Category: Omnichannel communication

New technologies influence the majority sides of the healthcare industry, from how the treatment is provided to the time and place where patient’s interactions are carried out. Past are days of frequent clinical visits and phone-only support using legacy technologies.

On the contrary, customers anticipate HCP to implement digital patient adherence strategies to fit both expanding patient preferences and increasing trust in mobile platforms. HealthTech magazine research shows us the COVID-19 circumstances made patients use mob devices much more frequently to communicate with medical professionals. For instance,

Mckinsey report uncovered that 80% of Med Tech companies dislocated some of their marketing costs (in some occasions more than 20%) to digital channels. It’s no wonder ⅔ of Med Tech companies anticipate digital channels to answer with more than 20% of their profit by 2025.

By questioning themselves on how to improve adherence to medication, many HCPs modernized communications by using omnichannel technologies. It has become a primary case for healthcare leaders to comply with preferences of patients, engagement strategies, and perfect customer experience.

What is meant by improving patient adherence? We are going to reveal this further below.

What is Patient Adherence?

Patient adherence characterizes a grade to what patients properly stick to primary care advice. It is generally all about curing or drug compliance, but it might also relate to other contexts, such as medical device use, self-care, taking medications, or therapy proceedings. Both parties: the patients and HCP, stick to compliance. Meanwhile, a friendly physician-patient relationship is also critical in enhancing adherence. Access to treatment plays a central role in adherence, whereby longer wait time to access medication contributes to greater job no-shows. The cost of prescription care also plays an important role. Compliance can be mixed up with concordance when patients and physicians decide together about taking their medications and treatment plan.

Globally, non-compliance is a primary barrier to adequate health care.

In 2021 World Health Organization indicated that only 50% of patients with chronic illnesses residing in developed countries stick to care advice with notably low adherence to therapy proceedings for diabetes, hypertension, and asthma.

The main obstacles to compliance include the involvement of contemporary medication regimes, poor health literacy and not comprehending care advantages, the appearance of unpredicted “side effects”, low care satisfaction, the price of the drug, and insufficient connection between patients and physicians. Attention to perfect compliance has involved:

• simplifying medication packaging;
• sending effective care reminders;
• improving patients literacy;
• limiting medications prescribed synchronously.

Researches show a wide variety in terms of the characteristics and effects of interventions to improve medication adherence and help patients. However, It is still obscure how to sequentially improve medical adherence to cause clinically significant results.

Barriers to Medication Adherence

Unluckily, there are several barriers to reaching medication adherence which all cause alerting results and statistics spoken in the previous paragraph.

Here are 3 of the most extraordinary factors:

•  poor health literacy
  

  The Center for Health Care Strategies unravels that about 36% of adults in the US have poor literacy, explained as the grade to which persons can acquire, process, and comprehend basic info and services required to decide on proper care.

  Little health literacy causes medication non-adherence (in addition to some other wellness and financial factors). Patients cannot seize critical concepts: how to fulfill medication, when, and how much to take prescribed pharmacy. Attaining and sustaining adherence becomes too demanding, if not possible.

• side effectsWhen patients experience adverse side effects from medications, they are more likely to stop taking the drugs or attempt to self-adjust their regimen to offset the effects. Many different side effects can contribute to non-adherence. A survey presented by Health Dialog found that weight gain, nausea/indigestion, dizziness/fatigue, and skin irritation were examples of such adverse side effects.
• polypharmacyPatients who take at least five drugs commonly referred to as polypharmacy, face many problems directly related to many prescriptions. These include a complicated dosing schedule, confusion in instructions, numerous side effects, and high costs.

The challenges and barriers to medication lead to a loss of brand loyalty among the patients who feel like the X brand has failed to meet their expectations. The reason behind poor medication adherence strategies starts with simple forgetfulness. However, in most cases, the gaps in day-to-day interaction between patients and pharma brands are to blame.

You can avoid all those barriers and leverage patient care to a new level of excellence if you implement a proper omnichannel marketing strategy for adherence. Let’s dive into the topic below.

Strategies to Improve Patients Adherence to Medication

The modern approach is not about medication sales. It revolves around the customization of disease management and helping patients. The statistic is relatively straightforward,

84% of all customers say it is essential for companies to treat them as a person, not a number, to win their business.

