Doctor engagement has become a tricky field to navigate, which, with a little understanding of doctors’ pain points and needs, can be addressed with the use of technology.
Not only are doctors and HCPs short on time today but they are also looking for a lot more validated information on drugs, medical studies and success rates, with an end goal to deliver superior care to patients. Doctors are engaging with brands that offer valuable inputs and answers, not necessarily all of which can be provided by an MR during a sales call.
In this regard, e-detailing has made certain strides in improving engagement. With marketing automation you add exponential value to your e-detailing, ensuring you’re delivering on doctor expectations and increasing doctor engagement.
The first step to this approach would be to use virtual e-detailing - a process that allows your reps to present doctors with information and research digitally, without the need for an in-person meeting.
What is virtual e-detailing?
Virtual e-detailing allows you to schedule virtual meetings with doctors, taking them through all the required material seamlessly with virtual chat functionalities, as effectively as you would in person.
The Benefits of
Virtual e-Detailing
Marketing automation helps derive even more value from virtual e-detailing, by means of creating and tracking even more touchpoints.
What is marketing automation in healthcare?
Marketing automation is the usage of a software product to market to your TG across channels while automating a significant number of marketing tasks. Combined with e-detailing, it seamlessly merges marketing and sales so your reps are empowered to deliver significant value additions to doctors, maximise the number of interactions and derive long-term value from them.
The benefits of
marketing automation
Every call, e-detailing interaction and materials shared can be marked and tracked, giving you greater insight into each doctor’s level of engagement.
With the user data that the marketing automation platform is constantly crunching for you, you can identify interested doctors and re-engage them with webinars, landing pages, videos and email marketing. Disengaged doctors can be gently encouraged back into the loop.
Move beyond calls. Marketing automation allows you to configure emails and SMSes to be automatically sent to doctors at pre-determined touchpoints - say if, after a virtual e-detailing session with your rep, they can be emailed the detailed to a relevant webinar - thus keeping your brand top of mind.
Get real-time reports on doctors’ user behaviour across all platforms - e-detailing, landing page, events, etc. - so you can better plan your future interactions and spends.
Email & SMS marketing can be automated in bulk, saving hours of time and effort. Seemingly personalised communication ensures your brand is maintaining top-of-the-mind recall with doctors.
How this ties into your current doctor engagement
Your company may or may not be ready to move to a completely virtual form of e-detailing or sales meetings. In that case, virtual e-detailing & marketing automation could be planned around your MR’s face-to-face meeting, allowing him/her to drive greater value.
Theoretically, this could be your doctor interaction:
- You begin by sharing introductory collaterals with the doctor via virtual e-detailing and track how they’ve engaged with those, to be prepared before going in for a face-to-face meeting.
- Based on the success of the meeting, you could automate certain emails or SMSes to be sent to the doctor right away, leading them to a landing page built into the virtual e-detailing portal, customised with information of particular interest to them.
- The landing page can drive further interaction in multiple ways - by offering relevant presentations, research papers, webinars, etc. The automation platform would track the doctor’s engagement with all of these, giving you deep insights into his/her engagement level.
- These interactions can be supplemented by emails from your representative, consistently providing the doctor with informative resources that will help them make decisions and improve their quality of care, using your approved content and your products.
What you need to get started:
A solution that offers virtual e-detailing with a layer of marketing automation, seamlessly combining your sales and marketing to drive effectiveness.
An understanding of your doctors’ requirements that drives an effective plan of communication and interaction, designed to meet each doctor’s needs.
Extensive content-creation capabilities to constantly publish up-to-date, attractive communication that adds value to doctors.
- The Technology
- Strategy
- Creative capabilities
Combining e-detailing and marketing automation allows you to deliver cohesive brand experiences to doctors, in the right place (wherever they are) at the right time (whenever they want) using highly valuable, personalised information. The approach is designed to blend in with and add value to their every day, keeping your brand - and products - front and centre in their mind.
Get Started: To know how to increase doctor and patient engagement digitally, get in touch with our pharma marketing experts.
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Comments (49)
It's time for pharmaceutical companies to move with speed and put into place these marketing automation strategies. It's a good thing that it doesn't require a huge financial investment to get started.
Leave a ReplyMarketing automation has been used to a big level of success in other industries. I believe the same can happen in the healthcare industry.
Leave a ReplyI am surprised that it is only now that methods like e-detailing are picking up speed. I guess the pandemic has really changed a lot.
Leave a ReplyE-Detailing has its biggest advantage as time saving. The amount of time saved as opposed to traditional techniques is immense.
Leave a ReplyMarketing automation is kind of like a double edged sword. It can be beneficial or detrimental depending on how it is used.
Leave a ReplyAutomatic analytics for the doctors is a great step forward. It's something that the doctors will be very excited about once fully implemented.
Leave a ReplyI am impressed by the level of research you did for this write-up. It basically answers every question I might have had.
Leave a ReplyA better way to do this is to introduce the new systems alongside the old ones. That way the transition will be much smoother
Leave a ReplyYour chart on the benefits of automation is very descriptive. I have learnt a lot from it.
