Promotion Differentiation Key to Increased ROI in Marketing to Physicians
Increasingly, marketers are implementing promotion-differentiation strategies through a variety of integrated marketing tactics to improve marketing ROI. Differentiation strategies arise from the recognition that different physician types have different preferences for interacting with pharma companies. John Moran of IMS Health examines this issue in his recent article on Customer Centric Service, noting, "Personal preferences, communication styles, level of disease understanding, practice setting, local formulary control, disease specialty, and patient demographics, among others, shape the physician's preferences for interaction. ...The challenge for marketers and sales organizations is to recognize and address physicians' differing views about what makes up the right experience."
The Self-empowered Consumer as Healthcare Decision-maker
The Internet has enabled a major trend in self-empowerment among healthcare consumers. According to a recent Pew Internet report, 61% of all American adults look online for health information. This translates to a 36% increase over the past decade; proving that American adults have become increasingly more proactive in managing various aspects of their own healthcare.
The Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) identifies the process of self-directed healthcare as "patient activation." HSC addressed this concept in its 2008 research brief, How Engaged are Consumers in Their Health Care, and Why Does It Matter? "Patient activation refers to a person's ability to manage their health and health care. Engaging or activating consumers has become a priority for employers, health plans and policy makers."
In a variety of important ways, self-empowerment is leading to better attitudes and approaches — if not always better outcomes — for e-patients with chronic conditions. The 2007 Pew Internet & American Life Project study, E-patients with a Disability or Chronic Disease, found that:
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