That’s why pharma brands are going after omnichannel experiences meant to express genuine concern for patients’ health and engage them in the healthcare journey across multiple channels. Omnichannel empowers patient-centricity driven by productive engagement tools and opens new ways to improve medication adherence.

The omnichannel journey starts with identifying pain points to map the patient journey and define the engagement strategy that says, “we root for your success”. It is crucial because

61% percent of customers say a commitment to their success or satisfaction strengthens their loyalty.

The optimal channel mix supports your message and provides value measured by good treatment outcomes based on overall satisfaction of patients.

In summary, omnichannel stimulates interaction where one channel complements the other, thereby improving patient outcomes and provider performance.

How Omnichannel Enhances Patients Adherence?

Our team of experts has been engaged in developing a full-fledged customer journey for patients suffering from chronic diseases. The process consisted of several necessary steps. Regarding an adherence program, it is worth considering all possible scenarios of patients’ behavior. As far as early identification of patient needs leads to a more customized patient experience, segmentation was among the first steps to take. It gave us a profound understanding of patients’ needs, medication regimens, data about their behavioral trends, and barriers preventing them from timely medication.

The team has chosen an optimal mix of significant and additional communication channels for always-relevant engagement. Integration of those channels has paved the way for personalized interaction providing interconnection with the content transmitted between them. As a result, patients enjoyed timely and targeted delivery of individualized content regarding prescribed medicine through preferred channels.

Based on all the steps, we developed a deliberate architecture integrating all channels into an omnichannel approach and activating the customer journey chain built on various scenarios of patient behavior.

Factors such as level of commitment and motivational triggers were taken into account to dose patient support wisely.

As a result,

the communication program increased the adherence of patients with heart disease by 2.8 months. The adherence of patients with diabetes increased by 4.1 months.

Medication Adherence Solutions

Patient-centricity provides a degree of empathy and management to close gaps in day-to-day communication between patients and HCPs. It helps to achieve the best possible results and lower healthcare costs for both parties. The introduction of an omnichannel approach toward modern medical management is vital, and its role in daily patient care and regimens cannot wait.

To learn more about the true nature of the omnichannel approach to designing holistic communication with the patient, download a free copy of our medication adherence patient case study.

Many industries, from groceries to cosmetics or entertainment are currently on their way to omnichannel. Pharma rushes to keep pace with customer expectations and introduces omnichannel tactics into campaigns. However, compared to other industries, pharma is rather slow in mastering omnichannel. So far, almost exclusively large pharmaceuticals are managed to provide omnichannel experiences to their customers. Let’s compare the experience of using omnichannel tactics in pharma and other industries and try to figure out what is already successfully works, and what else could be adopted.

5 Brands Where Omnichannel is Thriving

1. The real magic of ‘My Disney Experience’ app

Disney is currently one of the leaders in the omnichannel promotion. Their own ‘My Disney Experience’ app is set up so you could plan every detail of your trip to Disney World. Customers start their journey on moble-responsive Disney website where they can purchase tickets to a theme park and movie theater, and many more. From the moment of order, visitors can feel the real magic of this application allowing them to track their route on the GPS map, search for the nearest restaurants or attractions, track wait times, and many more. The developed technologies allow visitors to save time and effort because the vacation on such a huge territory can be exhausting even in the magical kingdom (especially if you are with kids).

Pharma’s response

Disney obviously knows its audience very well. To achieve a similar effect, Pharma mapping patients’ journeys to lavish them with always relevant and targeted content in a format HCPs want to receive it and precisely through the channels they prefer. In theory, there could also be an application with a doctor’s personal account, where they can order a visit from a medical representative, check information on drugs, publications, company news, self-detailing, and much more.

Just like Disney, pharma could also create equally convenient applications that allow, in a similar way, for example, to follow the course of medications by patients with chronic diseases who have been adhering to therapy for a long time.

2. Sephora as a brilliant example of in-app purchases

Sephora is a top cosmetics retailer and omnichannel master that is blurring the line between online and in-store shopping experiences. Sephora is a brilliant example of in-app purchases. Their customers can make purchases online, put items in Beauty Bag, and track orders in their accounts. Moreover, the cosmetics retailer went further by offering customers video tutorials, the ability to compile wish lists with their favorite products, and try on products using specially developed digital software. In-store visitors can access their Beauty Bag through the available tablets.

