How omnichannel marketing appeals to medical buyers

It's tempting to partition physicians in a silo of buyers separate from other types of consumers -however, there is one clear similarity: physicians read widely and in many channels.

As with the average consumer, physicians consume content on mobile devices and PCs as well as in printed materials. They also communicate within several channels, including social media, email, voice and text.

Marketers who invest in one or two marketing channels will inevitably miss out on physician readers who prefer another channel or medium. To combat this issue, the retail industry developed omnichannel strategies capable of reaching consumers wherever they happen to be. Similar strategies have proven effective in B2B marketing campaigns. Pharma marketers who want to reach the largest possible segment of their target audience cannot afford to ignore any channel.

How does omnichannel support pharma marketing?

Omnichannel strategies place a high priority on not only extending the reach of a campaign, but also on adding value for buyers. Omnichannel is a two-way street, providing buyers with multiple avenues of communication, giving them the ability to reach vendors in a preferred manner.

Digital commerce expert and Forbes contributor Brian Walker explained that B2B buyers benefit from omnichannel in a number of ways, including the ability to track their total spend with extreme transparency. According to Walker, 68 percent of buyers believe it is very important to be able to view all of their purchasing activity, account history and analytics across every channel.

Furthermore, omnichannel strategies provide buyers with tailored, personalized experiences. For instance, if a physician prefers to learn about new therapies in a print journal and contact sales reps over the phone, he or she should be able to do so. Meanwhile, another physician may prefer to read digital advertisements and make contact via digital chat. An omnichannel strategy ensures every buyer has the best experience possible.

Omnichannel strategies create many opportunities for physicians to contact pharma reps.

Why is omnichannel important in 2019?

As media becomes more diverse and physicians have an increasingly large number of sources from which to consume content, marketers will not be able to avoid omnichannel. Doing so would be paramount to ignoring a potentially significant portion of a campaign's target audience.

Most pharma companies are already producing a significant volume of content. In fact, Accenture's State of Content for Life Sciences report found that 78 percent of pharma marketers and 95 percent of medical technology marketers are producing a moderate to enormous amount of digital content and assets. Moreover, 93 percent of pharma respondents said the volume of their digital content is much higher than it was just two years previously.

With such a large amount of content to leverage, distributing this volume of content will take more than a single channel. After all, if content only lives on the pharma company's website, a significant portion of the intended audience may never find it. Omnichannel strategies work to move this content outward, where it has a better chance of being consumed by the right buyers.

How Elsevier supports omnichannel marketers

Elsevier has been a trusted name among medical professionals since 1880. In addition to publishing over 2,500 peer-reviewed journals worldwide, Elsevier helps brands make an impact through a variety of channels, including expert-curated websites like PracticeUpdate, mobile apps and digital edition of journals.

Physicians seeking the latest medical news and research trust Elsevier. Pharma brands that advertise within these publications support a century of expert research as well as a thriving community of physicians and scientists.

To learn more about how your brand can leverage the multiple communication channels offered by Elsevier, speak with an expert consultant today.