Integrating eDetailing into your eMarketing Mix
Abstract
Detail campaigns are a valuable tool in the Pharmaceutical Marketer’s box. They provide a supplemental channel to direct sales/traditional details. Traditional detailing is under siege from regulation and an environment in which Physicians are less and less willing to spend face-time with pharmaceutical reps.

The challenge in 2009 and beyond is to leverage eDetailing in the context of a more comprehensive eMarketing strategy. Pharmaceutical companies must position themselves to engage in long-term, influence-generating dialogues with practitioners in an online environment.
This valuable white paper explores the basic concepts of eMarketing and web2.0 technology. It further details how eDetailing programs must be wrapped into a comprehensive e-marketing strategy.

This paper will further explore the role of the pharmaceutical sales rep in this online environment and how, if properly deployed, an eMarketing initiative can assist reps with gaining valuable face time with practitioners.

Is traditional Pharmaceutical sales dead?
No – but it is not what it used to be and never will be again.
Accept the fact that traditional detailing calls do not have the impact that they used to and move on from there. If you do not accept that, then please, tear this paper into neat shread and recycle it.

Traditional detailing is expensive, inefficient, intrusive (from the perspective of the doctor) and difficult to measure in terms of ROI. Statistically speaking, the results of traditional detail calls are quite grim. In the US alone, you have approximately 100,000 field reps competing for the attention of 650,000 practitioners. Recent industry statistics suggest many detail calls last less than 2 minutes. That is assuming the rep actually gets past the barriers in the office, otherwise known as the receptionist who is trained to keep your reps away from the physician.
The scenario of a rep dropping by to speak to the physician, drop off literature and never actually speaking to the doctor or if they do, spend 60 seconds asking if they need anything is a scenario that plays out each and every day. This is not an influence-generating dialogue. This is not a high-value business relationship. That’s not to say that this is the absolute norm…but it is common enough to warrant a change in strategy. That change is web2.0 marketing.

Web2.0 Marketing Primer
Like many buzzwords, web2.0’s overuse has diluted the meaning of the term. At its most basic level, web2.0 is participatory marketing via online channels. What does that mean? Think of web1.0 in the context of a company website. That website was a static repository of information posted on the internet and updated infrequently. The web1.0 website was in essence a big online media kit for the company. Think of the tabs to navigate the website - About us……products….services…contact us. Web1.0 is static. Web2.0 is dynamic and participatory. Think of a company’s website today. It is an active marketing tool that includes interactive blogs, online user communities, and dynamic, segment-based content to name a few.

Marketing in Web2.0 world
Web2.0 marketing is all about channels and dialogue. Companies that do web2.0 marketing well use every available channel to target and extend their reach. This includes offline, online and social media. The notion of dialogue marketing extends the multi-channel nature of web2.0 marketing to a point where it’s no longer enough to present the right information to the right person at the right time. Dialogue marketing is about engaging in a long-term, influence-generating conversation with your target audience. A great example of this is the Dynamic Physician Portal. The DPP is the essence of web2.0 marketing in that it is one-to-one, dynamic and interactive. They dynamic physician portal will be discussed at the end of this paper.

The Pharmaceutical Market lags behind in leveraging web2.0 marketing.
Statistics paint a positive picture for eMarketing….

90% of physicians have online access in the office
90% of these physicians use the internet weekly for research
91% Google’s reach among physicians searching online*
83% of physicians watch video clips online*
20% increase since 2004 in physicians using the internet to search for information on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices*

Source – Manhattan ResearchExcluding DTC, Pharmaceutical and Medical Device manufacturers have lagged behind other industries in leveraging technology to engage in web2.0 marketing.

Firstly, let’s define the tools. There are 6 common tools used together that make up standard web2.0 marketing technology. They are:
· Email
· Landing Pages/Search Engine Marketing (organic and paid)
· Online Events
· Dynamic Portals or Microsites
· Social Media
· Blogs
With many new technologies, discrete components develop in a silo, or in a best of breed mode. Following this period, which may be 2-5 years, platforms begin to emerge that offer an integrated approach, meaning all of the discrete components exist as sub-tools within a broader application. If you look at the history of CRM (customer relationship management) software, you see this exact trend. In the early 90’s there were contact management databases, customer service applications, call center applications….etc. Over time, platform solutions like Siebel, Oracle, SAP and now, in a SaaS mode, Salesforce.com, developed. The benefits derived from integrated solutions are that they organize all of the components around the customer or prospect.

This is the phase at which many pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers are operating at. Blogs, KOL forums, online events, email and portals are all being used at some level or another. Their effectiveness and efficiency of these discrete campaigns, however are impeded by the very fact it takes multiple agency partners and technologies to execute what are reasonably simple campaigns.