Pharma’s response

In a similar fashion, American pharmaceutical retailer CVS/pharmacy introduces more convenience to the pharmacy experience with the Ship & Save online program that allows shoppers to use their smartphones and tablets to order, change or cancel medications, refill prescriptions, access daily updates, and more. Moreover, smartphones doctors carry every day could help them to perform their clinical duties by collecting patients’ data, accessing electronic health records and medical information, and many more.

3. Topshop: high fashion going out

Topshop is an omnichannel groundbreaker among fashion retailers. Throughout fashion week in the UK, Topshop has shod trendy omnichannel shoes by introducing the concept of digital billboards. The Twitter-supported concept was designed to identify trends straight from the catwalk by generating hashtags on billboards. The target audience could easily find a trendy items directly from the catwalk, since each billboard was placed within a 10-minute walk of the physical store.

Pharma’s response

A similar concept has already been developed by one of the largest pharmaceutical companies when MYRA digital billboards were successfully used as part of their customer engagement strategy. Digital billboards can be further used in the pharmaceutical industry as an innovative communication channel to deliver dynamic advertising on the modern and technological canvas.

4. Starbucks: playing it for the personalization

Starbucks App is redefining the traditional customer loyalty program with smart technologies. Starbucks app generates personalized recommendations based on more than 400 other store-level criteria. Moreover, visitors enjoy a free reward card accessible via the phone, website, in-store, or on the app. Any changes to the card or your profile are updated across all channels in real-time.

Pharma’s response

Starbucks users enjoy an algorithm that generates personalized recommendations for them. What about a similar algorithm that could, for example, select specialized articles and materials for doctors?

Speaking of a similar flexible customer reward system operating in the pharma, there is American pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens with their own the Walgreens app allows users to earn points on purchases, store them in the app, and spend them as cash in a store or online.

5. Mercedes-Benz simplifies the customer’s life

German automaker Mercedes-Benz also uses omnichannel engagement initiatives in their campaigns. The Mercedes Me app and a comprehensive program called “My Mercedes, My Service” are integrating multiple platforms to simplify the customer’s life. Within the program, there are different ways of making appointments with brand experts, including via the Internet. Moreover, there are functions such as “Remote video chat” and “Pick up and drop” designed to solve problems related to vehicle maintenance and others.

Pharma’s response

Today pharma deploying various apps for clinical communications. These types of apps simplify communication between healthcare providers and facilitate quick responses with virtual functionalities, such as voice calling, video conferences, messaging, etc. Moreover, today they present a grand convenience for the doctor to order a remote detailing or self-detailing session with a medical representative.

Omnichannel came to pharma from other industries, so pharma is now in a unique position to adopt their best practices. Pharma is actively engaged in this process to unify the physicians’ experience through all channels. It means that all the information a doctor sees in an email, hears on a webinar or from a medical representative creates a harmonious palette.

Omnichannel technologies open a wide range of possibilities for the doctor’s practice and can increase their brand loyalty. A move towards omnichannel starts with understanding how to manage it correctly. Turn to our experts for assistance and guidance to build elaborate omnichannel architecture ones, and get the expected outcomes for your brand.

Marketers seem to have an affair with their customers… This type of relationship is also based on mutuality, in the sense that each of the parties must be aware of them. Marketers are also trying to spark customers’ interest with the messages to achieve interaction. In the end, all this is done in order to turn initial fascination with your brand into long-term relationships. Basically – win brand loyalty. In the process, we are trying to find an individual approach to customers and interact with them through those touchpoints that allow us to reach out to their hearts. In omnichannel marketing, we do the same thing with the help of multiple communication channels. Each of them has its own value that should not be underestimated – this is the foundation of omnichannel communication. Let’s see to efficiently use channels in your omnichannel strategy so that win HCPs’ hearts.

