, Paige, can suggest authorized content when users are creating and reviewing content to reduce errors and maintain consistency. This speeds up the review process, and allows for content to be approved and distributed in a timely manner.

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Omnichannel marketing is a great way for life sciences teams to build relationships with HCPs and patients, and it should be included in marketing efforts.

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Papercurve streamlines the creation, review and sharing of life sciences content, and is a great asset and tool to succeed in omnichannel marketing. 

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Discover how Papercurve can help in your omnichannel marketing efforts by booking a discovery call.