Digitalization and the Basics in Pharma Marketing

Excerpt from HOP in the Mind by Prabhakar Shetty ,  www.bodysatva.com  

     

Philip Kotler emphasizes that Digital Marketing is to be integrated with Traditional Marketing and not try to replace it. Adopt and embrace digital technologies but remember that the ‘basics are forever’. It is the message that helps to sell the products, if it is received and processed by the customer. Digital is an additional medium to deliver the message and HOP in the Mind. Interaction and persuasion can happen only in personal interviews. (p 205)

Customers will continue to;

a. Part with their hard‐earned money for “solutions to problems” or “good feelings (Michael Le Boeuf). Patients buy relief, cures and good health.

b. To decide emotionally and justify with logic. The buying decision may appear logical, but the final decision and entry into the HOP is governed by emotion.

c. Hold on to their brands and habits, unless they are given a very good reason to change their choices or priorities. The differentiation must be significant and meaningful.

d. Expect to be pampered and treated like royalty.

e. Ignore repetitive communication and even evade the medium of communication as a defense against over‐communication. Most people now ignore television advertisements and use the time for other activities like texting or surfing the internet. People choose what they want to see and the internet is a place where they get that satisfaction.

f. Verify claims made by Marketers and seek reassurance or expert opinion.

g. Trust the experiences and opinions of friends, relatives and advocacy groups.

h. Expect fast and easy access to quality products and services.

i. Get dissatisfied when they encounter quality deficits, defects, side‐effects or deficiency in maintenance or after‐sales service.

Marketers will continue to;

a. Offer products that ‘solve a problem’ or evoke ‘good feelings’. The focus will remain on the superior benefits to patients.

b. Provide many logical reasons to adopt their product and provide aspects that lead to emotional attachment.

c. Highlight a range of major and minor advantages and benefits

over the competition.

d. Pamper the customer, ensure customer delight and indeed treat them like royalty.

e. Make communications more interesting, focus on relevant benefits, easy to understand and use varied means of approaching the customer.

f. Provide ‘customer care’ helplines, package inserts and usage guidelines. Encourage customers to enroll in ‘user groups’ to provide reassurance by sharing expert opinions and

experiences.

g. Form advocacy groups, who provide reviews and encourage customers to recommend their product to friends and relatives.

h. Make the product or service available at convenient, easily accessed locations through a larger distribution network.

i. Have systems to address customer grievances and rebuild the customer’s confidence in the product

How do we integrate digital and traditional marketing? Please read HOP in the Mind

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