Top channels to reach out to the HCPs

Pharmaceutical brands maintain a dialogue with their target audience through various communication channels: emails, eDetailing, webinars, websites, landing pages, etc. Each audience is ready to perceive information through different channels according to their specific needs. You may ask which one is the most effective? The answer is to use a mix of channels that are best suited to the needs of your customers and stimulate value-based conversation. The starting point in the battle for HCPs’ hearts is to be confident in their channel preferences, and lavish them with valuable data and insights in a timely and accurate manner. Here are the top channels for HCPs engagement by the number of assets:

eDetailers

eDetailing improves the performance of medical representatives, provides relevance and high quality marketing materials. According to statistics, 46% of HCPs prefer the use of a tablet when receiving sales information from med rep. The combination of traditional and innovative methods of interaction with doctors is the key to creating high-quality long-term communication. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a need to engage HCPs at the distance. Remote detailing (online detailing sessions) has proven to be one of the best for maintaining long-distance relationships with the doctor. This solution provides a quick schedule of a call at the time that HCP finds convenient. In fact, 76% of HCPs said that remote detailing fits into their work schedule better. One of the strongest benefits of this communication channel is the interactivity, flexibility, and feedback that can be collected during the presentation from any device.

The right content sparks interest in your company. See how the team of experts in eDetailers development create content that engages HCPs.

Email

Emails assume their rightful place in omnichannel strategy as those that create a special bond with the doctor. 66% of HCPs want to be able to receive emails from life science reps. The advantage of email over messengers is that there is no pressure and no “seen” sign. Emails give HCPs freedom and exactly that much of the information they need at that very moment. In their turn, brand managers love them for a high level of personalization and clear insights about the preferences of the customer. Moreover, email easily gets along with other channels like eDetailing or remote detailing, complementing each other’s results perfectly.

Additional communication channels

Many brand managers are turning to omnichannel to combine channels in a way to ensure a consistent exchange of content and create highly personalized HCP experience across all specific devices, such as mobile, tablets, or laptops, etc. It’s no longer enough to build a dialogue with a customer through one communication channel, it is recommended to use combine a few of them. Studies have shown that using 3+ channels for communication improves your engagement performance. For comparison, using three or more channels in an automation workflow earned an 18.96% engagement rate, while single-channel earned a just 5.4% engagement rate.

To stimulate a frank and constructive dialogue between you and the HCP, you need to know the capabilities of each channel to understand the time it should be used during the customer journey. Don’t forget, the more channels, the more options HCPs have. Accordingly, brand managers also have more options to strengthen relationships with HCPs.

Messengers

Omnichannel and messaging platforms are both highly scalable which makes them a perfect fit for each other. Once, messengers replaced the good old SMS and became a primary form of communication. You can benefit from the use of applications such as WhatsApp, Viber, and Telegram since your users don’t have to download any additional applications. Moreover, no training on working with this application is needed, because many HCPs are probably using them for personal reasons, and are aware of their functionality. Messengers allow you to create message templates that perfectly reflect your brand. This ensures consistent customer interactions, saves time, and helps improve customer service.

WhatsApp has a strong position all over the world. This application is ideal for many businesses. Marketers use WhatsApp for customer care (appointment scheduling, instant communication) and notifications (reminders, follow-ups). The functionality of WhatsApp allows you to distribute text, pictures, message templates, images, documents, and audio. Moreover, WhatsApp provides active and clear opt-in messaging, and any channel can be used to start the opt-in procedure. WhatsApp will routinely check a business opt-in flows and monitor the quality signals in WhatsApp Account.

Viber makes it possible to synchronize all messages on all devices. Moreover, there are features to add a call to action button in your marketing message with a link to redirect the customer to another website.

Facebook Messenger is an instant messaging app. It provides a high level of personalization. The great thing about this app is a chatbot that allows you to minimize the time employee spent on messaging. Chatbots are programmed to respond to customer requests instantly. Besides, your platform can transfer all negative comments from social networks to private messages. This means that companies can analyze the client’s needs and inquiries thereby immediately improving their user experience. The platform is reliable and that’s why so many people choose Facebook Messenger for personal reasons and know how it works.

Telegram allows brands to communicate with their target audience using text messages, photos, location information, etc. HCP can interact directly with your brand by asking questions in real-time. Since Telegram works in the cloud, the application can be used on all your smartphones, tablets, and computers at the same time. Your messages are synchronized on all your devices, which makes it easier to keep on track of the conversation moving from one device to another.

