Memo to pharma marketers: Adapt or die!
David Stern, executive VP at EMD Serono, on the upsides of educating patients through the Internet
By on Oct 5, 2010David Stern, executive VP at EMD Serono, on the upsides of educating patients through the Internet
The world of pharma is changing so rapidly that marketers who can't adapt in time will suffer, says David Stern, executive VP at EMD Serono.
They will need to be more aware of these changes and to think more carefully about how they deliver value-based messages to customers.
Stern cites data from the Edelman PR agency showing that the level of trust consumers have in the pharmaceutical sector has declined over recent years.
Similarly, the perception of how well pharmaceutical companies are serving their customers has fallen.
Interestingly, these declines seem to have started around 1997, when direct to consumer advertising was first allowed.
When you put your brand on a race car, how much are you doing to educate patients about your drug? asks Stern.
Image matters
He doesn't think patients relate to advertisers images of happy patients when they themselves have diseases that need to be treated.
The industrys image among many physicians is far more positive, too, though they appreciate the big advances in medical practice that have emanated from new medicines.
Managing these kinds of perceptions is among the biggest of todays challenges, according to Stern.
He points out, for example, that the American public misperceives facts about medicines.
A Harris poll showed that 60% of Americans believed drug costs were between 40% and 80% of total health care spending; the true figure is 10%.
We are doing a terrible job of managing the dialogue and of engaging patients and caregivers, Stern asserts.
In the debate about cutting costs, savings from the drugs component will be a drop in the ocean, he says. A far bigger issue is the ordering by physicians of unnecessary tests.
Follow the guru
In the context of achieving better patient and physician engagement, Stern recommends the ideas of marketing guru Seth Godin.
Godin advocates the need for interactive media, not simply static websites, and a stepwise strategy towards closing a sale.
The more information you give people, the more you will get from them, says Stern: So you have to give them good information.
This is a recurring theme for Stern, who is convinced the industry has been very poor at educating doctors.
He draws attention to the challenges facing primary care in the US, where physicians are facing tough financial constraints, meaning that practices are going to have to change. How are we going to adapt to these changes?
Stern sets out some key statistics on Web 2.0 usage that are helpful in this context.
Working with Web 2.0
For example, only 1% of site visitors create content; most of the rest are passive users. Only 9% edit or comment on content.
With the Web now such a major source of information on health, there is the opportunity to educate patients about why they are taking drugs that have been prescribed, bearing in mind that better information improves treatment adherence.
Patients also misunderstand risk, and the industry has not done well in educating them about the risks and benefits of drugs, a gap EMD Serono is working to fill by interacting with patient interest groups.
Working with patient advocacy groups
One result of this interaction is the development of a computerized device for delivering and tracking injections of growth hormone. The device enables far better patient engagement and compliance.
Another project, with HIV, involves a program of education about body weight awareness and healthy eating, working with patient advocacy groups.
For more on patient advocacy groups, see How patient advocacy groups can boost patient compliance. [https://www.reutersevents.com/pharma/patients/how-patient-advocacy-group...
In the fertility field, the company has engaged a specialist group of power bloggers, conducting a round table discussion with a leading KOL. The model is similar to conventional group discussions with physicians, but with bloggers who reach vast audiences.
Stern does not think e-marketing is a distinct field any more. Its all just marketing, he says.
But the Internet has changed the way marketing needs to be done. Pharma firms can't carry on doing things the same way because it seemed to work before, Stern says.
This article is adapted from a talk given by David Stern at 2009s eCommunications and Online Marketing USA conference. Click here for information on this years event.