In the last couple of years, the trend for the pharmaceutical industry DTC (Direct to Consumer) marketing investments has undergone major changes.
Some years ago, traditional media represented the main communication channels, nowadays, the development of new media, the continuous challenges of the market due also to stricter government regulations and the not always positive public perception of drug marketing have brought pharmaceutical companies to change their marketing strategies. Preferring new communication channels to dialogue with their customers.
A study performed by Cegedim Dendrite, early in 2008, underlined the trends of DTC (Direct to Consumer) investments by leading pharmaceutical companies and in particular the importance that marketing budget planning is going to have on online channels.
After various years characterized by a growing trend in DTC investments, we are now witnessing a market stall, where investments have plateaued compared to previous years. The Cegedim Dendrite study underlines how, among the reasons revealed by pharmaceutical industry managers as the cause for this tendency are, the minimal traceability of the efficacy of communication operations used up to now, government regulations putting stricter rules and the negative perception by consumers.
These may also be the reasons leading pharmaceutical industry marketing managers are moving investments, historically devoted to traditional media, towards online promotion activities. The need to plan investments in a more rational and measurable way is certainly one of the main reasons of this trend. The ease in measuring the Return On Investment, which is a characteristic of online promotion channels, together with the great interactivity of these tools, allows pharmaceutical companies to keep a more direct contact with their users, makes investments in ads on TV or radio less efficient.
The following diagram shows in fact pharmaceutical industry investment trends indicating the budget shifts among the various means of communication used by marketing managers.
The decrease in investments in the traditional media (TV, radio) in favour of the tools allowing a greater interactivity is evident.
In particular, the diagram underlines how the realization of websites is one of the most effective activities one should invest in for the future. A website, in fact, is more and more perceived as a meeting place with one’s own customers, a channel to inform but, at the same time, to promote one’s own brand. The second main activity on which investments are going to increase in near future is search engine marketing . Visibility in search engines, as other researches have shown (Icrossing, How America searches health and Wellness jan.08), represent the access door for users searching online information on health and consequently are the main tools capable to keep in contact the pharmaceutical industry and the online potential customer.
It is evident, then, that now the most important need in this field is the will to make investments which are mainly measurable and effective. The lack of tracking tools, data and methodologies capable to precisely evaluate the return of investments made, typical of more traditional means, has contributed to the stall phase in which industry is now. The planning of strategic online marketing activities and a greater need to develop relationships with customers (loyalty) are the needs that pharmaceutical marketing professionals perceive to be most urgent and important. Even if today the market is not completely ready for these changes, in the very near future the net is certainly going to play a more important role in this field, representing an opportunity for development and imposing new strategic choices in pharmaceutical industry communication.