Webinars

Even though this channel is a little bit underestimated in the pharma industry, it has shown its full efficiency potential during the pandemic. Webinars have proven to be a powerful channel in an omnichannel engagement strategy. The main feature of live webinars is interactivity: participants can discuss, ask questions, send, and receive information in real-time. Regular webinars engage HCP and improve brand performance.

This channel works perfectly in conjunction with email. Email remains the most effective channel to invite your target audience. Along with a reminder, we can also give some useful content (for example, as a teaser). Also a good idea is to use the functionality of adding events to the calendar in the email and/or on the registration page (Google, Apple, Outlook)
After the webinar, the success can also be consolidated with surveys + webinar recording (video on demand). The survey can collect topics and ideas for future events.

Mobile-push & web-push

Mobile-push notifications are sent via a mobile application that is installed on the user’s device and via a specific browser in which the user agreed to receive them. It can be a browser installed on a desktop or mobile device (shows even if it is closed and the device is not locked). 50.42%  of respondents said that push notifications are useful if they can choose to opt-in to websites or apps of their choice.
After a user subscribes to push notifications, a website can send them alerts. Subscription occurs with a visitor’s consent in one click in the service browser window.

When used properly, this channel can bring a ton of benefits to your campaign, such as low costs, quick preparation of the content (sometimes even a Content Hub is not needed), a strong focus on CTA and clicks, instant delivery, and many others. However, this channel has its drawbacks. One of the main is that the lifetime of one subscription token is relatively short (on average, up to 60 days, it is reset when the browser is updated and cleaned).

Digital Channels Synergy at the Heart of Omnichannel Excellence

Brands are looking for coherent and holistic interactions with customers. Communication channel is a powerful tool for doctors’ engagement. However, simply adding these communication channels without connecting them will not bring the expected outcomes for your company. The term ‘omnichannel’ implies the practice of combining channels (website, emails, social, apps, remote calls, ads, etc.) into an integrated system in which one channel leads to another. Digital channels synergy will make your every HCP interaction highly personalized and always relevant.
Today, many brands have already implemented a multichannel approach, which gives certain advantages over traditional interaction through one channel. However, only a few have known omnichannel excellence and understood the difference between these two approaches. Omnichannel is a completely new level of personalization providing interconnection with the information transmitted between them. In omnichannel, each channel is actually a bridge connecting your brand and the doctor in a holistic dialogue.

Think about using additional communication channels and tie them up into a single omnichannel system. Our team of omnichannel experts can assist you at every stage of building an omnichannel strategy, from selecting the right tools to the full integration of all communication channels.

Over the years, businesses faced a transition from one channel to multichannel, and now omnichannel. Today, this is what everyone is striving for. Earlier in this blog, we covered many aspects of omnichannel communication, from the difference between multichannel and omnichannel to why omnichannel is the must-step toward digital excellence for Pharma. It’s time to identify the best omnichannel marketing tools and services to connect with your customers. These tools will pave your customers’ journey from the beginning to the point of complete satisfaction with your brand experience.

What are Omnichannel Tools?

Omnichannel marketing is all about connecting with a customer on different levels across multiple channels, and omnichannel tools are what can help companies achieve it. The goal of omnichannel marketing is to create comfortable communication between the brand and the client, regardless of the chosen platform. Thanks to the omnichannel approach, it becomes possible to create a personalized connection with a customer. And the final touch in this process is the best omnichannel tools that make it possible to deliver customized messages, interact with clients, and drive engagement.

Why do Life Sciences Companies Strive for Omnichannel?

Over the pharmaceutical business and beyond, major brands have already recognized the importance of moving to an omnichannel approach. Some are already starting to integrate it into their marketing strategy. So, what is the essence? In the end, it will always boil down to the consumers and their experience. The modern customer, be it a doctor or anyone else, no longer interacts with the brand through one platform. With the comprehensive development of technology and the opening of numerous digital channels, customers now have a dialogue with brands via different channels (websites, emails, social, apps, remote calls, ads, etc.). One might wonder, the more channels of communication you have, the more likely your message will be picked up. However, the brand’s task is to make sure that the flow of information coming from different channels does not turn your communication strategy into a total mess.

It’s as if your customer communication strategy were an overture performed by an entire orchestra. Various communication channels would play the role of musical instruments. If each instrument plays its part coherently, you have a chance to get harmony in the output.

