ADG Whitepaper_Feb2020 The future of the pharma and GP engagement model | Page 6

Embracing digital
A large proportion of the respondents to the Decision
Resources survey said they never had a question for
a pharma sales rep that they couldn’t find answers to
online. 17
While reports of the death of the pharma sales rep
model are grossly exaggerated (with apologies to Mark
Twain and Arthur Miller), it is generally accepted
that digital channels present pharma companies
and marketers with exciting new opportunities to
complement the efforts of the sales team.
Interestingly, pharma company websites have gained
credibility with doctors over the past few years, with 46
per cent of respondents deeming them a credible source
of information in 2019, versus 27 per cent in 2017. As a
result, they’re exerting significant influence on doctors’
clinical decision-making, with 37 per cent now calling
pharma websites influential versus 25 per cent in 2016. 18
By 2020, close to 70 per cent of healthcare
professionals (HCPs) will be digital natives, according
to PromoMats vendor Veeva Systems. 19 That means
they studied medicine at a time when the internet
was already well-established. Qualitative research
commissioned by ADG shows that for some of these
Even the largest pharma field
“
forces touch perhaps a third of all
potential prescribers. Alternate
channels make it possible to turn
the unreachable two-thirds into
new sources of growth.
”
GPs staying up to date means not being a day behind. 20
Live information is part of their life and for some
Google searches are already a routine part of patient
consultations. Of course, the challenge for pharma
companies and their marketing teams is to ensure
these doctors are engaging with their content and not
someone else’s.
In their essay titled It’s a multi-channel world
– Taking the anxiety out of trying new channels,
McKinsey authors Usman Rabbani and Rena Rosenberg
make a case for trying new approaches to reach these
digital natives and their older colleagues. They write:
“We know that most, if not all, doctors now seek
5
THE FUTURE OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL
AND GP ENGAGEMENT MODEL
information online before choosing a prescription
drug.” 21
They emphasise that digital solutions are not only
useful for reaching doctors who don’t see pharma sales
reps; they can be used to complement the messages
delivered by sales reps or through education events.
Rabbani and Rosenberg explain that alternative
channels can also be used to stretch budgets by solving
a problem that is becoming increasingly familiar
in Australia, such as reduced marketing spend for
established medications to free up resources for growing
brands. To this end, they encourage pharma companies
to get more comfortable with the idea that they don’t
have to put a highly trained, highly paid sales rep in
front of all doctors, at least not as frequently
as they do today.
The authors list three ways in which a multi-channel
approach can boost marketing effectiveness:
• Extending reach to under-served or hard-to-see
doctors;
• Producing higher-quality interactions by serving
doctors in ways they prefer; and
• Helping to create a “stereo surround sound” effect
to boost “new news”.
“Even the largest pharma field forces touch perhaps
a third of all potential prescribers. Alternate channels
make it possible to turn the unreachable two-thirds into
new sources of growth by creating new touchpoints and
ways for companies to interact with those customers,”
they write.
BY 2020,
CLOSE TO
70%
OF HEALTHCARE
PROFESSIONALS
WILL BE
DIGITAL NATIVES