In eMarketing, the trend is exactly the same as it was for CRM 10 years ago. Email solutions came first, followed by online event solutions, landing page tools and CMS (content management systems). Again, these discrete components forced the customer to purchase and integrate (where possible) multiple applications to get their campaigns out the door.

Today, industry leading companies like Marketbright take the entire suite of web2.0 tools and offer them to users in an integrated platform. The technology is deployed in a Saas (Software as a Service) model so the impact to infrastructure and IT is almost zero. This type of solution supports the multichannel nature of eMarketing in a much more efficient and cost effective manner. Trying to determine ROI on a campaign that was executed with 4 different solutions is virtually impossible. The analogy of herding cats comes to mind.

Where does eDetailing fit?
An eDetail is a thing, an object to be placed in front of the doctor so that may digest it. It’s not unlike a direct mail piece. It is creative content, packed and delivered to the consumer with an action item. In the case of an eDetail, that action item is “complete me”.

Originally the strategy of offering Honorariums as a means of incenting the prescriber to complete the detail may have made sense. That practice has not been well received by the Federal government and it is likely not a viable long-term strategy. When linked to market-based research, they make perfect sense, but that value of the eDetail is diminished if it must be sold to a prescriber.

e-Detailing as a channel
Delivery and marketing of an eDetail must be considered in the context of a component of a multi-channel campaign. More specifically, companies must think of participation in the eDetail as a response to a multi-channel campaign.

A single interaction, such as participating in an electronic detail, is not, by itself, a successful campaign. Engaging the physician in a long-term dialogue is and an eDetail is one part of that overall dialogue. A more effective eDetail strategy involves the pre-marketing of the eDetail, analysis of how successful the eDetail is (measured in terms of physicians completing it) and the post-participation in follow up activities (nurture marketing campaigns).

When deployed as part of an eMarketing platform, eDetail become a vital component to multi-channel campaigns. Content that is initially expensive to create becomes a more cost-effective campaign activity as it is repurposed in branched and multichannel campaigns again and again (assuming the content is up-to-date and relevant)
Micro-details, or short flash presentations may be included in any follow up or trigger emails.

The dynamic physician portal
The DPP is a methodology that combines 3 core components of eMarketing
1. Dynamic Content – exposes content to prescribers based on their demographic profile and their prior interactions. Interactions may be prior prescribing behavior, campaign and activity responses and sales detail history
2. Personalization – dynamic content is further refined and presented to an individual with personalized email content, invitations to relevant events, integration with sales through on-site appointment requests….etc.
3. Nurture Marketing – future campaigns are driven solely by prior interactions. If then logic determines which prescriber gets enrolled in which campaigns and when
All content, events, information and details are presented to the prescriber in a Facebook-style portal. Advanced social media components take this a step further and allow prescribers, KOL’s and sales personnel to interact in a dedicated site or portal.
This type of advanced nurture marketing takes eMarketing to the next level by truly engaging in a digital dialogue. This dialogue is a true influence generating, high-value relationship and is comparatively easy to set up and maintain with an eMarketing platform solution like Marketbright.

About Marketbright
Marketbright provides an on-demand marketing automation solution which allows companies to implement self-service campaign execution and demand generation, automate lead scoring and nurturing, and to gain visibility into closed-loop campaign-to-cash metrics via real-time dashboards. The integrated marketing platform results in a full 360-degree view of your customer’s interactions, and this information is used to route only valuable, qualified leads into your sales CRM. Marketbright’s customers include a who’s who in advanced eMarketing. Marketbright is headquartered in San Bruno, CA with offices in Philadelphia.

Physician Relationships with Pharma and Med Devices being made public

Article in Philadelphia Inquirer today -discussed how UPenn health system will start a website that posts which physicians receive reimbursement from which mfg's. Other prestigious institutions have either gone ahead with similar sites or are planning on it.

Continuing publicity in this area combined with federal oversight and FAW investigations will further impede traditional influence marketing by the device and pharma mfgs.

Companies need to take a hard look at moving their marketing dollars and efforts to eMarketing initiatives, particulary eDetailing, physician nurture marketing and portals.

eMarketing Webinar a huge draw

I presented the first installation of the new eDetailing in a web2.0 world this past month. We covered a wide range of topics including the discussions of the current challenges facing pharmaceutical companies and traditional detailing efforts. We explored solutions to these problems; in particular how eMarketing tools such as email, search, social media and portals can combine in dynamic, multi-channel eMarketing campagns designed to draw physicians into an ongoing dialogue that generates true interest and impacts prescribing behavior.

