Multichannel Healthcare Marketing - Putting It All Together To Reach HCPs Across Channels

Marketers in multiple verticals have been deploying multichannel marketing for over a decade. Reaching audiences across multiple digital and non-digital channels is commonplace today.

But the healthcare industry has lagged industries such as travel and hospitality, retail, and automotive due to the challenges from regulation and other influences. As far back as 2012, a study conducted by Forrester Research showed that 86 percent of respondents agreed that “successfully integrating multiple channels under a single integrated marketing strategy is critical to their long-term success.”

Today, two-thirds of US adults commonly switch between platforms and devices as they do research. Among those adults are physicians and other healthcare professionals (HCPs). Therefore, multichannel healthcare marketing is becoming critical for pharma and medical device brands in successfully reaching, informing, and engaging HCPs.

Benefits of Healthcare Multichannel Marketing

Healthcare marketers seeking to reach HCPs will find several advantages when they deploy campaigns across multiple channels.

Content creativity. A multichannel approach enables pharma and device brands to create seamless experiences as HCPs move through their customer journey. A well-executed multimedia campaign combining channels to deliver highly targeted, personalized content makes communications to HCPs more relevant and effective.

Access point flexibility. HCPs look to access information at different points in time in various ways. Multichannel marketing delivers content in the channel that best suits your audience’s needs at the time they are searching.

Data-driven focus. By syncing healthcare marketing channels, cross-channel data informs campaigns, resulting in fewer missed opportunities and lower wasted budget. Multichannel campaigns focus brand managers on measuring ROI across all channels, helping to uncover and leverage productive campaigns while optimizing or discontinuing poor performers.

Improved metrics. Multichannel campaigns pay off in many ways. Ninety-seven percent of marketing professionals have confirmed an increase in revenues using multiple integrated channels. Moreover, 90 percent of marketers report higher sales and profits using multichannel strategies.

Keys to Multichannel Healthcare Marketing Success

Using multiple channels for healthcare marketing does not guarantee success. However, there are some important steps in getting multichannel marketing right.

1. Know your HCP audience. Create campaigns that meet the expectations of physicians and other stakeholders by taking the time to understand their channel preferences and research behaviors.
2. Choose the right mix of marketing channels. Which channels are HCPs most active on? Where do they engage most often? Make sure your campaigns are being delivered through the best channels for their daily life.
3. Allocate resources wisely. Determine how to yield the highest return across all channels by pushing budget and talent appropriately.
4. Target messaging for specific channels. Avoid simply repeating messages over each channel. Create a multimedia mix that delivers messaging effectively for each channel but also ties the experience together.
5. Orchestrate campaigns. Bring your messaging together through varied touchpoints that roll up to seamless experience for HCPs.
6. Measure and react. Set key performance indicators for every channel. Then gather data from all channels and analyze results both independently for each channel and holistically for an entire campaign.

Final Thoughts on Healthcare Multichannel Marketing

Keep in mind that multichannel marketing should be viewed as a magnifier for your campaigns, not simply a means to gain additional eyeballs. The strength of marketing across channels is in your ability to maximize messaging in a seamless way.

Accordingly, channels should be managed in a connected manner. Simply adding channels without connecting them means you are working in siloes, where data isn’t shared and campaigns lack a consistent, holistic experience. Rather than a series of isolated silos, one channel should lead to the next and a person’s journey can be completed in a variety of ways.

Elsevier is a one-stop shop for your multi-channel marketing needs. We offer support with online, offline, email, social, and more! Contact an Elsevier specialist advertising representative to explore options to connect with HCPs globally.

Article Written by: Alex Brown