Leave a ReplyThe technology is what constrains the taking up of e-detailing. It requires a huge shift in how the doctors and customers operate.
Leave a ReplyE-Detailing is better in every way imaginable compared to the old way of doing things. The adoption may be slow but we will get there eventually
Leave a ReplyBest solution to increase doctor's engagement. What I am more concerned about is how are we going to track the e-detailing platform performance, what metrics to keep a check on? Is there any possible way to measure the product sales that can be attributed to e-detailing?
Leave a ReplyThis is inevitable!!!However, it is a slow process but hey may as well start now. One of the few perks that this pandemic has.
Leave a ReplyMarket automation allows you to provide nice brand experience to the doctors. This is a great approach.
Leave a ReplyWith all the proven benefits of marketing automation, I wonder why it has not been widely adopted yet. Pharma companies need to pick up the pace.
Leave a ReplyMeaningful interactions should be the cornerstone of all e-detailing. Once you get that right, everything else naturally falls into place.
Leave a ReplyIt takes a bit of financial investment to really kick off marketing automation. However, the potential returns can be so attractive!
Leave a ReplyThe plethora of benefits of marketing automation can't be overstated. It's a no-brainer that marketing automation is the future.
Leave a ReplyThe automatic analytics feature of e-detailing can help doctors a lot. They would have all the data analysis they need in an instant!
Leave a ReplyE-detailing coupled with marketing automation is a magical combination. When the two are employed we are bound to see some amazing positive changes in the industry.
Leave a ReplyAmong the biggest benefits of E-Detailing is the higher ROI. Everyone would love to get more returns for their investment!
Leave a ReplyE-detailing has so many advantages over the traditional way of doing things as you have so elaborately explained here. I am in total support of it.
Leave a ReplyI am disappointed that marketing automation has not yet been universally adopted. The potential benefits are too many!
Leave a ReplyDoctors nowadays are too busy and short on time. I can see how e-detailing can make them a lot more efficient.
Leave a ReplyE-detailing improves service delivery while cutting down the costs. It's something the entire industry should embrace.
Leave a ReplyI have to give it to technology. It has changed our lives for the better in ways I never even thought possible!
Leave a ReplyThis is a content one can't do with. Am enjoying this post each time a read through it.
Leave a ReplyThe requirements for this are a bit of a challenge especially these days. I do hope that we get to this point once the virus is over. It is just hard to move right now.
Leave a ReplyAgreed! I would like to know, do doctors participating in Virtual e-detailing receive better understanding of the mechanism of therapeutic action of specific medicine and its side effects, compared to standard visits?
Leave a ReplyAutomation in marketing enables you to give great brand experiences to the doctors. The approach is made to mix with and add value.
Leave a ReplyI love visiting your blog because of its cool and good contents I always find in it. But the e-detiling cannot be helpful for operation cases I think. The disadvantages of this platform should please be looked into to the minimal.
Leave a ReplyI am all for this but the tech must be there for everyone to enjoy it. A hindrance to automation is at times an area cannot be reach. I hope that issue gets solve as in this crisis. Cyberspace is vital more than ever.
Leave a ReplyLet us use the internet for good. This is the perfect time to utilize the power of modern era.
Leave a ReplyThis will be a good help in the new normal. A lot of people will surely benefit from this.
Leave a ReplyVirtual e-detailing is very timely, specially with the pandemic we have. Thanks for the good info.
Leave a ReplyThis is a good innovation. In Healthcare time is of the essence so automation will fast track it heavily. That seconds save can save a life.
Leave a ReplyYou need to blend e-detailing along with marketing automation. This will give you a complete brand experience.
Leave a ReplyI have been following your blogs for sometimes now, they always come with first hand information. The world is getting virtual gradually where everyone dime thing will be electronic. E-detailing and marketing automation must be achieved.
Leave a ReplyIt is an era of e-everything. It is efficient to do things via online. You get to save a lot of time and get your services done on time.
Leave a ReplyThis isometing new. Does everyone know about this? It's an interesting forum though to all medical practitioners out here.
Leave a ReplyI sure hope this method will not just help the company but also those people who dearly need good services.
Leave a ReplyInformative blog! Is there any specific guidelines for a doctor that needs to be followed?
Leave a ReplyNice, just one question - Are doctor's contacts or database needed for this?
Leave a ReplyMarketing automation enables you to provide the best brand experience to the medical staff. It's valuable and provides detailed information.
Leave a ReplyGreat solution! This will be an interactive and new way of doctor's engagement.
Leave a ReplyQuality Content! Very informative and to the point. I have one question regarding doctor engagement, apart from e-detailing and marketing automation, are there any specific rules for increasing doctor engagement online?
Leave a ReplyInteresting. Quick question: How do you think the normal e-detailing solutions has been impacted due to the COVID unrest?
Leave a ReplyThe blog is quite informative. I would like to know, like are there any major setbacks of virtual e-detailing that would impact the engagement?
Leave a ReplyBlog itself is very explanatory, educating the reader about marketing automation & e-detailing concept. Can you help me that what should be my approach towards the doctors in the first place so that I can engage them & meet their expectations?
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