Digital Marketing Communication Trends for Pharmaceutical Companies in 2019

How pharmaceutical marketing is going to change in 2019 and what developments are to be expected in the communication between healthcare professionals and patients? As 2019 has already started, new tech trends and breakthroughs are here to reshape the landscape for marketing.

Develop Multi-Channel Communication

Digital communication has taken over as the main communication channel and has evolved significantly since its appearance. Customers are becoming more and more in control of their digital experiences. Technologies are expected to adapt to their deepest concerns and provide options when they need them most.

According to surveys, over half of U.S. online shoppers already expect their healthcare customer experience to be as good as Amazon. Patients now expect not to only receive quality information but also be educated by healthcare professionals.

As a result, physicians are already placing the patient at the centre of their activity, therefore pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals should keep up with them. Internet-savvy physicians are no longer an emerging group — nearly all physicians are online for professional purposes at least on a weekly basis.

The usage of online resources via several channels will continue to increase significantly. Taking a smart multichannel approach will affect the interactions between healthcare professionals, patients and medical reps. The internet enables anyone to receive medical updates at any time from anywhere. As a result, here come more relevant digital solutions pharmaceutical companies can leverage — live videos, interactive detailing and e-sampling.

The Social Network Shift

Content marketing and social media have already become mandatory for pharmaceutical companies. Social platforms are an enabler for pharma companies in their relationships with potential consumers. Considering how social networks have evolved, pharma can reach very specific types of audiences throughout the world and deliver them targeted qualified content exactly when and where they most need it.

According to studies, since 2013, the average number of tweets by pharmaceutical companies has gone up five-fold. At the same time, biggest pharma companies have increased their Twitter followers by nearly 300%.

Keep in mind that patients can choose whatever platform they prefer to do their medical surveying. Unfortunately, people often trust what they read no matter whether it’s proven scientifically or not. Therefore, digital and social media platforms are ideally to be highly regulated. According to the current FDA regulations and multiple restrictions, pharma companies aren’t allowed to simply join a conversation.

Therefore, it’s interesting to observe how pharma companies are succeeding in developing their brand while complying with regulatory requirements. Having access to data and sufficient analytics, more and more companies will have an opportunity to provide added value to any type of audience.