My white paper is completed and will be published next week. Here is an excerpt from the unpublished version:

The Future of eDetailing
Abstract

Statistics paint a grim picture for traditional detailing….

74% of traditional detail calls last less than 2 minutes
43% of reps never get past the receptionist
60% of physicians provider barriers to access to reps – or will not see them at all


eMarketing campaigns are a valuable tool in the Pharmaceutical Marketer’s box. They provide a supplemental channel to direct sales/traditional details. Traditional detailing is under siege from regulation and an environment in which Physicians are less and less willing to spend face-time with pharmaceutical reps.

The challenge in 2009 and beyond is to leverage eDetailing in the context of a more comprehensive eMarketing strategy. As more and more physicians turn to the web as a primary research tool, Pharmaceutical companies must position themselves to engage in long-term, influence-generating dialogues with practitioners in an online environment

This valuable white paper explores the basic concepts of eMarketing and web2.0 technology. It further details how eDetailing programs must be wrapped into a comprehensive e-marketing strategy.

This paper will further explore the role of the Pharmaceutical Sales rep in this online environment and how, if properly deployed, an eMarketing initiative can assist reps with gaining valuable face time with practitioners.

More to come - check back soon....

The future of eDetailing is in the details

Having spent many years on the consumer b2b marketing side, in various healthcare and database marketing/fulfillment capacities, I was always interested in learning about b2b Marketing. I have dug in and begun to research and deveop solutions to support B2B Pharmaceutical Marketing efforts. The key to this was to understand the notion of eDetailing. This Blog is the result of hundred's of hours of research, discussion with peers and experience in what is now generically termed the eMarketing Space. or Web 2.0 marketing.

Perhaps it's because my father labored for 25 years as a Pharmaceutical rep and my first experience with a traditional Detail Call was at about age 5 - tagging along with my father to Lankenau hospital. Every physician seemed to know who he was. They were happy to see him and they spent time with him.

My how times have changed.

Today, the odds of the average Pharma rep getting more than 2 minutes with a physician are slim to none. Most people who would actually read this blog are intimately familiar with the grim statistics of traditional detail calls.

eDetailing was meant to either replace, supplement or support traditional detailing efforts. Unfortunately, what I now term eDetailing v1.0 has been as difficult to pin down in terms of actually influencing prescriber behavior as the controversial use of mass DTC (Direct to Consumer {more on that shortly}) to drive scripts.

The fundamental problems with EDv1.0 are as follows.

• It has a very high production value that can become obsolete quickly based on changes driven by adverse events, new research or FDA labeling changes.
• It is linear and assumes a practitioner will behave in a linear fashion.
• Many have actually resorted to paying prescribers with honorariums for participating....excuse me....but find me another industry that pays it's audience to participate in marketing....and I would like to be part of that audience.

So the pharmaceutical industry has come at the problem of behavioral modification of prescribers from several angles. Attack on multiple fronts. Traditional detailing, sampling, e-Detailing (EDv1.0) and DTC. ROI has been measured based on data provided by companies such as IMS Health.

A recent article in the USA today discussed the research study done by Harvard which brought into question the impact DTC has on prescriber behavior. "Two recent reports say drug-makers cut Rx ad spending in the first six months of this year. TNS Media Intelligence puts the drop at 3.9% to $2.4 billion. Rival ad tracker Nielsen Monitor-Plus calculates the decline at 4.8% to $2.7 billion."

I was involved in OTC Sample marketing back in the 90's and was always suspect of the actual value in ROI DTC would provide. Mass media is difficult to pin down outside of spikes in product sales outside of couponing when it comes to closed loop ROI analysis. I've always viewed mass media to be the domain of the brand marketeer.....not the direct marketeer.

So where does all of this leave EDv1.0?

Pharmaceutical and Med Device MFG's I've spoken to this year all believe in eMarketing. They just haven't fully gotten thier arms around how to use it effectively.

So what's in store for EDv2.0?

As companies shift budget dollars from Mass DTC, I believe you will see a new wave of eMarketing targeted at the prescriber using the tools and tactics that have been battled tested for years by the Tech Industry.

Statistics are bearing out from numerous credible research firms that physicians actually like email...they like the Internet for research? and they like blogs and social networks just like the rest of the web2.0 world...again...seen initially in the always early-adopting tech sector.

Think of a physician coming out of med school today and completing residency. They have "grown up" using the internet as part of their education.

How we capitalize on the fantastic technology available, the next generation of web-savvy prescribers and the new realities of economics and regulation in the industry will be explored in detail in this blog.

Stay tuned.....

USA TODAY ARTICLE
http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2008-10-15-media-advertising-spending-drug_N.htm