Pharma companies must look very carefully at their spending and ensure marketing dollars are being used effectively. This is increasingly important in the current environment, and, in practice, requires using the most robust data to make the most confident decisions. The process may include prioritizing media spend on specific channels, looking at insights beyond audience quality to understand performance, utilizing social media for patient enrollment, or running point of care (POC) analyses to ultimately improve spending efficiency.
IQVIA understands these considerations and has compiled a booklet of case studies that demonstrate how their inherent challenges can be overcome.
Case study: A smarter approach to prioritizing media spend
Media spending is one of the first areas where pharma companies make budget cuts. Too often, though, those cuts are made to an individual channel, such as television advertising, where the costs are always higher. While this might make sense from a total spend perspective, without a deep analysis it also leaves a gap in marketing that can quickly result in a decline of sales.
A more thoughtful approach is to evaluate overall channel performance over time. By analyzing performance from a historical, omnichannel view, pharma companies can pinpoint what has worked in the past, what is currently working, and which audiences are responding on which channels. The companies can then reallocate media dollars accordingly with more precision, which brings focus and orchestration to the overall media strategy and budget.
Case study: Comprehensive audience insights to improve engagement
Although audience quality is an invaluable part of any marketing analysis, it needs to be defined correctly and used alongside other metrics. Otherwise, marketers will observe inaccurate audience quality and engagement data, which could lead to suboptimal decision-making. By performing deeper digital analytics with privacy-safe granular data, marketers can thoroughly understand the overall quality, authenticity, and reachability of their audience. These insights can be used to redefine marketing tactics, and ultimately increase engagement and cost-efficiency.
Case study: Effective social media for patient enrollment
Patient compliance remains a challenge across healthcare. According to Credit Suisse1, around half of people with chronic conditions don't take their medications as prescribed, and a third of kidney transplant patients don't take their anti-transplant drugs. A 2016 report from Capgemini2 also estimated that non-compliance resulted in annual losses for the global pharmaceutical industry of $564 billion.
Patient-centric support programs are aiding patients in managing their conditions more effectively and helping them understand the importance of taking medications regularly. However, the challenge of getting patients to enroll in these programs, even prior to the pandemic, has remained constant.
Our case studies show that reaching out to patients through social media campaigns increases both total and channel enrollments. The benefits of this approach reach patients, providers, and pharma companies alike.
Case study: Improved spending efficiency from POC analysis
Using multiple vendors and tactics across different therapy areas or condition types can lead to major challenges. Without knowing the net reach of POC investment or overlap across physicians for numerous therapy areas, it's impossible to determine if the budget is being allocated in the most efficient way.
A single database of all affiliate physicians and their locations, classified by factors such as specialty, makes it much easier to identify overlap and effectively analyze the true number of physicians reached. Detailed POC analyses can provide unique insights that help marketers understand vendor performance and identify a budget that could be spent more efficiently.
Omnichannel best practices
In a cost-constrained environment exacerbated by pandemic conditions, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in pharma marketing are more critical than ever. Adopting a best practices omnichannel marketing framework can help. A holistic understanding of what physicians and patients want and need — and where they engage — paves the way for optimizing and personalizing marketing activities at levels that are essential for maximizing engagement today.
In order to reach new levels of understanding, expert support, powerful analytic solutions, and tailored strategies are key. To learn how IQVIA's Omnichannel Marketing team is helping minimize projected losses, boost patient engagement, and uncover unique insights, download the case studies.
References
1Credit Suisse. Increasing medication compliance can save money where it doesn't hurt. 2018. Retrieved September 2020 at https://www.credit-suisse.com/uk/en/articles/asset-management/increasing-medication-compliance-can-save-money-where-it-doesnt-hurt-201802.html
2Capgemini Consulting. Estimated Annual Pharmaceutical Revenue Loss Due to Medication Non-Adherence. 2016. Retrieved September 2020 at https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Estimated_Annual_Pharmaceutical_Revenue_Loss_Due_to_Medication_Non-Adherence.pdf