Omnichannel builds upon the good old multichannel approach but with one extensive modification. In multichannel, all channels are available for the customer but not connected, whereas in omnichannel, all channels are interconnected, thereby making the customer experience holistic.

The Tools and Software to Strike up an Omnichannel Marketing Campaign

If you’re just about to jazz up the dialogue with your customers and implement omnichannel, you have to rely on robust tools and services whose coordinated actions can improve all aspects of your marketing efforts. Having a good set of those in your case, you will be able to manage individual campaigns, cross-channel campaigns, and personalized customer journeys based on those campaigns.

1. Marketing Automation Tools

A marketing automation system is the bandmaster of your strategy, able to analyze lead behavior and measure overall campaign performance. A well-thought-out solution collects a wide range of data from multiple sources and helps you segment your audience smartly. This includes several categories of functionality: email, social media, web marketing, and analytics. Such omnichannel marketing software can add that personal touch to your campaign and make it more focused. It’s an empath with a fine appreciation of your customers’ behavior, an indispensable instrument providing the necessary basis for the development, and colorizing of your omnichannel dialogue with the customer.

If marketing automation software is the brain, the CRM is the heart allowing you to record, in detail, each customer’s journey. Omnichannel customer interaction tools help you to view channel information in real-time and represent a center for their response. In fact, a CRM system provides individuality and empathy, which is so important to a modern client who is used to special treatment.

3. Content Marketing Platform

Comparable to a string bow, content is your tool to masterly hit the string sections sensitive to your clients’ needs. It’s a powerful enabler of consistent brand messaging. Moreover, content is your brand’s voice, true identity, and mission. The omnichannel strategy operates smoothly only when the content is developed correctly. However, there’s a lot to handle regarding the development of content that would fit any communication channel. That’s why a choice of a content authoring solution plays such an important role in omnichannel pharma marketing.

Regarding this, eWizard omnichannel marketing platform offers Modular Content as a solution. This content, existing beyond devices, channels, and campaigns, enables marketers to create content once and publish to many systems. It is not just a brave new marketing trend; this promises to be the ultimate future of content.

Download our eBook to have a comprehensive picture of Modular Content and its capacities in omnichannel pharma marketing.

4. Social Media Omnichannel Tools

Social media management platforms are a crucial component of omnichannel messaging tools for managing multiple social profiles in one place. This is the tool to ensure uninterrupted communication with the audience, consistent messaging, publication planning, and analytics tracking on different platforms. Moreover, they help you transform your content every time so that it fits into every social network. By using omnichannel marketing management tools, you can efficiently create targeted messaging and publish it.

5. SEO Tools

Tune up the sharp hearing needed to get more traffic to your site and a higher ranking in search results. SEO tools will give you this and many other great features, from SEO site audit to competition analysis and ranking tracking.

Just as the heart cannot function without the brain and vice versa, all these social selling omnichannel tools will not bring the expected outcome without their integrated efforts. The whole point is not just to have them, but to harmonize their work.

6. Omnichannel Customer Support Tools

Omnichannel support tools are designed to not only assist companies with providing consistent messaging and high-quality customer service but also ensure reliable and timely support. There are different ways to offer customer retention, the best ones being live chats, chatbots, customer support integrations for social media management platforms, and messaging apps.

7. E-commerce Platforms and Marketplace Integrations

Omnichannel sales tools assist businesses in creating their presence online and making it stronger by providing seamless customer experiences and opportunities for growth. Moreover, such platforms often offer integrations that make many processes easier, such as order fulfillment or inventory management, while also enabling a unified shopping experience. Some of the best omnichannel sales tools are Shopify, Magento, and Channel Advisor. You can also use omnichannel networking tools to build customer relationships and centralize communication with your clients. Some great examples are Genesys and Zendesk.

The final chord

At this stage, omnichannel is a rather young kind of art, and companies are still figuring out how to manage it correctly. If you master this craft and build elaborate omnichannel architecture, you will be able to expand it gradually and get the expected outcomes for your brand. If you are already armed with many of the listed omnichannel marketing tools – make them strike up. Turn to our experts for insights and guidance to have a broad picture of all omnichannel subtleties.